Disclaimer:

I of course, do not own Twilight or any of these characters and no copyright infringement is intended.

My eyes felt as heavy as lead; I was unable to open them. My limbs felt tingly as feeling slowly began to return to my limbs. I felt like someone had their head near my hand. I felt a soft gentle breath as they seemed to inhale then exhale, sending gentle shivers across my skin. I tried to form words but I couldn't. My throat burned and ached like I had swallowed razor blades. The smell that assaulted my nostrils was a familiar one, but right now I couldn't place it. I did not have the energy or brain capacity to try and work out where I was. The last thing I remembered is driving to the beach at La Push. I struggled to make sense of things., Where was I?

Forcing my heavy eyelids open was a task in itself. I heard the beeping of some sort, again the noise was vaguely familiar but I struggled to place it. My eyes finally opened slightly and they were confused. I was sitting slightly upright in a darkened room. taking a moment to glance around, it all seemed very sterile and clean. Then the smell came back to me. I was in a hospital. But how did I end up here? I looked down to where I felt breath tickling my skin and saw someone slumped over the edge of the bed. My hand near their face, and then I realized, it was Bella.

Why was I in a hospital? I didn't understand what was happening? I appeared to be attached to machines and there were wires everywhere. I tried to get up out of bed in a moment of blind panic, but my body wouldn't do anything. It resisted my commands. The door opened and I heard familiar voices, my parents. I thought, "they will help me, I know they will". I heard them speak in low hushed tones, obviously trying not to wake the slumbering beauty with me. My dad spoke first, and I could hear the rustling of paper so I guess that he was looking over my medical charts.

"Hmmm. Vitals are steady; there is nothing to worry about there. But he is still unconscious. Let me call the consultant and see what he has to say."

I heard his footsteps retreating before the door opened and closed. I heard him talking outside on his cell phone. Then I felt a hand brush lightly through my hair, it was mom. She would stroke my hair as a child to comfort me. I tried to speak to her, but the words would not form into a sentence. She placed a soft tender kiss on my forehead before she spoke to me in quiet tones, almost as if she was talking to herself.

"My poor baby. I wish that I could swap places with you in a heartbeat, because I would. What happened that night? Please Edward, don't do this to me. Don't leave me, come back. I love you sweetheart, and I wish there as something that I could do for you."

I was too tired to answer her. I then felt the warm tears that fell from her eyes onto my face. Why was she crying? I heard my dad come back into the room; he was talking to my mom.

"Sssshh, Esme. Don't cry darling, he will be okay. I am sure of it. Come here."

The sounds of her sobs became muffled, and my dad continued with the reassuring noises until she stopped. He then spoke to her.

"I think we need to get Bella home. There is nothing that she can do here. She must be exhausted, the nurses tell me she's been here for two days now and refuses to leave."

I heard a gasp from my mom, "Two days? Oh Carlisle! How did we not notice? She was just here whenever I came, but I assumed she would go home as she always left me alone with him. We should get her home. This is no place for her. Not with Edward being… being like this."

Like what? I wanted to scream, what did they mean? Bella had stayed here with me for two days? What on earth was happening here, and why could I not move or alert them to the fact that I could hear them? I felt a slight shaking where Bella was laying, my eyes went to that side of my bed where I saw my mom shake her gently talking to her, trying hard to rouse her from her sleep. To me she looked like sleeping beauty, and me, well I guess that would make me her Prince Charming.

"Bella. Bella, sweetheart. Wake up, it's Esme."

I heard a faint grumbling noise which made my heart quicken in my chest, it was an all too familiar noise to me, the grumbling noise that Bella made when you tried to wake her up. It meant that she was fast asleep. My God, that noise alone was normally enough to make me hard. But now, there was no reaction to it. I put it down to the fact that my parents were here and effectively cock blocking me. As she awoke, I thought, "damn", she looked adorable with her sleep filled eyes and messy hair as she instantly looked toward me.

"Humph, what's happened? Is he… is… Edward is he okay?" There was an edge of panic to her voice.

"He's okay. Please don't panic" my dad reassured her. "He's still… sleeping, sweetheart. How long have you been here?"

It sounded like she was still struggling to wake up, as I could hear the normal confusion that colored her voice when she woke. She always reminded me of a kitten in how she would slowly stretch out, and a smile bright would spread across her face before she would turn to kiss me. I loved watching her sleep, but even more I loved watching her wake up.

Bella spoke to my parents and I could hear the concern clear in her voice, "What time is it?"

