Hellooo awesome people. Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter! You guys are too awesome.

Song: Good Life - One Republic

I don't own the Twilight Characters.

. . . . . . . . . .

"But they let service animals in hospitals all the time! It's the same fucking thing, he's had more, and better training than any other animal you've ever seen!"

"I'm sorry Edward, I just can't authorize that," my father said sadly. "She'll wake up when she's ready-"

"You've been saying that for fucking ever. She needs him dad, you've never seen how they are together, I'm sure that if she just heard him-"

"No, Edward. I'm sorry."

I was expecting his answer, but I was a good fucking actor and I pretended to storm off in a rage, swiping his key card on my way out. He would be leaving any moment, he wouldn't notice it missing tonight. Hopefully.

I jumped into my Volvo and raced back to the apartment. Zeus was jumping around and barking excitedly when I burst through the door, no doubt sensing my energy.

"I don't care what anyone says, she needs you, and I'll get you to her. You ready to go see your mommy Zeus?"

The sound of his whine when I referred to Bella broke my heart.

"I know, I miss her too, which is why we need to do this fast. We've waited long enough."

I fed him, and took him up to the roof before we went down to my car. I tried to get one of those harnesses for him, because I was paranoid of getting into an accident and him getting hurt in my car, but I couldn't find any that fucking fit him. Seriously, the dog was the size of a small pony.

I was getting pretty good at driving though. I actually found it kind of fun.

It was hard to really enjoy anything anymore, but it was up there.

We made our way across town to the hospital, and I told Zeus to wait as I went and pulled around the dining cart I had hidden behind the dumpsters. I rolled it back to my SUV, and tried to get him settled on the bottom of the cart before draping the sheet over it.

It was a shit job, but the best I could come up with at the moment. His tail kept slipping out and thumping against my leg excitedly, and he kept trying to stick his head out to smell his surroundings. I wasn't as good at getting him to follow commands as Bella was. I smiled at the nurses that gave me suspicious glances as I walked past.

Yeah, they didn't like me much, but I didn't like them treating my girlfriend like a fucking pincushion either.

I may have been a bit irritable as of late, but I thought they should cut me some fucking slack, circumstances considered and all.

I thankfully got him into an empty elevator, got off on Bella's floor, and wheeled my cart down the dim hallway quietly to the secured wing she was in. I stopped at the heavy doors, peeking through the window down the hall to watch the nurse's station, then took out my phone.

I called the number for the phone that I'd left in a linen closet earlier, whose ringer I'd set to a loud Tool song. I watched the nurse shoot down the hallway and turn the corner, chasing after the sound. I moved quickly, using my stolen key-card to get into the locked wing, and booked it down to Bella's room.

I got in unnoticed, and quickly shut the door behind me, gasping for breath.

Bella was going to be so fucking proud of me for that.

I flipped back the sheet. "Okay boy, come on out," I whispered, holding the cart steady as he wiggled out of it. He immediately started sniffing, whining as he no doubt smelt his mommy and quickly made his way to her bed. I watched him cautiously, making sure he didn't jump up, but he just lifted his paws onto the edge of her bed, laying his head down as he watched her, his tail thumping against the linoleum.

He started whining, wiggling slightly as he watched her. Waiting.

She didn't move.

I sat down next to him, and started silently crying. I hadn't realized how much I had been counting on this working, that if she just had Zeus next to her she would just… wake up.

Zeus whimpered again, louder, wiggling forward, and started licking her hand.

And her finger twitched.

Her finger fucking moved.

"B-Bella?" I asked hesitantly. It was easier to talk when I had Zeus next to me. He was the only person I ever felt like talking to anymore.

He barked excitedly.

"Shhh, boy, you need to be quiet," I warned in a panicked voice. I couldn't even look at the door though. There were tears escaping the corners of Bella's eyes.

I started to panic. I didn't think this through enough. I would freak out if I woke up and there was a fucking tube going down my throat.

I knew I was going to get in shit, but it didn't fucking matter. She made a sound somewhere between a cough, choking noise and sob, her eyebrows furrowing.

I hit the call nurse button, and she burst into the room only seconds later to her credit.

"Good heavens! How did you get- oh my god, what is that thing?"

"Are you blind? He's a dog. That doesn't fucking matter, she's waking up, do something!"

She only hesitated for a moment before rushing forward, calling the doctor as she started removing the tube that it sounded like Bella was choking on. She had started twitching.

"Hold down her arms, gently, make sure she doesn't try to get up or move too quickly. I'll be right back with the doctor." I nodded, doing what she said as she disappeared. Bella's entire body shuddered, and she whimpered.

"Shh, baby, I'm right here. You're okay, I promise, just calm down. Try to stay still."

