Chapter 30
Edward
Our careers were safe. The Proctors had swiftly recognised that Bella deserved every high grade she had achieved, and that our relationship was equal. They acknowledged that we had done everything we could to preserve academic and research protocols while trying to keep our feelings hidden from the university. They had rapped us on the knuckles for keeping our relationship secret, but as we had already left Oxford, there was nothing else they could or would do.
As we left the hearing room, we could hear Volturi speaking furiously in Italian, the way he used to rant at me when I was his student and was unhappy about something or another.
"Hmm," murmured Paula, turning one ear to the room.
"What's up?" asked Jenks. "Interesting conversation?"
"Si, I think he is on the phone," she replied, dropping her voice to a murmur.
"What's going on?"
"He is talking to Alec Brighton ... telling him you are leaving here very soon, along with Bree, and he must turn up and tail us. He wants Bree's boy …" She paused to listen. "He is telling Alec that Bree will drop the complaint and 'be a good girl' if they have her son as collateral."
"Shit," said Jared. "If he's coming from the lab by bike, we have five minutes at the most. Not enough time for one of us to bring the car around."
Bella fished out her mobile phone.
"I'm texting Seth. Maybe he can stall Alec."
Bree shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, which I suspected had little to do with the cold draught coming from the entrance.
"I need to be at Heathrow Airport by six-thirty to meet Don. What if I can't get there because Alec stops me? I haven't seen my husband for months, and I'm only getting one night with him as it is! Thank God I left Beanie with Uncle Jeff … Oh God …"
She was starting to panic, and immediately, Bella took her hand.
"Hey, we'll figure this out. We don't want him to know where we're staying either."
Her phone vibrated, and Bella smiled.
"Seth says it's a good thing he knows which bike is Alec's. And I quote, 'Operation Rusty Nail coming up.'"
"Great," replied Jenks. "Even if Brighton has a puncture kit on him, it'll take an extra ten minutes for him to get here. Plenty of time to get you onto the airport bus, Bree." Bree visibly relaxed. Jenks turned to Paula, who was still listening to Volturi shouting. "Take her to the car, drive her to the bus, stay until she gets on and then come back for us."
"Yes, Boss."
"What else is he saying?" I asked as Paula put her coat on.
"He also spoke to MJ, and told her that under no circumstances was she to leave the lab. From what I understand, she was keen to come with her brother, but he told her sharply that the time to finish her 'mission' was not now."
"At least we won't have to worry about her for now," commented Bella. "You speak Italian? I thought you were Spanish."
"My mother is Italian, my father Spanish. I speak them both fluently along with English."
We walked towards the lobby, and Bella's phone beeped again.
"Seth has let the air out of Alec's tyres. It's going to delay him by at least ten minutes."
Bella sucked her cheeks as she spoke. I had come to recognise that look. She was not far off being desperately, ravenously hungry.
"You need to eat, don't you Baby?"
"Yeah, I'm starving," she agreed. "I want fish and chips, oh, and vanilla ice cream with strawberry sauce."
"When I was at your stage of pregnancy, I wanted to eat all day, every day," said Bree.
Bella grinned at her, and gave her a big hug.
"Thank you for coming. You don't know how much it means."
"Oh, I do. Thank you, for making me take the leap."
"We must go, Mrs McKay." Paula turned to me. "Where should I collect you?"
"The Eagle and Child."
"See you there."
Bree quickly hugged me too, before leaving with Paula.
We didn't have long to wait before the Proctors gave us our paperwork, and we left for the pub. Jenks and Jared insisted on sitting separately from us, as they were still on the job. It was early evening, and students and academics were starting to drift in. Bella ordered the fish and chips she craved, and asked for her ice cream at the same time. I ordered a pint of Deuchars and a huge steak and ale pie; it was food I'd missed since being in America.
Bella seemed happier than I'd seen her in months. She looked so beautiful, her glow made warmer by the subtle light of the Eagle and Child dining room. Our food had just arrived when Paula strode in, nodded at us to confirm Bree had got on the airport bus safely, and took a seat with Jenks and Jared. While we were eating, we talked about the food, mostly, and the weather. It was a very British conversation.
