I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
Outtake:
BPOV (Mid-Ch. 17 after Bella visited Edward before he was awake)
I left Edward's room quietly after Carlisle insisted that I needed to get some sleep. Although I knew he was right, it was still very hard to pull myself from Edward's side.
I turned the corner to where they kept the more critical patients.
The officer by his door nodded to me, knowing that I had clearance, before he stepped aside. There were officers both at Edward's and Emmett's doors until it could be determined if Alec's family was a threat.
I sucked in a sharp breath seeing Emmett look so helpless in his bed. There were more tubes and wires than in Edward's room.
The room was also darker and Jasper sat quietly by Emmett's side. He looked up when I entered. "Are you ready to go?" he asked quietly.
"In a minute. I'll like a minute with Emmett first. As long as that's okay." I fidgeted with the curtain by the door.
Jasper stood and stretched. "Not a problem. Would you like me to stay in here or step out?"
I took his vacated seat. "I'll be fine, if you would like, go see Edward."
Jasper nodded and left the room. The only sounds in the room were the machines. I glanced at the heart monitor and frowned when the reading wasn't as good as Edward's. I closed my eyes in a short prayer that Emmett would make it out of this.
"I don't know how to start to thank you for saving my life. From the start of this you have been one of my strongest supporters. I don't know if you were driven by guilt, but Emmett, you saved mine and Masen's life. I will always be eternally grateful for that." I sniffled. I reached up and picked up his limp hand and gave it a squeeze.
"I don't hate you. I might have been upset and angry at you for sending back that letter, but I can't hate you for it. I realize you were trying to help, though misguided." I took a deep breath gathering my thoughts. I chewed on my lower lip.
Emmett had been hurting more than anyone realized. His mother left him. His father was an abusive asshole. Rose hurt him deeper than he was willing to admit. His grandmother, the woman who raised and loved him, had passed away. It wasn't that hard to see why he was trying to protect those he had left.
"I wish I knew about your parents, especially your mom. If anyone, I know what it is liked to be abandoned by your own mother. You were always everyone's rock, seemingly so strong on the outside. You have been there countless times for us." I said sadly then thought of one insistence in particular.
I was stacking lanterns in the camping section when I felt as if I was being watched. I looked over my shoulder and spotted a man, probably in his thirties with greasy blonde hair in a ponytail.
"May I help you, sir?" I forced a smile and asked. The man was creeping me out. I glanced around to see if anyone else was around. I spotted Emmett by the boots and caught his eye.
The stranger leered at me, coming close enough that I could smell his stanky breath. "I need some help with the double-size sleeping bags, perhaps you can show me how they work, by joining me in one."
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't offer that type of service here." I grimaced inwardly.
"I think you should change your policy." His eyes narrowed as he took a step forward.
I stumbled backwards, tripping over a box. A pair of strong hands caught me. I glanced up and sighed in relief when I realized it was Emmett.
"I think you need to listen to her and back away." Emmett looked upset. He pulled me behind him, but him closer to the man.
"She's just playing hard to get, man." The sleazeball scoffed.
"What is going to be hard is my fist connecting with your jaw, if you don't get the hell away from my sister." Emmett countered. "Now move on."
The man gave him a wary look and backed away. "The slut isn't worth it." He turned on his heels and started to leave.
I grabbed Emmett's elbow as he went after him. "Em, he's the one not worth it. He's just a jerk."
"You have been a great friend, Emmett, don't ever doubt that. I'm sorry that in our anger that we did. It pains me to know how much hurt you've kept buried. Thank you for being there for me and the others." I gave his hand another squeeze. "Get better soon, though. You have a nephew who adores you. He would be devastated to lose you, we all will be. That goes for Edward too. He might have gotten angry with you, but I doubt he could ever hate you. He would want you to get better too." I stood and kissed the top of his head lightly.
LB
EM POV (Ch. 20 conversation with Rose)
I waited until the door closed behind them before turning back to Rose. She still was on the far side of the room. For the longest time I wanted to be mad at her and hate her.
But looking at her now, she was a far cry from the girl I knew in high school. She had always been thin, but she was almost sickly thin, like Bella had been when we first found her. Her skin was pale and her hair was flat. She was nervous and twitchy as she stood by the door.
"Rosie, take a seat." I gestured to a chair near the bed.
She looked at the seat, but remained still.
I sighed. "Unless, you want me to come over there."
She looked at me sharply. "You're not well enough to get out of bed. Stay there." She walked slowly over and sat in the seat gingerly.