She seemed to listen, relaxing under my gentle hold with another whimpering sound. The nurse ran in with another doctor. I didn't care for him, he seemed too young, and was much too good looking. I watched him warily.

"Miss Tanner? My name is Doctor Gerandy, if you can hear me, I want you to try and move your hand, lift a finger if you can."

Her eyebrows furrowed, and she lifted her finger all right. The middle one. I barked out a laugh, and pulled out my phone to call my dad.

"Edward, if this is about-"

"I was right."

"What?"

"She's awake, kind of. Get down here. She just gave Doctor McSteamy the finger."

Bella let out a pained cough, and I think my dad heard it, because he told me he'd be right there in an excited, slightly-panicked voice before hanging up. Her machines were slowly picking up in their beepings, and the doctor stared saying something about sedating her so that she wouldn't panic. He took a step away when I pierced him with a glare.

"Don't," I said, knowing Bella could hear us. Those words probably freaked the shit out of her. I sat down carefully on the edge of her bed, taking her hand in mine and using my other hand to cup her cheek.

"Baby, I need you to try and calm down. You're alright, I promise you. I won't leave you for a second."

I felt a slight pressure in my hand, like she was trying to squeeze it. Her grip was almost non-existent though.

"We don't know if she can understand-"

"She heard me. She squeezed my hand. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't want you to fucking touch her."

I grinned when I felt that small pressure again.

"Looks like I'm right," I said with a grin. "My father will be here in a couple minutes, is there anything you need to do this minute?"

Her heartrate was slowly calming down, she seemed to be relaxing slightly.

The doctor let out an irritated sigh, then crossed his arms over his chest while he leaned against the wall, watching us closely. I turned back to Bella.

"You're doing great baby. Everything's going to be okay," I said quietly, feeling truth in the words for the first time. I hated that it wasn't even safe to say her name to her right now though. "I love you so much," I told her, leaning in and kissing her forehead.

It took her a few minutes, but she managed to open her eyes. I cracked right then, seeing those eyes for the first time in over a month. My favourite fucking eyes in the universe. She looked at me, her eyes a little clouded and dazed, but I knew she was still on a lot of painkillers.

"I missed you so fucking much," I whispered.

Her lips parted. "Ed-" she choked out in barely a whisper, wincing and closing her eyes again.

"Shh, don't try to talk right now. We'll have plenty of time to talk later, okay?" She looked back up at me, and her eyes looked so fucking sad. "Shh, none of that," I said, and couldn't wait another second before I leaned in and gently kissed her lips.

My father came in then, and the biggest smile spread over his face when he saw her with her eyes open. I realized then that I didn't remember the last time he had smiled. That anyone had, really. It was like the world had just sort of stopped when her eyes had closed. I could tell that she tried to smile at him, but she looked exhausted, ready to fall asleep again, and kept shooting suspicious glares at the other doctor in the corner.

"Well kiddo, I can't tell you how good it is to see your smile," my father said gently. "They just removed a feeding tube, so your throat is going to be sore for a little while. It should be better in a day or so. How do you feel? Are you in pain?"

"I feel like I was fucking shot," she hissed, cringing.

My father chuckled. "And for good reason," my father said with a slight grin. "Please don't talk anymore for now though, okay?" She nodded slightly. "I'm going to up your dose of morphine to help you get some rest, is that alright?"

She nodded again slightly, then looked up at me again, her eyes watering.

"I love you," she mouthed silently. I smiled at her, barely able to breathe against the pressure in my chest.

"I love you too. Get some rest. I'll call Emmett and let him know you're okay."

She gave me a small, thankful smile, and we just watched each other as she slowly drifted off to sleep again.

"You stole my key card, didn't you?"

"Yup." And I didn't feel guilty in the slightest.

"And you brought that dog in here, even when I specifically told you not too."

"Mhmm."

"I should probably yell at you."

"But you're not going to."

"You're right. Good work son," he said proudly, squeezing my shoulder before he went back to checking her charts. I called Emmett with one hand, not able to let go of Bella's with my other.

I couldn't stop fucking smiling.

"Hey man, what's up?" He answered in a tired voice.

"She woke up Emmett," I said, still kind of in shock.

"What? When? How do you know? Why didn't they call me first?" He demanded.

"I, umm… kind of stole my dad's key card, and broke into the hospital with Zeus."

"You didn't."

"It worked. Dad gave her more morphine to help her get some rest, but she opened her eyes and everything. She's asleep again now. I told her I'd call you right away though. And I'm sorry that I didn't the second that she woke up, but-"

"No, no… I get it. Thank you Edward. I fucking love you man. Thank you for doing that."

"It was nothing. Look, I won't let them kick me out just in case, but you know how bitchy these nurses can get..."