"When we get home, I'd like to start Cub's room," Bella began, as we finished our food. "I was thinking of a woodland theme."
"That sounds great, although I wouldn't have a clue how to start. I can paint a room, and put up wallpaper at a push, but any actual styling is beyond me, Baby."
"Oh gosh, me too, but the actual decorating is pretty easy. You can buy these themed packs of wall stickers and borders, and Esme's going to help with the rest of it. Furniture, bedding, that kind of things."
"Great stuff." I leaned across the table to kiss her quickly. "I can't wait."
She beamed at me, and under the table, she stroked my foot with hers. I licked my lips, and pressed my foot back against hers. She let out a shuddery breath, and looked away, towards the bar. Her eyes suddenly widened.
"Angela?"
I turned around to see a tall, slender, olive-skinned, glasses-wearing, brunette, dressed in jeans, and an Oxford University dark blue hoodie, staring back at my wife.
"Bella?"
"Oh my God!"
Suddenly Bella was on her feet as Angela ran towards her, hugging her with all her might.
"You're here, you're alive, you're ... pregnant?" She eyed Bella's bump.
"Yes, yes and yes ... I'm married too." She gestured towards me. "Angela, this is my husband, Edward. Edward ..."
"... Masen," she finished. She shook my hand as she sat down on our table's spare chair. "Congratulations. Wow."
"Thank you," replied Bella. "I'm so sorry I haven't been in touch. I was a terrible friend to you this past year. I got so wrapped up in my final year's work and my relationship, which we had to keep secret, and then we eloped and moved to Harvard ..."
"Bella, please don't apologise. To be honest, I was the same. Ben and I got serious very quickly, and I realised that I wanted to teach instead of do research, so I spent less time in the lab and more time volunteering as a teaching assistant."
"Is that what you're doing now, your teaching qualifications?"
"Not yet. My parents can't afford to support me through another degree, not with three other kids to put through uni. So I'm working at the labs as a technician to get some money, volunteering at a school on my day off, and, uh, planning a wedding." She held up her left hand, which sported a delicate gold ring, encrusted with small diamonds.
"Oh, congratulations, Ang!"
"Thank you. The wedding's going to be small, just a simple ceremony at the Keble College chapel and dinner afterwards, but if you can, I'd love you to come."
"When is it?"
"May Day."
Bella's face fell.
"My due date is 29th April."
It was Angela's turn to look disappointed.
"That's such a shame."
Bella started to tear up.
"I'm so sorry. You were my closest friend in Oxford, and I've completely neglected you, and now I'm going to miss your wedding!"
"Oh, hey, don't cry."
"I cry at everything."
"It's true. This morning she started sobbing at an Andrex advert," I confirmed.
"We just need to be better at keeping in touch, Bella," Angela reassured her. "Using Skype and Facebook and emails."
Bella nodded and sniffed back the waterworks.
"Are you meeting Ben now? Would you like to join us?"
"Ben's at triathlon training tonight. I'm actually meeting one of my colleagues for a couple of drinks, to get to know her a little. She's new to Oxford as well as the lab, and is kind of intense. Otherwise, I'd have loved to join you."
"No problem. Are you working in the micro lab?"
"I work all over the bio science labs, wherever they need me. At the moment, I'm in your old stomping ground, neurosciences. I've worked there quite a bit recently."
"Which research teams?" I asked, curious to hear about my old colleagues.
"The newest teams," she answered sheepishly. She means our replacements. "Professors Hertz and Davis, and Professor Volturi."
"So I guess you know all about Professor Volturi and Professor Banner referring us to the Proctors."
Angela nodded.
"One of the other techs overheard Professor Volturi talking to Professor Banner about you, and the rumours started, and they stayed as rumours until a few weeks ago, when Professor Volturi just started talking more openly about it with his students."
"What kind of things did he say?"
"That Professor Masen had broken rules with you, Bella, and covered them up by marrying you. He said he didn't think it was right so he was doing something about it. We all knew the hearing was today, and I'm guessing by the fact you're in the pub looking relaxed while Professor Volturi isn't back, strutting around like a constipated penguin, that things went your way."