"Sweetheart, its 10 o'clock in the morning. Have you been here all night?" My mom was speaking in that low hushed tone again.

"Yeah, I came back in when you left last night." She sounded sheepish. "I…I… I just needed to be here with him. This was all my fault! I'm so sorry, I don't know how or if you will ever forgive me for what I have done." She sounded almost hysterical.

My mom was now also crying and then my dad spoke.

"Bella, this is not your fault, okay. I will not have you blaming yourself for what happened, it was… well, it was an accident. Edward didn't mean to… I know that. We just need to wait until he wakes up to find out what happened to him. If… when he wakes up he will tell us." It was hard to hear my dad's voice crack with emotion like that.

I was more confused than ever now. What were they talking about? I amawake! I can hear them, see them, but yet I cannot move or touch them. I didn't like that. I could feel their touch on my skin, but I could not return the touch so that they know that I am okay. I was hoping that this was all some terrible nightmare and then we could go home.

My mind flickered back to the dance; the music was so loud. Bella looked beautiful, stunning in fact. I felt so proud watching her, knowing that it was me that would be with her later and the thought that she was mine and mine alone. I remembered being the boys locker room with her, feeling her under my touch. Then I was blinded by a spotlight and all I could hear was Jessica's shrill voice through the light. Before that, I heard Bella, my Bella speak. She was denying that anything was going on between us. She told them it was a joke. I was nothing more than a joke to her. I ran away from her only to run straight into James and Tanya and they were passionately kissing each other. They stopped to acknowledge me before James pulled back his fist, making contact with my jaw. I fell backwards with my arms flailing but I never seemed to reach the ground. Then I heard screams around me and the sounds of machine going into over drive. There was a high constant beeping which was getting faster and faster, then I heard my father shout.

"Quick! In here, he's crashing!" Then his voice cracked with pure emotion as he fought back tears.

"Please, it's my son! Do something!"

I heard my mom's scream pierce the air and I saw my dad's arms surround her, attempting to shield her from the horror that was unfolding in front of her eyes.

I fell backwards into what seemed to be a long black tunnel, gaining momentum with every passing second. My arms were outstretched as I reached out for the people that I could see standing in the light at that I was moving farther and farther away from, but they were just watching my rapid descent.

I felt a jolt rush through my body and it hurt. The voices around me sounded frantic as they shouted instructions to each other. I clearly saw the scene that was playing out before me. I was suddenly standing in the corner of the room, watching as the medical team frantically work on someone lying in a bed. My mom and Bella were enclosed safely in my dad's arms clutching them to his chest, and rocking them gently. While keeping them from looking. I took a couple of steps towards to bed, curious to see what was happening and who this was that they were all so concerned over. My stomach fell and my knees went weak when I took in the sight before me. I was laying there, attached to various monitors and tubes. The medical team was working on me, it looked like they were desperately trying to save mylife.

I staggered backwards,retreating into the corner of the room, sliding down the wall until I reached the floor. I was unable to fully comprehend what I saw before me. I felt sick, dizzy and disoriented. The whole room swam into one big blur before a pain ripped through my chest. A pain which I had never felt before, and certainly did not wish to again. I felt the room spin even faster and I was pulled away from the scene before me and back into the darkness.

I lost myself in feelings of desperation and loneliness. Why couldn't my family understand that I was trying to reach out to them? I still didn't know what had happened to me. I felt like I was swimming in molasses, my limbs were heavy and would not respond to anything that I tried to do. There was a tiny speck of light in the distance and I knew,deep down that all I needed to do was reach it. It felt like it was a million miles away from me, but I felt a strong urge to fight.

My eyes slowly fluttered open and I took in the hospital room around me. I was alone now and the room was dimly lit. The machines that I remembered from my dreams were still beeping at my side. I was in one of the private rooms. My dad being a doctor would ensure that I only got the best treatment possible. I still wasn't sure what had even brought me here. I tried to remember and was interrupted by one of the nurses coming into my room, I assumed to take my vitals. The look of shock on her face was clear when she saw that I was awake. She turned quickly on her heel, I assume to advise the Doctors and then my family that I was conscious. I somehow managed to utter to her,

"Please, not my family."

She turned to me, a surprised look on her face, but I pleaded with my eyes and she nodded before she left the room. I knew that I would have only a couple of minutes before a barrage of doctors and nurses would come in to check me over. I just hoped that they would respect my wishes and not contact my family.