He let out a frustrated sigh. "Fuck, you're right, they probably won't let me in. Look, I'll be there first thing in the morning. Can you just-"

"I'll call you the second anything happens, I swear."

"Thanks man, just… thanks."

"Get some sleep Emmett."

. . . . . . . . . .

I tried to keep my eyes open, but Zeus was like a space heater leaning against me, and feeling Bella's soft hand in mine, and finally relaxing for the first time in what felt like eons, I just couldn't keep them open. I drifted off to sleep with my head resting on her thigh.

. . .

I almost thought I was dreaming, feeling her gentle fingers combing through my hair, but when I looked up at her sleepily, her eyes were open, and she smiled at me.

"You didn't have to stay," she said in a hoarse whisper. I grinned up at her, rubbing my eyes and stretching.

"I didn't want you to be alone if you woke up again." I looked down at my watch, it was just past five. "How are you feeling? Your throat sounds better," I said cheerfully.

She gave me a small smile, her eyes watering. "I'm fine."

"Bullshit. You're about to cry, so you're definitely not." I grinned at her, and I think she almost laughed, but pulled in a sharp, painful breath. "Shit, I'm sorry, are you okay? Should I call a nurse?"

"No," she hissed, though her eyes had watered and spilled over. "Fuck, I can't believe that fucker shot me," she groaned. I had no idea what to do, and my hands just fluttered around her uselessly. Once her breathing calmed, and she was able to open her eyes again, she gave me an apologetic smile. "I've never been shot before. That's one for the books."

My laugh came out as more of a sob, it was just too fucking surreal to see her here, awake, talking to me, and making an incredibly bad joke. Her hand moved into my hair again, and I buried my face in her sheets as tears of relief escaped my eyes.

"I thought I lost you."

"I'm so sorry Edward."

"You can never do anything like this to me again, okay?" I choked out.

"I promise," she whispered. When I looked up at her again, she was crying too.

"You knew he was here, didn't you?" I whispered. She heard me, and after a moment, she nodded her head once. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because we would have left, and he still could have gotten you. I couldn't-" It looked like it was getting harder and harder for her to breathe. I wanted answers, but I couldn't do that to her right now. It could wait, I just needed her to be okay.

"Shhh, stop Bella. Please calm down. We can talk about this later, it doesn't matter right now."

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, and I held her gently as she cried, carefully minding her wires. I could tell it was very painful for her, and did everything I could to calm her before the doctors tried to sedate her. I told her I loved her a thousand times, covering her face and hands in soft kisses, told her how much we missed her, that I forgave her as long as she swore she'd never keep something from me ever again. I got her to drink a bit of water, because dad said it was okay. By the time Emmett came in, she was shaking in pain and exhausted once more, but she was able to assure him that she was okay and tell him she loved him before the morphine knocked her out again.

. . . . . . . . . .

After getting Zeus back home and fed, I showered and got changed before stopping to pick up some more flowers for Bella. I had taken pictures of everything people had sent her so I could show her when she woke up, but most of them had died off and been cleared out already. The ones I had gotten her for Valentine's day had already died too. I also picked up a strawberry-banana smoothie with my coffee, just in case she was up for it.

I wasn't surprised to see that the gang was already there, what did surprise me was that they were all sitting out in the hallway.

"What's going on?" I asked curiously, pausing in the hall and looking at them. "Is she asleep?"

"No, she's up," Emmett said. "She's talking with Alec right now."

"She shouldn't-"

"I know. But she's a grown woman, and she said she wanted to get it out of the way now so there's nothing-"

Her door was thrown open loudly with a bang as the man I had talked to a few weeks ago stormed out. He looked around, and when his eyes met mine I was pretty sure he was about to fucking lunge at me. He actually took a step towards me, his fists clenched, but he stopped, closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath before he gave me one more glare and stormed off.

"Alec! Wait up," Emmett called, chasing him around the corner. I didn't care, I sprinted into Bella's room to make sure she was okay. Her bed was propped up, and she was in frantic fucking tears.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so fucking sorry," she kept gasping though her painful attempt at breathing. I was immediately at her side, trying to calm her down, sooth her before the orderlies came running in.

"Shh, baby, it's okay," I told her, brushing back her hair, kissing her forehead, but I just seemed to make it worse.

"No," she said vehemently, almost a cry, surprising me with the strength of the word. "It's not… he was right there, he touched you, he could have-" her cry was so fucking painful I couldn't think. "I was right there,and I still couldn't protect you from him… It was the only way, there was no other way Edward, but I-"

The nurses broke into the room, telling me to move away, but Bella pushed into me in her desperate attempt to get away from them. She screamed from the movement but stifled the sound with her own hand. "N-no! I'm f-fine, p-please," she sobbed. "I don't want to go back to sleep,please don't make me go back to sleep!"

