A/N… I needed to update a little early. I've got shit to do tomorrow, so rather than be late… You get the picture. I'll let you get to it.
~oOo~
Chapter 10
BELLA
Edward was still asleep when I finally cracked my eyes open to an overcast and dreary morning. We were face to face, which seemed to be the position we'd been in when we crashed out.
Reaching up, I gently pushed his unruly hair out of the way so I could look at that head of his. It was slowly turning his eye black, so he had a bit of a wrecked look. It certainly wasn't the first black eye he'd had, but considering all that he'd been through the last forty-eight hours, it was the most dangerous. The bruises combined with his unshaven face made him look deadly and the epitome of every bad boy ever.
The butterfly bandages were holding, and I wanted to check his leg, but I just simply couldn't find the strength to move from where I was, especially when a strong arm pulled me closer.
"Stop fussing," he muttered in a raspy, sleepy voice.
Smirking, I shrugged and leaned in to kiss his forehead. "I can't stop. So suffer, Edward."
He huffed a laugh, finally cracking open those stunning green eyes. "I'm okay, love."
"I know. I can tell." And that was the truth. I could see he was only physically set back for a few weeks, but his determination and love were all the same.
"But I scared you. I know. I'm sor—"
I cut him off with a fierce kiss. "Don't. Just… You've got to be careful, Edward."
He nodded, rolling to his back and pulling at me until I was on top of him. "I know. We wanted to lead them away from you guys, but we miscalculated how many there were."
"Well, according to Jasper and Al, you guys killed a whole battalion."
He grinned. "No, Emmett killed them all out of sheer anger and frustration."
His hands were gentle as they glided up and down my back, cupping my bottom, sliding along my thighs, and starting the process over. It was soothing, but as much as I needed it, I couldn't stop myself from "fussing."
"Are you in pain?"
"Bella," he said with a warning tone to his voice.
"Hush. Just answer me," I demanded in a whisper, sitting up so that I was straddling his waist.
"No, baby. Does it feel like I'm in pain?"
I laughed lightly because I could indeed feel him growing harder beneath me. "No, Edward."
"Are you answering my question? Or telling me no?" he teased, his hands slipping beneath my shirt.
"Both. Your parents are in the other room. And we'll be needed out there soon for the Thanksgiving festival."
The face I received in reply was both pitiful and his most deadly weapon – furrowed brow, dark, wanting eyes, and a lick to his lips. It was innocently sexy, but he knew what he was doing. He always did. I'd never been able to resist it because I loved him too much.
And the thought that I'd almost lost him… I simply couldn't resist him now.
Edward sat up beneath me, cupping my face in his hands. "I was teasing you… Why are there tears, love?"
Shaking my head once or twice, I simply leaned in to kiss him. With his hands on either side of my face, he kissed me back, only to pull away just a little.
"Bella, I'm okay," he whispered, pressing his forehead to mine. "Look at me, love." He caught the tears that fell, wiping them gently away with his thumbs when I met his gaze. "I love you, and I'm okay." His vow was solemn and a little concerned.
"Love you, too."
"Good. Then we don't need shit, Bella. You, me, and the baby. Everything else is just icing on the cake."
Nodding, I kissed him again. "I know. I just…"
"You were just scared. I get it. If it had been you?" he asked, shaking his head as he bit his bottom lip. "Yeah, I'd have reduced the Sound to fucking rubble. I know."
I huffed a sniffly laugh, which made his smile light up his face. "Blessings counted, Edward. I hear you."
"Good," he sang softly, leaning in to kiss my neck just below my ear. "It's hard to light a candle, easy to curse the dark instead."
I gave in because I couldn't deny him. Not after going almost two and a half days terrified he would never come back to me. He was beautiful, and he was home.
He slowly stripped my sleepshirt from me, which was really his big T-shirt. His fingers were spread wide, seemingly touching me everywhere all at once.
"You have to keep quiet, love. Just like back at Sue's old place." His words were right at my ear as he lifted me up to guide me onto his erection.
