EPOV
"Remember, you need to take it easy on her," I warn Hadley as we ride the elevator up to Rose's room.
She nods looking up at me and I cup the back of her head.
Rose had been in her medically induced coma for three weeks. Once she woke up she had some gaps in memory but was able to help the cops with the investigation into Royce and one count of assault was added to his long list of charges.
Her memory lapses dealt mostly with things like not knowing what a pen is called, to why she was in a hospital in Manhattan instead of the Village of Tuxedo Park upstate.
She remembered Hadley, but couldn't quite place me. If only I could forget her too, we'd both be golden.
I said that last part to Bella when I discovered she didn't know me and got an elbow to the stomach.
Bella has seemed off these past few weeks. Physically present but completely in her head like she was battling an internal struggle.
At first, I thought it had to do with Charlie being here, but after he left, her wall seemed to stay up. She was leaving for Seattle this afternoon and part of me wanted to go after her. I don't know what is happening… there is a strain.
The elevator stops and we step off, I make sure to keep my arm wrapped around Hadley as she stays close watching the patients who are roaming the halls and the ones in their rooms as we pass.
I tried to warn her ahead of time what she might see. She hadn't been in a hospital except for when she was born. I could sense her nervousness.
I also warned her about Rose's head being shaved on one side from her surgery. Her mother's injuries from Royce have since healed, so I didn't need to explain those.
When the shift nurse spots me, she waves. I had called ahead to let them know we were coming. I didn't want any surprises on our end.
"Mr. Cullen," she greets.
"Grace?" I ask and she smiles with a nod.
She crouches down so she is at eye level with Hadley. "You must be Hadley."
She nods shyly.
"Your mom has been waiting for you all morning," she tells her.
Hadley turns her head to look at me.
I do my best to give her a reassuring smile.
Suddenly, a flurry of activity starts when one of the patients starts to code. Hadley holds tightly to my arm. Grace stands and tells us we'll wait until the hall clears. I keep my hold on Hadley firm.
Once things calmed down in the room two doors down from Rose's, Grace takes us to her room. I had been here a few times in support of Carlisle and so I could honestly tell Hadley what was going on with her mom.
When I lifted the restraining order, Senna asked me multiple times if I was sure this was the route I wanted to go. Rose couldn't remember most things at the moment, so I didn't see her as a danger to our child, not to mention Hadley needed to see that she was okay with her own eyes.
This was more so a way to alleviate my child's stress.
In the doorway, I can see Rose fussing with her limp hair. She still looked very pale and gaunt; the only thing that was colorful was her tatted sleeves. I could see that she got her nose ring back in too.
Nurse Grace cleared her throat and Rose's eyes immediately went to Hadley. I could feel the tension in her small shoulders under my palms while she was frozen in place. I gave them a gentle squeeze and she looked back at me for encouragement.
That's really all it took for her to step forward before we were standing beside Rose's bed.
"Hi," Rose said almost shyly to us.
Hadley took in a deep breath before letting it out.
"Hi," she responded just as quietly.
I could see Rose bite the inside of her cheek as the silence grew.
"How have you been?" Rose asks our daughter awkwardly.
I had to fight to not roll my eyes but I knew this was her trying.
The one thing she had going for her before her relapse was she was a good mother. Hadley loved spending time with her before Royce came into the picture.
"We've been getting ready for Christmas," Hadley says before taking a seat on the edge of Rose's bed.
Feeling like Hadley has got this, I take a seat in the chair in the corner of her room.
"Did you get a tree?" Rose asks before glancing at me for a minute.
"We did, Bella—" Hadley says before stopping herself.
"Bella?" Rose asks curiously.
Hadley knew Rose couldn't remember chunks of the past, so she proceeded somewhat cautiously, probably remembering Rose's dislike of my girl.
"Dad's girlfriend," Hadley tells her.
Rose looks a little deflated with her admission.
I remember Rose asking me when she first woke up if we were married and the laugh I answered with.
It was hard for her to grasp that we only had a one-night stand.
The only trace of me that she had remembered was from Carlisle and Esme's wedding.
She remembered the irritated boy who wanted nothing to do with her, which I think rings pretty true still to this day.
She'd known me since she was five. Her main question was if we weren't together had I taken advantage?
Carlisle and I both shut that line of thought down.
I was very direct when answering her questions.
We were drunk.
I was stressed from school.
It was quick.
With each answer, she seemed disappointed.
"Uh, does she live with you?" Rose asks.
Hadley shakes her head.
"She lives close," she tells her. "She's one of my best friends," she says hesitantly, not sure if she should be telling Rose this due to her treatment of Bella in the past.
I close my eyes, thinking how Bella is my best friend too. At the moment, I'm a little scared that this is way too much for her to handle.
"I'm glad you have a best friend you can count on," Rose says sincerely.
Hadley seems to relax after that.