"That's right," I replied, smiling at her description of Volturi. "So, you're not a big fan of his?"
"No," she murmured, "but obviously, I don't advertise that when I work in a lab full of sycophants, his students most of all. They spend so much time kissing ass that it surprises me that they have so many results from their trials."
"Productive, are they?" I asked.
"Very. They go through supplies like you wouldn't believe, but they don't seem to actually do very much. I remember when I visited you in that lab that one time Bella. You barely spoke to me in the middle of your trial except to ask me to meet you afterwards, but it seems that all Professor Volturi's students Alec and Jessica do is chat," she explained with a shrug.
"How long will you be a technician for, do you think?"
"Until July, I hope, Bella. I've already got interviews for teacher-training courses in Birmingham. Ben's been offered a post-doctoral job at Birmingham Medical School when he finishes his PhD this summer, which he's accepted."
"Brilliant news," said Bella, leaning over to squeeze her friend's hand.
Angela's phone chirped and she looked up from the screen apologetically.
"My colleague is here. I'd better go."
"I'm so happy I got to see you." Bella got up when Angela did, on the verge of tears again, and they embraced once more. "Promise that you'll come over to Boston to visit."
"I promise." Angela turned to me. "Professor Masen, it's been great to meet you. Bella looks so happy, and that's clearly because you make her so." She surprised me with a warm hug too.
"It's been wonderful to meet you too and finally put a face to the name."
We said goodbye, and Angela started walking away. Bella and I sat back down, and heard Angela greet her colleague.
"Hey Maria, glad you found the place."
"It was pretty easy. Right on St Giles ..."
It was the American accent that caught my attention. It sounded just like ...
"Shit," Bella hissed under her breath before I could turn around. "MJ is at the fucking bar."
She caught Jenks' eye and then glanced to the bar before looking back down at her empty plates. Jenks whispered to Paula, who got up and darted out, presumably to get the car, while Jared went to stand in the alcove between the bar and the dining room.
As we got up, the waitress came over and I practically threw £100 at her to cover both tables. I caught sight of MJ as we moved towards the exit, talking to Angela as they waited to be served. At first glance she looked the same as she did in Harvard, but then I noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the dank, lifeless hair. She was dressed in black from head to toe, rather than the preppy, pastel sweaters and trendy denim she favoured in Boston, and her expression was sullen. I tried to move us quickly, given MJ's history of unpredictable behaviour.
We had dodged Alec, but our luck didn't strike twice, because at that point, MJ looked up, saw me, and then saw Bella.
She moved like a bloody rocket, coming to stand in front of us, blocking our exit before Jared could get in the way, so we were face to face.
"Professor Masen, Bella."
"MJ. We'd love to chat, but we have to leave right now," I murmured. She looked enraged and broken, like a wounded animal.
"Maria, what's going on?" asked Angela, confused.
MJ ignored her.
"You ruined everything! You ..." She pointed at me with a crooked finger. "But especially you!" She turned to Bella.
"What do you mean, MJ?" I tried to keep my voice even. "You're my student, and you've been missing from Harvard for weeks."
"I was never your student," she sneered. "I was there for Master Volturi, and now he's angry with me because of you two."
'Master' Volturi?
"Why is he angry, MJ?" Bella, like me, spoke gently, trying not to inflame the situation further.
"I failed in my mission. I didn't bring you to him. You drove me to desperation and I broke the law, so now I'm being punished!"
A crowd had started to gather, and some of the bar staff had come over.
"Do you think you could take this outside, please? You're disturbing other customers," said one, whom I recognised as the barman who'd served us at Christmas.
"No, we finish this now," cried MJ, reaching for Bella's wrist. "Bella, you're going to come with me and say sorry. Then he'll forgive me and things will be good again."
"I'm going home with my husband, MJ," Bella asserted, clutching tightly onto my arm. "I haven't done anything wrong."
"No!" she repeated. "If you won't come with me, I'll have to make you."
From the bag on her shoulder, she suddenly pulled out something shiny.
A small revolver.
A small revolver which she pointed at Bella's stomach, right at Cub.