I couldn't help but grin because he was right. When we'd lived with Sue, there was a lot of sneaking around. Between Edward and me and Rose and Emmett, tiptoeing around in the middle of the night became an unspoken vow of "don't rat us out to Grandma." We ran into each other in the hallways all the damn time.
Edward fell back, guiding me, moving me, and there was a suspicion that we were in this position due to his leg, but I didn't care. I also knew this wouldn't take long because we were too worked up and a little bit emotional.
When I came, he had to bring me down to kiss me in order to keep me quiet, and he fell over the edge right after me. When I sat up again, his hands went to my stomach, feeling, touching, loving.
"Does the clinic have a sonogram?" he asked randomly, and I nodded. "Can we? In the next day or so?" When I nodded again, he went on. "Charlie made my dad promise to take care of you and the baby. I want to see him…her." His hands caressed my stomach, which seemed to have a small bump starting to show. Or maybe that was just our hopeful imagination.
"Of course, he did." Grinning, I nodded again. "Okay. Fine. Let's get through Thanksgiving. Will you be okay today with crutches?"
"I'll be useless as fuck if Demetri gets a wild hair up his ass to come into Oz today, but to show my parents around, I'm fine," he said honestly.
"Well, guess who gets to hide in the bunker," I told him, pointing a finger in his face. "If you and Emmett are now Demetri's target, then you're hiding. No picking a fight this time."
Edward smirked, but he nodded and grabbed my finger gently in order to kiss it. "I hear you, love."
~oOo~
"How far along are you?" Esme asked me softly as we made our way to Sector B.
Smiling, I answered, "We think somewhere around fourteen weeks… Give or take. I'd missed two periods by the time Edward brought back the pregnancy tests from you."
She smiled my way and nodded. "In the old world, you would've already been under a doctor's care – blood tests, vitamins, sonograms. Charlie wants Carlisle to care for you. Are you okay with that?"
"Actually, yes." I laughed a little because my dad would do anything for me, including finding a way to take care of my pregnancy. "Edward wants to see the baby on the screen. The clinic has a machine. As much as I trust Reverend Weber, I'd rather… He's great for stitches, broken bones, and basic wounds, but…"
I trailed off, glancing back to Edward, who was using those crutches like a champ, but he was also chatting away with his dad. We were all sorts of being guarded by most of the resistance. Emmett and Rose were leading us toward the Thanksgiving festival. Al and Sue were behind them. Alice and Jasper were deep in conversation behind Edward and Carlisle. Lastly, Sam was trying to calm the cousins down because they were making bets on how much food they were going to eat today.
That last thing made me chuckle because damn, if everything wasn't a wager or bet or something to achieve boasting rights. Jake and Seth were our comic relief most of the time.
Edward's parents had been greeted, accepted, and immediately wrapped up in protection by all of them. They loved Edward, so his parents, having finally been brought over the wall, were now an extension of that. They knew he'd never truly wanted to leave them behind, but it had been too dangerous to approach them before now.
"Wow, that's beautiful," Esme whispered when we turned the corner.
Sector B had set up Thanksgiving like a street fair or market. Tents on either side of the street met in the middle, creating a tunnel of sorts. The day was chilly and overcast, so every block or so, there were fire barrels lit so everyone could stay warm. It was foods from every culture. There were displays of fruits and vegetables, barbecue, deep fried treats, and sweets. The festival would last from midmorning to late evening.
"Welcome to the real Oz," I whispered back. "We celebrate Thanksgiving for completely different reasons than this country once did. Here, it's to celebrate working together, a bountiful harvest, and family – both blood and chosen."
"The old way was supposed to mean that, too," she countered, "but I can see it. It's amazing to see everyone so happy, working together."
"Did you ever have trouble?" Carlisle piped up from behind us.
"Oh, yeah," Alistair answered, nodding a little as he glanced back to him. "There's always going to be someone who isn't happy, someone who didn't want to share or work together as a community, or someone who'd rather choose violence against his neighbors. In the beginning, it happened often."
"How'd you keep this level of peace?" Esme asked.