Their conversation seems to be less strained the more Hadley tells her about Christmas and how school is going. She even tells her about two books she's read recently.
"Is Carlisle stopping by today?" I ask when their conversation starts to wind down.
She shrugs while playing with Hadley's fingers to rest beside her.
"Emmett is supposed to stop by," she says.
My eyes widen.
"Emmett?" I ask surprised.
"He's a friend of yours, right?" she asks, looking unsure.
"Emmett is Bella's roommate," Hadley speaks up with a smile. "He's the best."
Rose's soft smile doesn't go unnoticed by me.
Why wouldn't he say something? God knows he's been around my kid a lot the past few weeks and that Bella may or may not be using him as a buffer between us as of late.
The only time he wasn't around was when we were in my room or hers.
Sex was the only connection she was giving me at the moment and I knew I needed to address it if I wanted to keep her.
It was like one step forward and ten steps back with that girl.
I think my timing was way off when I declared my love for her.
That's when she got squirrelly.
"Did I know him before?" she asks suddenly.
"No, but he was with me when you were brought in," I explain.
Emmett did prove to be the voice of reason when it came to Rose and her current situation. He might be a good friend for her to have. I knew Bella's father trusted him enough to watch out for Bella when she moved here.
An hour into our visit, Nurse Grace popped in to check Rose's vitals, that's when my sister and Carlisle came in.
Carlisle looked a little tense and I knew something was up when Esme took Hadley down to get a snack from the cafeteria.
"Edward," Rose says once they leave the room.
She and Carlisle share a look.
"Yeah."
"I didn't want to talk about this in front of Hadley but I'm going to a place in Arizona once I'm discharged," she says before letting out a breath.
"Rehab?" I ask for clarification.
She nods slowly.
"It's a ninety-day program," Carlisle adds jumping in.
This time I nod.
"I need to work on my issues," she says slowly. "I'll be able to face everything there head on. I need to do this for me so I can be the mother Hadley deserves."
Her speech seems to be a little rehearsed, but I feel like she's had to talk herself into all of this with her uncle's help.
"Are you only doing this for Hadley?" I ask her remembering Emmett's words from a month ago.
"No, I'm doing this for myself," she says firmly. "After Royce did what he did… I don't want to ever not have control over a situation. He, uh, was able to violate me because I was too high to know what was going on," she says meekly.
The usual fire in Rose's eyes has dimmed since she woke up.
I nod again in understanding.
"When I get back, I'd like it if we can work out a custody agreement that can ease Hadley back into staying with me on the weekends like before," she adds.
"My lawyer has already asked for court-mandated drug tests," I say not trying to be cruel, but she'd have to abide by my rules for the time being.
"Okay," she says, sounding hopeful. "I understand that we can't jump back into everything as if nothing happened— I'm willing to put in the work to earn back your trust."
"Okay," is all I say.
Carlisle decides to change the subject asking about Bella.
"I saw she has a week and a half off on the schedule," he comments.
"She's visiting her dad for the holidays," I explain.
He's aware of what went down with Bella's dad on Thanksgiving, thanks to Esme. I kept them out of the loop where the strain between us was concerned.
Part of me hated that she was going to Forks alone. I knew she wasn't a fan of her stepmother and that her home wasn't really her home anymore. When she brought it up to Charlie he seemed surprised that she felt that way, however, he never brought it up again after that initial conversation.
If it wasn't for Rose being in the hospital, a part of me knows I would have bought tickets and booked a room in Seattle for Hadley and me, and we would have spent Christmas in Washington with Bella.
I glance at my watch knowing Bella has already left New York.
Esme comes back with Hadley, I move from my chair to let someone else be able to sit. Esme must sense my mood because she asks to talk to me out in the hall.
Due to the busyness of the floor, she actually guides me down to a family room at the end of the hall.
"Bella left?" she asks once we take a seat in the corner of the family room.
"She did," I confirm.
"Have you heard from her?"
"My phone has been silent since she left my place this morning," I say flatly.
My sister sighs.
She was on Bella's side after I told her how I blurted out my 'I love you', saying that I should have waited and made it special for her. It only made me feel more like shit.
"You both need to communicate or this will never work," she tells me like she did in the early days of my dating Bella.
"I know," I huff. "What can I do? She's there and I'm here, I have a child that I just can't uproot—"
"Edward, Hadley has seen Rose and knows that she is physically okay. You were wanting to go to Washington initially," she says rationally after interrupting me.
"Hotels are probably booked," I argue.
"She's in Forks so either see if there is anything open there or nearby," she reasons. "Hadley loves Bella, let her have some kind of stable Christmas."
"Uprooting her creates stability?"
"She'll be with you and Bella, you both give her stability."
And with that statement, I know what I need to do.
A/N: Where did you all go? I've kind of have started writing something else and will post once this is finished. I also want to thank CoppertopJ for her edits and support! Any mistakes are my own.