[Disclaimer] All things Twilight belong to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer

[A/N] I deeply apologize for the cliffy at the end of the last chapter. Hope the fast update makes up for it a bit. I know that it's short, but better a short chapter than none at all…

Thanks and hugs to all of you who keep reading and reviewing. It's because of you that I keep writing this story.

This one is dedicated to Villemo79 and beelotus because they liked the relationship between Rosalie and Ali in the last chapter.

**Chapter 23**

"Ali? Ali, please say something…," My voice sounded hysterical, almost panicked. What the hell should I do now? Her face was white as a ghost and her lips had an unhealthy bluish color.

"Ali, please don't do that to me. Wake up, honey."

A low whimper left her throat and then she blinked into the light of the kitchen lamp above us.

"Bella?"

"Oh thanks god, you're awake. Are you okay? Do you need anything? Water…or a doctor maybe? Do you want me to call Carlisle for you?"

"No!" she called out and tried to raise her head from my lap.

"Don't move." I whispered and caressed her forehead with my fingertips.

"I think that you might have hurt your head on the hard kitchen floor when you fainted."

"Please, don't call my father. He's going to make an unnecessary drama out of it."

"Kay,"

I helped her to sit up and wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry about this." She mumbled towards the floor.

"You're apologizing for fainting?" I asked her in disbelief.

"No…just for scaring you. I guess it was just my stupid heart."

"Your heart? What's wrong with your heart?" My voice raised two octaves.

"Nothing," she croaked out, obviously embarrassed. There was a slight hint of defiance in her voice that I had never heard before.

"…well I was just feeling dizzy."

"Is it better now?" I wanted to know and started rubbing her back in small circles.

She placed one hand on her chest, as if she somehow could find the answer of my question in there.

"Yeah, it is. Can you help me to stand up now?"

I nodded my head and put my other arm around her dainty waist to help her up again.

She sighed deeply and closed her eyes for a moment before she rested her head against my shoulder.

"Still feeling dizzy?"

"Only a little bit, but I think sitting is better than standing. God, this is so embarrassing."

I wondered if I would technically be able to carry her if it would be necessary, as we walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"You don't have to be embarrassed for being sick."

"I am not sick." She stated, emphasizing each single word.

I chuckled slightly and pulled her closer to me, letting my hand stroke up and down her side.

"What's so funny about that?"

"You sound just like Lilly when she's sick. I think that's cute."

"I am not…,"

"Shhh," I murmured against her mouth before I planted a soft kiss on it. The tip of my tongue nudged against her lower lip that felt like velvet underneath it. Much too soon for my liking she pulled back and sighed deeply.

"I'm really sorry that I scared you so much."

"Ali…,"

She cuddled against my body and twisted a wisp of my hair around her fingers.

"He's coming here." She whispered so low that I could barely hear her.

"Who is coming?"

"Edward. I called him to tell him…well you can guess why I did it. And then he told me that he's coming back to Seattle because he needs to find another secretary."

"He fired the bitch?" I croaked out.

She nodded her head.

"That's a good thing, but it's not going to change anything between me and him."

"Yeah, I know." She mumbled and then a desperate sob escaped her mouth.

Her entire body started trembling in my arms and I rocked her back and forth in an attempt to calm her down again.

"Don't be afraid. Everything will be okay." I told her and wiped away a few tears from her pale cheeks.

"No, it won't. He's going to freak and my parents will be so angry at me when they'll find out."

"I'm surprised that your bitchy sister didn't call Edward right after she found out."

"She thinks that I should tell him myself; that it's inevitable to let him know about us, if I'm planning on staying with you."

"I love you." I whispered and cupped her beautiful face between my hands. Her sweet breathe tickled my mouth before I planted a soft kiss on her full lips. Slowly she let the tip of her tongue slip between my slightly parted lips and I moaned into her mouth when she nudged it against my tongue.

"I love you too, Bella." She mumbled, when I finally pulled back.

"We can tell him together, if you want to." I suggested and started drawing circles all over her wrist.

She nodded her head and I realized that her face was still a lot paler than usual.

"You're still feeling dizzy, aren't you?"

"Yes, I do…but it'll go away. Don't worry about it."

"Ali, would you tell me not to worry if Lilly were sick?"

XXXX

I had never experienced an adult person throwing such a fit when it came to seeing a doctor.

"Bella, this is absolutely unnecessary." She stated as I parked the car in the parking lot of the hospital.

"Stop being so stubborn, Ali. It won't take long. I just want them to check on you."

She chuckled bitterly and mumbled something that was too low for me to understand it.

"Auntie Ali, are you sick?" Lilly asked from the backseat.

"No, honey, I'm not. Your mommy just likes trips to the hospital."