But I knew Bella better then I knew anyone in the world, and she was hurting herself. She was beyond being capable of calming herself down now. No matter what I told her.

I slowly, gently eased her back on the bed, and her big, brown, watering eyes felt like they were ripping my soul in half. I leaned in and kissed her forehead, easing her hands off of my shirt.

The nurse took one of her arms as I kissed her gently, cupping her face in my hands, but as she felt the strange hand's touch she whimpered against my lips.

"If you say it was the only way, then I believe you," I whispered truthfully. "I love you baby, and I'll be right here when you wake up."

She was out before I finished my words, and I leaned back to look at her relaxed, tear-streaked face sadly before I felt my father's hand on her shoulder.

"I need to take a look at her son, she could have… You should wait outside."

I was going to say hell no, but I realized I had something I needed to take care of right fucking now.

I kissed her gently once more on the forehead before getting up and leaving the room without a word.

Neither of them were there, so I walked in the direction they'd left in without a word to Rose, Jasper or Alice. As I entered the stairwell at the end of the hallway, I heard their voices and I went down the two floors quickly.

"How can you fucking say that Emmett? She could have-" Alec turned to look at me, his expression turning murderous. "You-"

I interrupted him with a fist to his jaw, grabbing the collar of his jacket as he went back and pulling him towards me and hitting him again. "What the fuck did you say to her?" I demanded.

I ducked from his fist in time, but he was able to twist my arms to lose their grasps as he threw me against the wall, but I just threw my head forward and broke his nose before pinning him to the ground. "What did you say to her? Do you have any idea what you may have done? They had to sedate her because she couldn't calm down and could have fucking hurt herself more you piece of fucking shit!"

Emmett pulled me off of him, but I was temporarily satisfied with the damage I had done. I needed his answer before I killed him.

"I told her the truth," he hissed, and I tried to lunge, but Emmett's hold was too solid.

"Emmett-" I started, but he cut me off.

"Answer the fucking question," Emmett growled.

That was the first time I ever saw the FBI agent's composure falter.

"I… told her what had happened. He used this guy's phone to lure her," he said with a nod at us.

Emmett let me go, but I spoke first. "Let me get this straight. You told an injured, fragile and likely traumatized girl about a classified, private debriefing to fucking chastise her for her actions less than a day after she just woke up from being in a coma for over a month?" My words went from angry to an almost incomprehensible growl.

Emmett and I stepped forward at the same time. We saw all the confirmation we needed in his eyes as he stood up.

"Be smart Emmett, we have a lot of shit that still needs to be dealt with," Alec warned, and Emmett tensed. I waited for his lead, because really, I had no idea if that was true, and if Bella's safety was concerned…

"Then you better leave before I stop giving a shit. I'm pretty fucking close."

He shot us both a look, then took the stairs down and went out of sight. We were both silent for a minute.

"Is she okay?"

"I don't know… my dad told me I needed to leave so he could look over her. So I came here."

Emmett let out a deep, shaking breath before I led the way back upstairs. We didn't need to say it aloud, we both just needed to make sure she was okay. Dad was opening her door just as we reached it, and waved us back inside after the two nurses left. He spoke as soon as he closed the door.

"She doesn't seem to have caused too much damage. I was worried she might have torn some of her internal stitches, or re-broken that rib, but there doesn't seem to be any signs of either. I'll monitor her carefully over the next few hours just to be on the safe side. She can't move like that again though," he warned in a way that made me uneasy.

"We dealt with the issue, but I'm worried she'll get worked up when she wakes up again. I just need to be able to talk to her long enough to calm her down before that happens."

"She'll be very groggy when she wakes up from this, but that won't be for a while. I'll be back soon to check on her again," he let us know, and when we didn't have any more questions for him he left. Emmett and I took seats on either side of her bed.

"What happened?" Emmett asked.

"I came in when you guys left, and she was sitting up, sobbing, clutching at her stomach. She kept saying she was sorry. I guess he had told her that Victor had bumped into me and took my phone just next to her building, so that's probably why she was saying something about being right there and not being able to protect me… she told me that 'there was no other way' or something." I let out a shaking breath, remembering her whimpering as I'd kissed her.

She probably felt so betrayed…

"She really thought there wasn't," Emmett said quietly, and I looked up at him.

"No other way to what?" I asked, confused. He knew what she was talking about?

"She thought there was no other way to… handle the situation, why she didn't tell anyone what was happening. Alec told me her own account of the past couple months."

"Months?" I gasped. Emmett nodded his head. "She was dealing with him alone for…" Oh, god, I knew she had known he was in New York but… fuck.

A lot of little things finally made sense. I needed to know though, and I couldn't ask Bella. Not if it would hurt her. She'd forgive me for this. "What happened?"

