Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters.
September 8, 1942…
Bella
Snapping the locks in place, I ran my hand over the hard surface of my suitcase. The same suitcase that had brought me to Pearl Harbor was taking me back home, at least for a little while.
I couldn't help but to stop and think how much things had changed over the year I'd been away from home. I was much different from the girl who first arrived at Pearl Harbor, freshly out of her parents home, inexperienced, a bit judgmental and… well, gullible. Now, after over a year away from home and my parents, after everything this has happened and surviving an attack by enemy forces, I am going home. I wouldn't be Isabella Swan returning home, but Isabella Cullen. A very pregnant Isabella Cullen.
At first I was worried that my going to Forks would do me more harm than good, but my doctor assured me everything was fine and as long as I didn't stress myself, there was no need for me to worry about my Little Nudger making an appearance sooner than expected. Esme would also be traveling with me, which was a relief. Somehow her presence there brought me more ease.
I was about to lift my suitcase from the bed when there was a sudden knock on my bedroom door. I turned to find Carlisle standing at my door.
"Tell me you were not about to lift that by yourself," he said, stepping into my room and taking the suitcase from me, lifting it off the bed.
"I'm only taking enough clothes for the visit, it's not that heavy, Carlisle."
"Nonsense." He left it on the floor. "Are you ready? You know you can change your mind and stay here, get ready for the baby."
"No, I have to do this. I need to confront my father and Alice deserves to know the truth about her parentage. Trust me, as much as I've thought this over, I cannot let my sister continue living in a lie and I will not break the news to her over a letter."
At that moment, I remembered what I had wanted to tell Carlisle.
"By the way, I've left the number to my parent's home on the notepad in the kitchen. If Edward sends me a letter, you'll be able to contact me there. I've also sent him a letter informing him of my whereabouts, but just in case he has already sent one before he gets my letter."
Carlisle's smile faltered and that pang in my chest came back.
"Izzy-"
"He will respond, Carlisle. He will," I said with certainty, even though I felt my stomach flip.
His eyes glistened with unshed tears. He looked like he wanted to believe the same as I did and that look alone nearly shattered the hope I clung to so tightly.
"Isabella, there's been an incident," Carlisle had said to me after he got Seth's letter. "There was an ambush. His plane lost an engine. They were able to find the aircraft, but not him."
Not him.
I refused to believe he was dead. Just because they hadn't found him, it didn't mean he was dead. He wasn't. I would know if he was, wouldn't I?
No, I refused to believe it. He had to be injured, hiding somewhere, safe. He wasn't dead and he wasn't a prisoner of war. No, it wouldn't be like that. Edward would send me a letter soon, telling me he was okay and he was sorry for scaring me. Telling me he would come home soon.
It had to be that way.
It just had to.
I refused to believe otherwise.
"He will get in contact soon," I said, forcing a smile. "And when he does, you need to contact me as soon as possible, okay?"
Carlisle nodded solemnly. "I will, Izzy."
"Good. Now, we have to go or else Esme and I will not catch the boat to the mainland."
Esme held my hand the entire trip home. I wasn't sure whether she was trying to comfort me or herself as we left behind the comfort of our home and embarked on a trip filled with uncertainty. But the fact that she was with me, that she wanted to be there to support me and help me through whatever was about to happen between me and my family made me appreciate her more.
Fortunately, she didn't touch the Edward subject. Not that there was much to discuss there.
He would come home, I was sure of that.
Edward
"You couldn't have made me the offer of your love in any way that could've tempted me to accept it. For I hardly knew you a month before I realized you are the last man in the world who I could ever fall in love with."
"I'm afraid to love you because you'll be gone in a matter of weeks. I'm afraid to love you because you'll be fighting a war and I'm terrified that I will never see you again. I've done nothing but damn myself to hell and back for being so gullible. For falling for Jacob's lies, for being so blind. If I hadn't… if I hadn't then we would've had time. We would've had the time Alice and Jasper got, time we lost and I've been so angry at myself for wasting it. If only I hadn't fallen for Jacob's lies, if only we would've gotten here soon-"
"Come back to me, Mr. Cullen."
Come back to me, Mr. Cullen.
Come back to me.
Come back.
"Il est réveillé," a muffled voice said.
In that second, a flood of memories came rushing at me. I should be dead, I was well aware of that. The planes, the ambush, losing an engine, almost crashing as I tried to land and narrowly escaping without getting caught by enemy soldiers. The days I spent hiding, no food, no water, no medical assistance as I reset my broken arm on my own, nearly wishing for death and trying to patch my own bullet wound to keep from bleeding out. The only thing that kept me going was Isabella. Only Bella. Bella and the child I would never know. It consoled me to know if I died that Carlisle would care for them, that they wouldn't be alone.
It was all I could think of as the days went by and I felt myself getting weaker and weaker.
Then all I knew was dreaming.
Dreaming of Bella. Dreaming of our child. Dreaming of all the things I would've done differently so that we could have had more time. Dreaming of the life we could have together if it hadn't been for my actions, for whatever feud existed between our families, for this god forsaken war.
"il se réveille," the same voice said.
My entire body jolted and I flipped over on the coat, reaching for something, anything to use as a weapon. The men around me shouted, reaching for me and holding me down against the cot.
"Let me go!" I shouted, fighting back and ignoring the stabbing pain in my right arm.