"I don't hate you," I started.
She immediately blinked back some tears. "How could you not? I said horrible things to you. Hateful things." She shook her head.
"Did you mean any of them?" I asked.
"No. I was proud of you for wanting to be a Marine. I always knew you weren't the college type. But you were still doing something so dangerous and selfless for the good of other people. I admired that. You also had one of the biggest hearts that I knew. " She smiled weakly.
"Why didn't you just tell me, Rose? We could've gone to Chief Swan and gotten help." I coughed, causing my chest to hurt. I grabbed my water and took a sip.
"I was so confused and scared. But they threatened my mother, you and even your grandmother. I was so overwhelmed that I thought I was making the best decision for everyone at the time. I knew you would never agree with me. And I was concerned you may fly off the handle and kill Royce and only get yourself into trouble. If I could go back I would've told Royce and my father to fuck off." She was crying harder now.
I handed her the box of hospital tissues. She took them and wiped her eyes and blew her nose.
"I did kill him. He was cocky son of a bitch, but a complete wussy. Now I wish I got a chance to torture him a bit, instead of the quick kill." I sneered.
She flinched. "I can't say I'm sorry that he's gone. The joke is on him, because now I'm his soul heir. I think I'll waste all his money on things that he hated." She smirked slightly.
"Was it you that took care of my grandmother when she was sick and she passed away?" I asked.
She nodded. "He said I could do whatever I wanted with his money, so I was able to help her the best I could. I'm sorry I couldn't save her."
"Thank you for what you did do." I gave a small smile. "Where is the fucker you call your father?"
She raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "I think he's somewhere in Europe with his new wife. The girl is only a year old than me too." She wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Your parents split." I was surprised.
"Mom found out about what he did after my wedding. She was appalled that he pretty much sold me off. They were in the process of divorce when she died. She was actually heading to pick me up at my first rehab stay when she had a car accident." Her eyes dropped and she bit her lip.
"I'm sorry." I knew she had been close to her mom.
She shrugged and shook her head. "Her accident was ruled suspicious. That was another reason I was worried about reaching out to anyone else. I've been trying to keep on the right track, but I keep having setbacks."
"From what I hear, those setbacks aren't your fault." I pointed out.
There was a moment of silence. "You know, sometimes I wished I fought harder back then. I should've picked up something was wrong. One day you said you loved me then the next was a complete 180, and you were engaged to someone else." I played with the blanket on the bed. "But I guess Bells is right, we will drive ourselves nuts with would'ves and should'ves."
"She has been awfully forgiving for what she has been through. If anyone else besides you should hate me, it should be her." Rose smiled hesitantly.
"Yes, she has been forgiving. But she has always been caring. I'm glad Alec didn't ruin that. She has also done a wonderful job with that little boy. Masen is a cute kid." I smiled looking up at the balloon he brought me.
"He is a remarkable little boy. I just hope he hasn't been too traumatized and his nightmares go away." Rose agreed.
"He's been having nightmares?" I frowned. "Did he witness anything that night?" I was concerned for the little guy.
"I don't think so. He was in the safe room with Alice and slept through the whole thing. I think he was just upset that Edward got hurt and wasn't there when he woke up," she explained.
"Poor kid." I sighed. "So what now?"
"What do you mean?" Rose looked confused.
I reached for her hand. She hesitantly took it and I gave it a squeeze. "Us. I guess. I never got over you. I tried to fool myself and the others, by…I'm ashamed to say it, but a bit of a player. I wanted to forget you, but it didn't work."
"I think it would be best if we work on being friends before anything else." She looked nervous. "I still have a long way to go."
"I can deal with being friends first." I agreed.
Friends seemed to work for Bella and Edward. It was worth a shot. We talked a little more before the others came back.
A/N:
Both outtakes were short so I posted them together. I won't be writing an outtake about the road trip at this time. Maybe once after the holidays settle down. The epilogue is already written so it should be posted on Friday.
Thank You For the Reviews
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Preview Alert
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Preview:
I tore open the paper and was confused at first by the baby book, since I already received one about Masen. I opened to the first page, and the first thing I noticed was a picture of a positive pregnancy test and date, written in pencil, that was in about eight months from now. I looked up at Bella and she was biting her lip.
"You're pregnant, love?" I asked the obvious.
She nodded blushing lightly, she looked very nervous for my response. I leaned over and kissed her lightly.
"Can we named the baby Grover?" Masen tugged on my sleeve.