"It's a gun!"
"Shit, she's got a gun!"
"Call the police!"
The crowd started to panic and scream, and I could hear Bella start to hyperventilate as she let go of my arm to place her hands between the gun and her bump. Fear jumped into my heart.
My wife and child were in danger.
Everything that mattered to me, about to wiped out in an instant.
Before I could do or say anything, Jared jumped between Bella and MJ, and quickly wrestled the gun out of MJ's hands, dropped it on the floor and stepped on the barrel. With a sob, MJ pushed her way past us and made for the exit. However, Jenks stuck his foot out and she tripped over it, hit her head on the door jamb and slid down onto the floor.
Bella promptly fainted into my arms.
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Bella
"I think she's coming around. Her eyes are fluttering." The voice was unfamiliar, and whatever I was lying on was terribly uncomfortable. "Her heart rate is coming up."
"Thank God." I felt The Fox's hand stroke the side of my face. "Bella, wake up, Baby. You're safe."
"Cub?" My voice was hoarse and I struggled to open my eyes. My head felt fuzzy.
"We think Cub's fine. We're about to go to hospital to check for sure."
I finally managed to open one eye and noticed that I was in the back of an ambulance with Edward and a man in a green paramedic uniform. Out of the door, I glimpsed a couple of police cars and officers milling around.
I turned to look at Edward, who was kneeling beside me. Worry was etched all over his face. As I reached over to touch his hair, he relaxed and rose up to hold me.
"What happened to MJ?"
"She's fine. She's been checked out by the paramedics and is now in police custody."
"I bet she didn't go quietly."
"Nope. She kicked a police officer in the shin."
"Bella?"
Angela was at the ambulance door.
"Ang!"
"Are you okay?" My dear friend looked pale and teary-eyed.
"Yes, I think so. We're just waiting to go get the baby checked out."
"I'm so sorry, I had no idea she was crazy. She just seemed a little lost, and I was trying to help her, you know?"
"How could you possibly have known? You just met her and believe me, she's capable of fooling people."
"I think we should get going, folks," said the paramedic. "You can carry on this conversation at the hospital."
"I'll see you there, B," said Angela, blowing me a kiss before leaving.
"What about Jenks, Jared and Paula?"
"Paula's going to follow us to the hospital and Jared and Jenks will join us as soon as they've finished giving their statements to the police."
"But now that MJ's been arrested, we don't need the security anymore, do we?"
"I'm not taking any precautions. Volturi and all his cronies will be riled up after today's events."
"I guess. I just want to get back to normal as soon as possible."
As I said the words, I felt a flutter in my abdomen. It felt weird ... Good weird.
"What?" asked The Fox.
"Huh?"
"You're patting your tummy. Does something feel wrong?"
"No ... maybe it's just my dinner settling after all that drama."
The hospital was about ten minutes' drive in the bumpy ambulance. After being checked over by the Emergency Department fairly quickly, I was sent up to the antenatal unit, where a sonographer and an obstetrics doctor checked Cub.
"Baby's absolutely fine," said the tired-looking but friendly young doctor. "Good size, moving around well." She turned up the volume on the scanner, and the sound of Cub' heartbeat filled the small room. "Would you like to know the gender?"
"No," we answered in unison.
"We want a surprise," Edward added, placing a hand over my belly button. Suddenly I felt a flutter again and judging by his surprised face, he felt it too. "What the hell was that?"
"Your child just did a somersault," laughed the doctor. "He or she's having a party in there!"
"That was Cub kicking?" Edward was in awe and tears formed in his eyes.
"Yep." The doctor took a picture and passed it to us. "You're all done. Good luck."
She left the room, and Edward, my Fox, gathered me into his arms, and sobbed like a baby into my neck.
"You're okay, Cub's okay, we're okay."
He repeated the words over and over again through his tears, until I was saying it through mine, right along with him.
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Massive thanks to everyone who's reviewed The Fox and who are continuing to follow despite the up-and-down posting schedule! I'm finding my writing mojo again. We're about five chapters from the end, and the next chapter should be in two weeks, give or take a few days.