He was silent for a few long moments before he got up, locked the door, and sat back down.

"Do you remember the night you sent that e-mail to your lawyer about her?" He asked, and I nodded. I'd never forget that night, it would be impossible for anyone to forget a night like that. "When Bella first started to hang out with Alice, she put tracker programs into each of your e-mail accounts. It's a pretty standard thing she does for anyone she knows in some way. She doesn't usually just watch someone, it's just this thing that looks for keywords, things that would show if someone was talking about her. It's really fucking impressive actually, and it works along with her internet scrolling system, you know her big computer screen that searches the internet for articles of things that could be possible descriptions of Victor? She built that system when she was nineteen, you know," he said proudly. "So, when you sent that e-mail, it sent her an alert practically instantly, and she destroyed the evidence of it before anyone even had a chance to blink."

"Where are you going with this?" I asked, trying really hard not to lose my patience.

"Well, she got another alert from your e-mail account, the day after Thanksgiving."

"I never mentioned anything to do with her in an e-mail, text, or anything after I found out," I said certainly. I was always pretty damn careful about it.

"No. Victor sent you the e-mail," he said, watching me warily with concerned eyes. "He sent you a picture of an article in a magazine, of you at your casting party back in October? She was in the corner of the shot. He's been sending you e-mails every few days for almost two months."

"But, I never got…" Sudden understanding came to me. She'd gotten the e-mails, and destroyed them before I ever got the chance to read them.

"Why?" I voiced out loud. Why couldn't she have just told me? Or Emmett? Or-

But she had already told me, this morning when I woke up to find her awake. I was just too grateful that she was awake to think much about it at the time. A previous conversation with her came instantly to mind. When she'd pulled away from her jobs, I'd asked her what would happen if Victor found out she was in New York.

'Emmett would move us. We'd disappear, and start over from scratch somewhere else.'

"Because it was her only chance to try to protect all of us. Bella never made friends before we came to New York you know, not after Angela." I had no clue who Angela was, but he didn't give me a chance to ask. "Jasper, well, you've met him. It's hard not to just immediately see that he was a good guy, but she was wary." Emmett grinned. "I told her that it would make her look more suspicious at work if she didn't interact, but if she made even one work friend, it would help her blend in more. So, she chose Jasper. Things didn't really make any progress until she met Rose though, a few months later. She was the first real… well, the first person she ever really let in, spoke about any of our situation to. She never wanted real friends, she just saw it as selfish, no matter what I told her. Friends were just leverage that could be used against her in her opinion. But Rose changed that, and then stuff with Jasper got better. And then, almost two years later, you and your sister just came in out of nowhere and changed everything.

"Well, when Victor sent that e-mail, she knew that he had leverage. Too much. Our protocol, at the first sign of exposure, is always to leave. It always had been, and we kept the protocol when we ditched the witness protection.

"She told Alec that she couldn't tell me because she knew that I'd move her. We would have taken Rose, but taking Jasper, Alice, or… you, wasn't possible. She said she couldn't tell Alec or Rose for the same reason. She couldn't tell anyone, because something would slip, and if it got back to him, he could have done something drastic, or that it would get back to me and I'd force her to leave, and then the three of you would have been left exposed."

"But she could have-"

"Have what, Edward?" He asked sadly. "Leave you in the hands of the police? The FBI? Do you think Bella could ever leave the fate of someone she loves in something that's never been able to protect her? I'm not saying I approve of what she chose, because the fucker fucking shot her, but I understand it."

"She thought she could protect all of us on her own better?"

"Well, she probably did, honestly."

"What?"

The corner of his mouth twitched up. "Well… she kind of hired some new employees. She had a hit man and a private investigator hired to watch each of us separately it seems. She had extra security put in your building, and watched you herself with the help of a friend she trusted not to turn on her and let anything slip to the press. All they apparently knew was that Victor Hunter had a possible interest in each of us, that the target was legal to kill on sight, and that money would be deposited in their accounts every day that we remained unscathed."

"Shit."

I was impressed, but after hearing it, not entirely surprised. We were talking about Bella after all.

That must have been fucking expensive though.

I couldn't even smile at my own joke, because the biggest pain was still there in my chest, growing by the second.

She had known Victor was close to her for almost two months, and had dealt with it in silence on her own. All to try to protect us.

Even though she knew that all of it was for him to get to her. Because that's the only way this could have ended. All he wanted was her, to hurt her, and mostly likely kill her. And she had likely waited for him for two weeks when everyone she loved was safe and out of state, waiting for him to take a shot, for her own chance to take a shot of her own. To protect us, even though she knew she'd probably die doing so. All by her fucking self.

And because he'd recognized her in a picture with me. That night was the first night I kissed Bella, the night she told me she would be mine. I staked a claim, tied her to me with those words, and then tied her to this fate.