The nurse at the front desk raised one eyebrow when we entered the waiting hall.

"You're Dr. Cullen's daughter, aren't you? I'm sorry but your father is preparing for a surgery right now."

To my immense surprise Ali looked relieved.

"Do you want me to page him for you?"

"No…no, that's not necessary. I'm just here because my…," she seemed to hesitate because she didn't know how she should refer to me in public.

"…because my friend here forced me to come here."

"What made her do that?"

I cleared my throat nervously.

"She fainted…and she feels dizzy."

"Maybe she just didn't drink enough water?"

"Yeah, probably…See, Bella. I told you that it was completely unnecessary to come here. Can we just go home now?"

"Grandpa!" Lilly called out cheerfully as she captured the green clothed figure at the other side of the corridor.

"Crap." Ali whispered and let go of my hand that she had been holding the entire time.

He lifted Lilly up and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"What are you doing here, sweetie?"

"Mommy made Auntie Ali come here because she likes trips to the hospital." My daughter stated frankly and pulled on the mask that was hanging loosely around his neck.

"Grandpa, can I have that?"

"Sweetie, that's not a toy." He told her and sat her down on the ground again.

Then his eyes met mine and he walked over to us. Ali crossed her arms in front of her chest and sighed deeply.

"Mary Alice…Bella, what are you doing here?"

"Hi Dad," she greeted him halfheartedly. "Shouldn't you be in surgery right now?"

"It was cancelled. What are you doing here with Lilly? She's not sick or anything? Rosalie told me that you made her see the cancer-shrink…ahm I mean Miss Whitlock."

"They are here because your daughter fainted." The nurse explained and continued writing notes in medical records.

"What? And you still sit here like a complete moron and do nothing!" he snarled at the poor woman who jumped up from her chair so fast that it dropped to the floor.

"I'm so sorry Dr. Cullen but it didn't seem that serious to me."

"It didn't seem that serious to you! Are you fucking stupid?" Jeez, my father-in-law was scary when he was angry.

"Dad, please stop yelling at her. It's not her fault."

"Don't tell me how to talk to my nurses. Her behavior was completely unprofessional."

He wrapped two fingers around Ali's wrist to check her pulse. Damn it, why didn't I think of doing something like that when I found her.

"I'm paging Dr. Bennett to let him do an ECG on you. Maybe I should have let him do one when you came here the last time."

An ECG, why the hell would she need an ECG? Hadn't the nurse told us that it probably happened because she was dehydrated?

"See, Bella. That's exactly why I didn't want to go to the hospital. I've told you that he would overreact."

"She was right to bring you here. Jeez, Mary Alice, why do you always have to be so unreasonable about your health?" He sounded a lot sadder than angry now and there was a worry in his voice that made me feel awkward.

"I'm not unreasonable, Dad." She croaked out, her voice trembling from the tears she was trying to fight back.

"And I don't need the stupid ECG. You wouldn't force Rosalie or Edward to do one if they had passed out."

"Mary Alice, that's something completely different and you know why."

XXXX

I put a curl of her short hair behind her ear and stroked down her cheekbone with my fingertips.

"Why didn't you tell me, that there's something wrong with your heart?" I whispered and wrapped my arms around her.

"Because I didn't want you to treat me as if I was a fragile porcelain doll; it has been like that almost my entire childhood and I hated it so much."

Her caramel eyes looked glassy and when she closed them tiny teardrops sparkled in her dark eyelashes.

"Please don't cry." I mumbled and planted soft kisses all over her face.

"I promise not to treat you differently, but you have to promise me that you won't scare me again like you did today."

"It won't happen again. My father talked Dr. Bennett into giving me so much medication that my stupid heart won't make trouble anymore."

"Don't call it stupid. I love your heart." I mumbled and took her cold hand in mine to squeeze it gently. Then I put it to my lips and planted featherlike kisses on each of her knuckles.

"Dr. Bennett also told you that you shouldn't get too agitated..."

"Yeah, he did. I'll try to remember about that when we're going to tell my brother that I've stolen his wife away from him."

"Ali…you didn't steal me away from him. And I really think that we should wait to tell him, at least until…,"

She raised one eyebrow.

"See? That's what I meant. You're already starting to treat me as if I'm breakable."

"No, I'm not. I'm just trying to protect you. We will tell him after Lilly's birthday, I promise."

"Aren't you scared?"

"I thought that I would be…but today I found out that there is something that I fear a lot more than his anger."

"And that is?"

"Losing you..."

XOXOXOXOXOX

[A/N] Guess who's going to show up in the next chapter? Yeah, you're right it's Cheat-ward. Can you imagine him and our lovely couple under the same roof? That practically smells like trouble…