As predicted, Dr Gerandy came bustling through the door,followed by several nurses. He seemed a little flustered.

"Ah, Edward. I see that you have joined us back into the world. Hmm, now let me see."

He then started flipping through my charts, spectacles perched on the end of his pointed nose. His appearance never changed, I remembered him from being a child he always seemed to be the same age, like he was frozen in time, never moving forward, never aging. I also knew him as a close friend of my dad's, so I had to hope that the patient's wishes would be respected on this occasion.

"Yes, yes. Everything seems to be fine with your vital signs. Nowtell me, what do you remember,Edward?"

I looked blankly at him. Words stuck in my throat, as I tried to form the words that I needed to tell him. They would not come, so I shook my head. I honestly did not remember what happened to land me here. Yes I had dreams,or whatever they were while I was unconscious, but I could not work out if these were fact or my subconscious playing with me. I only knew that the truth would come in time, but I want to have some semblance of what happened to me straight in my own head before I saw anyone else.

He looked at me down his nose. "Hmm, short term memory loss is not uncommon. You need to rest. I do have to tell your parents that you are conscious, but I will say that I am not allowing visitors at this time. Please just use this time to rest, I will not be able to keep you dad out for long. He is, after all,a well respected Doctor in this hospital, but I will do my best."

He left, leaving me to try and work out what happened. One of the nurses was checking my IV fluids, and I had to ask her a question, I needed to know the answer.

"What day is it?"

She looked at me, and I could tell that she wasn't sure if she could tell me or not. I asked her again,

"Please? Tell me what day it is, I need to know."

She smiled at me before she answered, Wednesday. It's Wednesday evening."

I whispered. "Thank you."

I closed my eyes, trying to work out what had happened, as I remembered the dance on Friday, but nothing past that. There is a vague memory of arguing with someone, but I couldn't remember who or why. Yeah, I had the flashbacks, but how much of that was real was debatable. I mean, in one of then I was the lead singer of a band, in another a hot actor that women swooned and screamed over when they saw me, another where I was a movie star who shot to fame in a film adaptation of a book, and was chased down the street by paparazzi. So yeah, truth from fiction was hard to unravel. Laying there, I simply stared at nothing, until eventually my eyes closed and I drifted off to sleep.

I woke with a start when I felt a hand close around mine before a gentle kiss was placed on my forehead. Her reaction to seeing me awake was almost like she had seen a ghost. I managed to smile at her I recognized her as Bella, and I knew that there was something between us. I felt that indescribable pull. It just felt right to be with her; natural. She was obviously surprised to see me awake and she spoke very quickly, like she had to get a word in before I could interrupt her.

"Oh my god, Edward! How long have you been awake? Do your parents know? Who knows you are awake? Have the Doctors said anything to you? What do you remember? Then she paused, tears filling her beautiful soft brown eyes before saying, in almost a whisper. "I love you."

I couldn't keep track of all the questions she was firing at me, and as soon as she finished she flung herself on me. Her arms locked around my neck as she pressed her face into my neck where I felt tears falling. I wanted to protect her. She and I were obviously together as a couple, her behavior towards me and my bodies' instant reaction to her told me at least that much. I found my arms closing around her to keep her close to me. I pulled her onto the bed with me and she lay next to me, her head on my chest while I inhaled her scent. We talked and I answered her questions as well as I could, while she avoided mine. I had no idea how long we laid like that, but I was shocked when the door opened to the room and I heard my mom shriek.

"Edward! You are awake! Bella, why didn't you call me?"

Bella lept off the bed like she had been electrocuted, mumbling an apology. I knew that I had to tell my parents that I asked for them to not be informed.

"Mom, I asked Dr. Gerandy not to tell you, and Bella hasn't been here long. I've been awake only a few hours. I just needed some time to work things out."

My dad stepped forward. I could tell that he had his Doctors hat on as he looked over my chart and then proceeded to give me the once over. He looked at my mom before he spoke.

"I'm going to talk to Tom...sorry, Dr. Gerandy. I will also tell Rose that you are back with us. She has been worried about you, we all have." With that, he left.

I lay talking to my mom and Bella while my dad was out of the room, but no-one would tell me what happened to me. They simply said that I should rest and they would talk to me when I felt a little stronger. I guessed in my own head that I had crashed my car and that is why they were being so evasive; I had some bruises on me,so that seemed logical.

Our family chatter was interrupted when Rose and Emmett burst into the room. I saw the look of relief on their faces which was rapidly replaced by anger when they saw Bella. Rose had to be restrained by Emmett as she lurched towards her and hissed.