"Are you okay?" Emmett asked, pulling me out of my dark thoughts slightly.

"No," I answered honestly. I didn't think I could ever forgive myself for this. How could I not have known? She pulled out of her jobs, she shut down her computer system, all of the texts, the odd behaviour, she put extra security in my building, she wasn't sleeping…

How could I not have put it together?

"What are you going to do?" He asked warily. I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you going to break up with her or something?"

"What?" I gasped, then glared at him. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You said you weren't okay with this, I just assumed-"

"Well don't, because you're fucking wrong. I'm not okay because if I had backed off at the beginning, when she fucking wantedme too, then she wouldn't be lying in a fucking hospital bed right now!" I was practically shouting, and my vision blurred from the moisture in my eyes.

I was surprised as fuck when Emmett got up from his chair, walked around to me and fucking hugged me. Tight.

"This is not your fault Edward."

"But-"

"It's not."

My hands clenched into fists as I shut my eyes tightly, shuddering.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to my sister. She had stopped living a long time ago, you changed that, and I'll never be able to thank you enough for giving me my real little sister back again. There is only one person at fault, and now he's dead."

I felt myself relax slightly as he continued to threaten to break my ribs, and eventually hugged him back. He patted my back, hard enough to knock the air out of me, and chuckled. We both went back to just watching her quietly.

"I had to hold her down for the nurses to… she begged them not to do it. I didn't want to, but I felt like I had to. She was hurting herself," I admitted to him. He nodded.

"You did the right thing. I'm sure it was hard though."

"I tried to tell her before she was out that if she believed it was the only way, then I believed her." I let out a heavy breath. "That hasn't changed."

. . . . . . . . . .

Things weren't the same anymore. Of course I knew they wouldn't be, but whenever I had thought about Victor being removed from the picture I had always thought the effect on us would be, you know… positive.

It had been about a week since Bella had woken up. She hadn't taken it well when I told her that I knew everything that had happened, and that I really did forgive her.

She had asked how long she'd been out, and when I told her, the nurses had to sedate her again.

I wouldn't say that I didn't think she believed me, because I'm sure she did. It was more like she didn't want my forgiveness.

But she still told me that she loved me every time that she saw me, and I could see in her big brown eyes that she still meant it. But she was quiet most of the time, withdrawn, especially if others were around. She only really talked if she was alone with me. She was distant, but I blamed some of that on the painkillers she was on.

Emmett used the word withdrawn, I thought depressed was a more fitting description.

I got there first thing in the morning as usual, hoping I'd get a genuine smile with my plans for the day. I froze when I walked into the room, and she wasn't in her bed. She wasn't supposed to have any tests done today.

"Baby?" I called, slightly panicked.

"Edward?"

"Where are you?"

"Just a sec," she called back, and I saw that the door to the bathroom was closed. I ran my hand through my hair in frustration, praying to god that she hadn't gotten out of her bed by herself.

But sure enough, she opened the door, and was standing alone. I sprinted over to her side in a panic, and helped her walk back over to her bed before I leveled her with a scowl.

"You know you're not supposed to be up on your own," I forced out in a strained voice.

"I know, I'm sorry but I called and no one came so-"

"What? Those fucking…. I'll go have a word with-"

"No! Please Edward? I was fine, it was nice doing something without having my fucking hand held," she said, eyes starting to water. I let out a sigh.

"Okay," I said, setting her down on her now-purple bed. "Alice?"

"She didn't approve of the material of the hospital's sheets," she said quietly.

"Is it comfier?"

She nodded, giving me a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. I leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss, and when I pulled back her smile looked a little more genuine. "How's Zeus? How was your night?"

She asked the same thing every morning when I came in, but I didn't mind. I couldn't wait to get her out of here, this place just wasn't good for her. "It was quiet, and he's being well-behaved. How are you feeling this morning?"

I waited for her usual response of "fine," but I got something different today.

"Gross."

"Huh?"

"I feel disgusting, I want to take a shower," her eyes started watering again, and I fucking beamed at her. It was the first time she had actually voiced wanting something. I saw that as some fucking improvement.

I knew Bella wouldn't let any of the nurses help her with something like that, and she was barely talking to Rose or my sister. "Would you like some help?" Her face flushed, and I gave her a cocky grin. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Swan."

She fucking giggled, and the sound was music to my ears even though she winced in pain. I helped her back up, and just picked her up carefully and carried her over. I didn't want her standing too long. I set her down, and wasn't too sure how to proceed. Bella instructed me on how to lock the bench in the shower though, and I got the water to the right temperature and set up her things for her before I helped her get undressed and onto her bench. Her wounds were healing really well, her stitches were out and she wasn't wrapped in bandages or anything, but it was obvious to me that she'd lost a decent amount of weight. That really fucking bothered me, but I didn't say anything. She was eating a bit more each day, we'd get her weight back up.