"Stop that right now!" The man towering over me shouted and I instantly recognized the accent.
French.
He was a French soldier.
I looked at all the men who surrounded me on the cot, looking down at me. They were French soldiers.
I raised my good hand, keeping my injured arm pressed against my chest, showing them I wasn't going to fight them and they let go of me, reluctantly. One of the men in the corner held his gun up still, pointed at me, ready to shoot at a moment's notice.
The man who had shouted at me sat down next to the cot, using a rag to wipe the grime off his forehead.
"You're the American," he said. It wasn't a question. "We received word from your troops of an ambush. Most of their soldiers had been accounted for, save for one. I guess that must be you."
"I… believe so," I said, my voice hoarse and dry. I cleared my throat. "Can I get some water?"
The soldier nodded, signaling one of his men who brought forth a pitcher and I lunged forward, snatching it from his hand and downing the entire thing in long gulps. Water poured down my neck, soaking my clothes. The water calmed the burning sensation in my throat but it wasn't enough. I needed more.
"Careful now, you'll make yourself sick," the man said, taking the pitcher from me. He set it on the ground next to him and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "What's your name?"
"Edward. Edward Cullen."
He nodded, rubbing his chin with his pointer finger.
"Do you know how long it's been since the ambush, Edward?"
"No."
"It's September now."
September? But when we left, we were still in mid August… what…
Bella.
Bella!
I tried to get up, but I'm shoved back down on the cot. I tried it again, but they held me down.
"No, you don't understand! My wife, she's pregnant and if she thinks I'm dead she-she-let me go! I have to get to my wife!"
"Calm yourself right now!" The man shouted. "You are no good to her dead, so calm yourself."
"I need to go home to my wife," I said, panting. "She's going to give birth in October. I need to go home, please just let me go home."
"I'm not holding you hostage," he said, his blue eyes meeting mine. "We found you about three days ago, nearly dead. That shot you took on your shoulder was nasty and you've lost a lot of blood. What's worse, you need to reset your arm or else it'll heal all wrong. It's a miracle you're even alive."
"Call it spite or a miracle, whatever fits."
He chuckled.
"Whatever it is, it kept you alive all these weeks. You should consider yourself lucky you weren't found by Japanese troops."
"I consider myself many things, but lucky isn't one of them. I won't until I am home with my wife, if she already doesn't believe me to be dead."
"Don't you worry. I have my men trying to get in contact with your troop to let them know we have found you safe and sound, after that we will help return you to them and it'll be up to them if you are allowed to go home."
"I think after everything that I have done, I have earned my right to go home."
He laughed this time.
"We are in a war, my friend. Not many of us get that luxury."
He stood up and gave his men a nod, and they let me go.
"What's your name?" I asked.
He looked down at me.
"Arthur Kopp, at your service."
"And the date? The exact date?"
"September 10, 1942."
September 15, 1942…
It took Arthur Kopp, General of the French troops, two days to get in contact with the Colonel to get their exact location so that I may be sent back. It was early morning on the 15th when I stepped foot on base after being checked by our combat medics.
"Edward!" Seth broke through the crowd, running toward me. I groaned when his body slammed into mine, but I couldn't be happier. He was still here. He was still alive. "Jesus Christ, man, I thought you were dead!"
"It'll take a lot more than an engine failure and a shot to the shoulder to take me out," I said, hugging him back with my one good arm. The other one was still in a sling. I pulled away, looking down at him and asked, "Does Bella know?"
Seth nodded, solemn.
"I wrote to dad when we couldn't find your plane, but up until that point you were considered missing. He told her so that's what she knows. You're missing. Last thing I heard, she was going back to Forks with my mother."
"To Forks? For what?"
"Apparently she found out why her father hates our family so much, so she's gone to confront them. My mother is with her, Edward. She'll be fine."
"She's due to give birth in October, Seth. She shouldn't be traveling in her state."
"I don't know, man. My dad said she was really insistent on going. She also refused to believe him when he told her about your plane. It's like she's been in some sort of denial, but he couldn't stop her."
I sighed, rubbing my good hand on the back of my head. That didn't give me a good feeling. It just didn't. I knew Bella was on the fence about reconciling with her father, but to travel as far as Forks? If he wanted to see his daughter, knowing she was pregnant, then it should've been him making the trip. Not my wife.
"What the hell happened to you?" Seth asked, giving me a once over. "You look like shit."
"I don't know where to start. But first, I want to speak to the Colonel."
"Why?"
"Because he promised me after I was done with the mission I could go home, so he better make good on his word because I am going back to my wife."
"No need." Seth and I turned to the Colonel who was standing right behind us.
"Sir."
Seth and I salute him.
"Good to see you alive, Cullen. You had us worried for a second."
"It's good to be back, Sir."
The Colonel sighed, pointing to my injured arm. "You're no good to me unless you can fly and according to our combat medic, it'll take weeks before that arm is fully healed?"
I nodded, hope rising in my chest.
"Yes, it would seem like it."
"Yes, that is no good to me. We unfortunately don't have weeks to wait for you, Cullen. You're going home."
I felt my heart flutter in my chest.
"I'm going home, Sir?"
He gave me a small smile. "Yes, Cullen. You are going home."
Author's Note:
Edward is coming home! Sorry for the wait, I've been working on a brand new story that I am very excited to share with you guys. It's very different from what I've written before, but OMG I cannot wait to share it with you guys.