"What the fuck are you doing here? I told you to stay the fuck away from my brother you-"

"Rosalie Cullen! How dare you use such language. Show some respect. Bella has been here more than any of us while Edward has been in here; even sleeping here. Be nice to her or leave." My mom was furious, and the one thing I do know is you don't mess with her. But then again, I hadn't seen Rose that mad in a long time and this was gonna kick off into a full blown argument.

"Mom, you have no idea what this manipulative little bitch is capable of. She is the reason that Edward is in here. If it weren't for her then he would never have tried to-" She was stopped by Emmett who yanked her arm sharply to get her attention, she spun to face him and he quickly shook his head at her.

My mom's face dropped and she started to cry. I picked up on what had been said and wanted answers.

"Bella is the reason that I tried to do what?" Panicked looks were exchanged and I knew that they were keeping something from me. "Come on, tell me. I know that you all know why I am here. I don't so will someone please tell me? Bella?"

She stood, tears filling her eyes once again, threatening to spill down her cheeks and she made her move towards the door, only to be blocked by Rose who grabbed her arm to keep her still while she spoke to her.

"If I see you within thirty feet of my brother again, I will kill you. Don't you think that you have caused him enough heartache for one lifetime? Now leave. Trust me when I say I don't make threats, I make promises little girl, and you really don't want to mess with me."

Bella managed to break free and ran from the room as they streamed down her face. Mom just glared at Rose who simply said,

"Trust me, the bitch is lucky she is not also in a hospital bed with what she has done."

Emmett went to her side and said in a low voice. "Rose, it is not the time or place for this. Baby, please?"

She turned on her heel and stormed out of the room. We could hear her heels clicking on the floor and she pace up and down the corridor. As she passed the door she was talking to someone on her cell phone but we could not make out what she was saying, and she sounded pissed. My mom just smiled weakly, apologizing to me "Sorry, I need to go and make sure that Bella is okay, Emmett can you make sure that Rose doesn't do something silly."

Emmett just shrugged at me. I knew that whatever was going on, he knew the truth and I needed to ask him.

"Emmett, what is going on here? Why is Bella to blame for me being here? Please tell me, the truth."

He took a deep breath, pulled up a chair and said,

"If you're sure you can handle it, then I will tell you. I don't think you are going to like it though."
I needed to know. "Emmett, just tell me."

Emmett opened his mouth to speak and was stopped by the door being thrust open by Rose. She was muttering away and threw herself into one of the chairs. She opened her mouth to speak but she was in turn interrupted by Dr. Gerandy walking in,followed by my dad. The look of horror on his face when he realized the number of people that had been in the room was clear.

"No, no, no. This will not do. There have been too many people around him. I am disappointed in you Carlisle. You know how important it is that patients,who have been through what Edward has, get their rest. I don't know what has been going on in here but I could hear you out in the hallway."

He glared at my dad who looked he had just been told off by a headmaster. I stifled a laugh as my dad spoke.

"Tom, I'm sorry. You are quite right." He turned to Emmett and Rose. "Sorry guys. Dr. Gerandy is right, Edward needs his rest. We can visit tomorrow. Emmett, I will speak to you later about whatever it is that you know before you tell Edward. I need to be sure that you will not hurt his recovery. Tom, I'm sorry, I should know better; you are quite right. You know how worried we have all be about Edward following the, well, you know what I mean."

I frowned. What exactly had happened to me? Everyone was looking at me like I was made of glass and could break at any moment. My mom came back into the room; she looked upset.

"I couldn't catch up with her. I hope you are happy, Rose." She sounded mad.

Then she saw Dr Gerandy standing there, and read the look on both his and my dads faces.

"Sorry, is everything okay with Edward? Tom? Carlisle?" Her eyes flitted between the two of them and then finally rested on me where they softened and she rushed to my bedside. She started stroking my hair and I saw tears fill her eyes. I reached up to brush them away and my dad put his hand on her shoulder before he whispered in her ear,

"Esme, we need to leave Edward to rest. We can always come back tomorrow. I promise that Tom will let us know if anything changes."

She looked at him, and I could see that a large part of her wanted to stay, and I knew that she would not go without a fight. I smiled at her before I spoke in a low voice.

"Mom, I will be okay. I could do with the rest, to be honest. I'm exhausted. Please just go home and I will see you tomorrow."

She kissed my forehead and simply said.

"Sleep well, my angel. We will come back in the morning. Love you."