I sat on the floor next to the shower just in case something happened. I'd be dammed if she slipped on my watch.

"Thank you for bringing my shower stuff, their soap is disgusting," she said, sounding genuinely cheery over the sound of the water.

"Not a problem babe," I said with a smile, leaning my head back against the wall. "I have some clothes for you too. Some comfy shirts and pyjama pants if you'd prefer them over the gowns."

"Really?"

"Yup. Your fuzzy purple pants too."

"That sounds amazing," she said dreamily. "This water feels so good, I don't think I want to get out."

I laughed. "Take as much time as you want."

"The nurses are going to be pissed."

"They're always pissed, nothing new there," I laughed.

She sighed a little while later.

"All finished?"

"Yeah."

I got back up, and shut off the shower before handing her a towel and going out to grab her clothes. I helped her get up and dressed, and then carried her back over to her bed because she was shaking again. Emmett was sitting in the room with coffee for me and a smoothie for his sister.

"Morning Emmett," I said cheerfully.

"Hey guys," he said back happily.

"Hey Em," Bella said quietly, and Emmett smiled.

"You're looking good today." He was fucking beaming as I set her back down on her bed carefully, and handed her cup to her once she was settled.

"Thanks." She looked like she was going to slip into her quiet mode again, and I quickly lifted up the bag I had brought. I set it down on the bed next to her, and she looked up at me curiously.

"It's a gift. Open it."

She looked at the bag, a twinge of sadness in her eyes. She pulled out some papers, then pulled out the box. She looked at it curiously, then her eyes went wide before she looked up at me.

"I thought they were neat," I said with a shrug, and she grinned and tried to shift over on the bed and winced. "Hey," I soothed, and she shook her head as she took in a shaking breath. I walked around to the other side of the bed, and slid her over myself with a grin before walking back around and sitting up next to her on her bed. I helped her start opening the boxes.

"Don't leave me hanging guys, what is it?"

I waited a moment for Bella to say something, but she was still quiet, so I answered him.

"It's one of those touch-screen computers, with the removable keyboards? Kind of like a tablet, but they can do more."

"It's even lighter than my tablet is, but it's bigger," she said quietly, and Emmett beamed again.

"Er, about that," I said with a grin. She looked up at me curiously. "I was watching Marley and Me on your tablet the other day… It kind of freaked Zeus out when the thing started barking, and he grabbed it off the couch. His teeth broke right through the screen, but I got it away from him before he could hurt himself.

She laughed again, and though it didn't last long, it made both me and her brother smile. We spent the morning setting the thing up, and after Emmett left we put on a movie, and she fell asleep in my arms.

It was something I'd missed terribly, and I savoured every second of it.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Her head spun around when I walked into the room and she let out a sigh of relief.

"You surprised me," she said, eyes darting around. I looked at her carefully. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and sitting up on the edge of her bed. She was also as pale as a ghost, and looked about ready to pass out.

"What are you doing?" I asked suspiciously.

"I need your help."

"With what?"

"I need to get out of here."

I sighed. Emmett had warned me about this, and to be honest, I was surprised she had lasted this long.

"Sorry Bella, I can't let you do that."

Her devastated expression broke my heart and almost made me cave, but I needed to do what was best for her, even if it wasn't what she wanted.

"Please Edward, I can't stay in here, I'm going crazy." Her eyes started to water.

"No Bella. This is for your own good. You'll get out soon, you'll just make it harder on yourself, possibly hurt yourself more if you left now, and they'll just drag you back here."

"We could run away, get a boat, sail to the Caribbean. They'd never find us," she said hopefully, pleading with her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Her tears spilled over and she turned away from me before slowly lying back down on her side and shivering. I let out a soft sigh before walking over and draping her blanket over her. I ignored her flinch when I touched her, though it felt like a knife in my gut. She didn't say anything else, her eyes were closed though I knew she was awake from her steady stream of tears. I sat down in my chair and quietly picked up my book, knowing that if I tried to give her some space right now she'd probably try to make a run for it.

. . . . . . . . . .

She didn't speak to anyone, including me, for two days. She didn't try to run either though, to her credit. She just sat there quietly, looking so completely lost. Sometimes, it was like she just wasn't really there.

Her wait was finally over now though. Dad came in with Emmett, who was pushing a wheelchair. She looked at them skeptically.

"How is my favourite patient feeling today?" My dad asked cheerfully. She just looked at him, but he wasn't put off by her silence. "Hmm, maybe after a day out of here you'll have something more interesting that you feel is worth talking about?"

She closed her eyes for a long moment.

"Now, I don't want you lifting anything or moving around too much. Take it easy, try not to bend your torso. I don't want you on your own. Emmett and I have gone over your rehabilitation thoroughly, but I want you to come back in in a few days, alright?" I was kind of impressed when she nodded. "Good! Now, you ready to get out of here?"

Another nod.

She let me help her into her chair, and I folded her blanket neatly and draped it over her lap before throwing her bag over my shoulder. Dad stopped her in the doorway, and pulled the thumb drive with her medical records out of his pocket and handed it to her. She pulled in a sharp breath, and looked up at him in… fear? She looked panicked.

"Doctor-patient confidentiality," he said quietly, and she quickly took the drive, clutching it tightly in her hand and looking down at her lap with watery eyes. "I added your new files and destroyed the hospital's records of you. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Thank you," she whispered shakily, and he gave her a sad smile before leaving. Emmett walked out with us.

"We'll meet you back at the apartment?" Emmett asked as I wheeled her up to my Volvo and put her stuff in the back seat. She looked between us, confused.

"Sounds good," I said easily. I helped Bella into the passenger's seat, and Emmett took the wheelchair back inside for us. Bella's eyes followed me incredulously as I walked around and started up the SUV. "I know, weird right? I got sick of waiting on other people to drive me around though. I'm actually a pretty good driver, don't worry," I told her with a wink. The corner of her mouth twitched, and she looked back out the window. It was pretty chilly so I turned on the seat warmers and cranked up the heat, and then carefully, and silently, made the way back to the apartment.

. . .

I helped her out of the car, keeping a hand on her lower back cautiously as we walked to the elevator. She stumbled slightly when the elevator lifted, and clutched onto my shirt when she fell into me. She looked nervous when she looked up at me, but when I gave her a cocky grin and just wrapped my arm around her she actually fucking smiled, and bit onto her bottom lip.

I tightened my hold on her, and she didn't let go of my shirt.

I unlocked the door when we got up, and had to grab onto Zeus so he didn't tackle her to the ground. She went down on her own, sliding down against the wall with a sob, and when I let him go he dashed to her side. She held onto him tightly, crying into his fur.

I closed the door, and put her things down before sitting down in the foyer with them and sliding off Bella's shoes.

I sent the others a text, asking them to wait for a while, because I thought she really needed this. I just sat there with them, maybe for twenty minutes, before she finally spoke.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed, and I wasn't sure who she was talking to. But she looked up at me after a minute, and the look on her face tore me apart. I slid over next to her, and wrapped my arms around her.

"Shhh. It's okay Bella. I just wish I knew how to help you."

"I d-don't know what to d-do anymore," she cried into my shirt. I didn't want her sitting on the floor anymore, so I carefully picked her up and carried her over to the couch, sitting down with her in my lap. She clung to my shirt.

"What do you mean?"

"Everything I did... everything my fucking life seemed to revolve around before was either hiding from him, or looking for him. What do I do now?"

I smiled sadly. "Anything and everything you want. You can go anywhere, do anything, use your own name or whatever name you feel like." I took a deep breath before saying the words that scared the living hell out of me, because so much had fucking changed.

My mind hadn't though, but I didn't feel like we were in a strong enough place, that she was in an strong enough place, for me to tell her just how much I still wanted this.

"And if you still want me to, I'll stay with you and help you the entire way while you try to figure it out."

She froze in my arms, and I closed my eyes tightly to stop my tears. I wouldn't let her feel guilty about this. She had options now, a whole fucking world of them, and she deserved better than to have me hold her back from them. She actually had the opportunity to live a normal, peaceful life now if she chose to.

That wouldn't be the case if she stayed with me.

"Is that what you want?" She asked quietly.

"Only if it's what you want."

Another sob caught in her throat, and she clung to me tightly, almost desperately.

"It's the only thing I want. I love you so much Edward, I'm sorry that I haven't shown it well this past while, but I mean it. I'm so s-sorry."

"Shh," I whispered with a smile, feeling like I was fucking flying. "It's okay. I love you too baby, and I'm not going anywhere." I kissed her hair, her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, and then looked into her beautiful brown eyes, the most beautiful eyes in the world, before I kissed her very softly on the lips.

Then I made her take some of her painkillers, and held her until she fell asleep before tucking her into her bed.

. . . . . . . . . .

Bah, there you go. Bella is awake and home, though she's dealing with a lot of shit in her head right now. Of course she's awake! You knew she'd wake up. She'd been through too much for me to just kill her off now.

Anyone else think that Alec is a douche?

How do you think Bella is going to feel when Rose tells her she's pregnant? What's going to happen now? This was about the area I had originally planned to end the story, but I decided I didn't want to leave so many loose ends.

Take care guys, and please leave a review!