I managed a weak smile at her, fighting back a wave of emotion. The looks on the faces of my family told me how worried they were about me. I just wish someone would tell me what had happened. After they left I managed to sleep for a while but my sleep was fitfull and filled with strange images that I could not place. Waking, feeling disorientated, I got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom which took some time as I was sore and achy.

Once in there I splashed some cold water on my face and then I looked at myself in the mirror the reflected face scared me. I had a decent amount of stubble on my face, my eyes looked hollow which weren't helped by the dark heavy rings that were surrounding them. There were no obvious signs of cuts or broken bones. I could see bruises but nothing more; there was a nasty looking one on my jaw that smarted when I touched it. That confused me greatly. I had assumed that I had crashed my car but now I wasn't so sure. Maybe I had been in a fight. But that wasn't me. I don't fight mainly because I don't know how. Making my way back to bed,I was startled to see that there was someone in the room. I couldn't immediately work out who it was as I didn't have my glasses on and the only light came from the small lamp over my bed. They looked up and a broad smile lit up their face. Only when the spoke did I realize that it was my best friend in the whole world, Jake.

He lept out of the chair and gave me what he would describe as a 'man hug', I winced slightly as my ribs were sore. He immediately apologized and helped me back into bed. His trademark smile was bright enough to light up the room.

"Geez Cullen, you really will do anything to get a few days off school, won't ya?" He teased.

"You know how it is Jake. Being an academic genius is hard sometimes. Not of course that you would know about that."

"Cheap shot! If you weren't in hospital already, I would put you there myself." He laughed at the irony of this. I tried to join him, but ended up clutching my ribs as it hurt like a bitch to laugh. His expression changed immediately when he realized that I was in pain.

"Sorry man. I didn't mean to hurt you. You okay?"

I smiled at him, "Just don't make me laugh too much. So what you doing here? Aren't visiting hours over?" I glanced at the clock and saw that it was past ten p.m. I knew that he shouldn't be here, but I didn't care. It was nice to see a friendly face, one that wasn't liable to burst into tears on me at any given moment.

"So, I hear you haven't been back with us that long. You are such a drama queen keeping everyone waiting around. Bet your folks are pleased to see awake after… Well you know."

I somehow managed to keep a straight face and not laugh at him, although it was hard. But something in his voice told me that he too was keeping secrets from me. I was getting a little tired of being treated like a child. Whatever happened to me I needed to know. I mean,how bad could it actually be?

Jake could not look at me, his gaze was fixed firmly on the floor. He is my best friend, so why was he hiding what happened from me?

"Look Jake, I've been awake a few hours, and no one will tell me what happened. Bella was here when I woke up and-"

His head snapped up and anger crossed his face. "What? How fucking dare she show her face here? What did she say?"

"Nothing. My folks came in and then Rose turned up and practically threw her out. It was weird. Mom and Dad didn't mind her being here, but Rose, well I have never seen her act like that before. I thought that she liked her."

Jakes expression calmed down, and he spoke in a low voice. There was still anger in his voice and I could hear him struggle to keep it under some form of control.

"She had no right to be here, especially after what happened before you… Well, what happened at the school dance."

There was no hiding this from me, I had caught what he had said.

"What do you mean, happened before I? Before I did what, Jake? Please. No one will tell me anything, I need to know why am I am in here. Rose said something similar when she saw Bella in here. Did I crash my car or something stupid like that? Please? I need to know."

"Look, this is not going to be easy to hear, but if you want to know the truth I will tell you what I know, but you are not gonna like it. I can guarantee you that. You sure you don't wanna wait a few days?"

"Jake, I am fed up with being lied to, treated like a child. Just tell me. I can handle it."
With that, he sat back in his chair, his chin resting on his steepled fingers. Letting out a long,loud sigh, looking me straight In the eye he said,

" Are you sitting comfortably? Good. Then, I will begin."

Authors Notes:

Beta'd as always by Cosmom and pre-read by FFaddward – thanks babe you really did help me out with this when I needed another pair of eyes to make sure that I was not going insane.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I was expecting to have to hide from you after last week's update, but you were all fabulous and I love each and every one of you to bits, it means so much to know that I have your support in this. These chapters have been hard to write and I can only hope that I have got the emotions and feelings spot on, poor Edward is in a dark place at the moment and he is trying to make the puzzle pieces fit together.

Anyone who wants a different Edward, I have updated Taken and there is another chapter ready to go on that. Link on my author page.