He smiled sadly. "Some didn't survive the virus. A few decided to make it on their own elsewhere; they left Seattle altogether. And some were taken by raiders. One guy in the beginning liked beating his wife and kids. He may have had himself an accident."
Emmett chuckled. "I remember that asshole. Randy? Roy? Royce! That's it. Royce. What a piece of shit he was, but damn, he shoulda watched his step on the bank rooftop. Tsk…"
I snorted, shaking my head and sneaking a peek at Esme, who was smiling a little like her son. The scent of food wafted around us, and Jake and Seth started to take off.
"Slow down, boys," Sue commanded, pointing toward the old restaurant we occasionally used for resistance meetings. "We're all going to sit together for a minute before you two run off to see which one's stomach explodes."
Jake and Seth grinned, the latter saying, "That wasn't the bet, Grandma."
"I don't care about your bet," she said through a laugh. "Go on. Get in there."
"Fine," Jake sighed, tugging his cousin's jacket to pull him inside.
Esme looked amused and curious as we followed the cousins into the restaurant. There were a few people already eating inside in order to stay out of the chilly weather, but it was into the room in the back that Sue guided us all.
Apparently, she'd prepared for us, because several long tables had been pushed together. Food lined one end of it to the other. Everything looked and smelled delicious, and suddenly, I was starving.
Alistair and Sue took either end of the long table, but the rest of us settled in on each side. I sat between Alice and Edward, and his parents were on his other side.
"Damn, Grandma, what time did you get up this morning?" Emmett muttered, reaching for a bowl of mashed potatoes, hissing and pulling back when Sue popped his hand with a spoon. "What?"
"Will you wait, Em?" she chastised, shaking her head a little. "We're waiting on Flash. And maybe one more." She gazed around the table, smiling softly. "While we wait, I just want to welcome Dr. and Mrs. Cullen. We are so happy to have you with us now."
"Please, just Carlisle and Esme," Carlisle corrected softly.
"What I'd like to do is go around and introduce ourselves to them. Carlisle has been kind enough to offer his services to the hospital, so let's tell him about us," Sue stated with a grateful smile his way. "We can be grateful for where we are now, what we've accomplished."
"Sam Uley," Sam piped up first. "Jake, Seth, and I came from La Push, the Quileute reservation. We barely got out when raiders attacked about seven years ago. There were roughly a dozen with us, but most of them didn't survive the virus."
Jake and Seth nodded solemnly, but they would get quiet whenever La Push was mentioned. I knew they'd seen things in that attack that forever changed them. Parents were killed, siblings were taken, and Sam had essentially adopted those two boys. He'd never said it, but I could tell he just needed to keep them safe, keep them close. Rumor had it that Jake had been the son of the chief, but no one discussed it.
Jasper smiled, nodding once. "Jasper Whitlock from Houston, Texas." He placed a hand on his chest. "My parents and I made our way north when Houston's walls went up. They took my grandparents' ranch and enslaved most of the farmers and farm hands. My mother was sick by the time we made it here, because the virus was everywhere. My dad stopped a raider from taking me just outside the walls, but he was shot in the process. Emmett and Edward found me sleeping in a park like thirteen years ago. I've been with them ever since."
Alice, who was next to me, piped up. "Alice Brandon from Mississippi. I was taken to Atlanta and then shipped here. I was… I…" I reached over to cover her hands, which were wringing in her lap. "I was… I was Aro's slave. Charlie brought me to Edward, who brought me here."
Esme gasped, glancing between Alice and her son. Edward nodded slowly as he glared down at the plate in front of him, but he said nothing about it. I think Alice's story bugged the piss out of Edward, maybe even more than mine. He'd always had an issue with Aro, but I think Alice's story made it worse.
I gave Alice's hand a squeeze, glancing up and saying, "Bella Swan…now Cullen. My family was from here. Well, Washington. When the walls went up, all policemen were to report to Seattle to become raiders, but my dad took us underground. My mom and me. We stayed outside the walls for years, living in the old bank building. But the raiders hit it one night. They took so many of us, and they killed my mom for standing up to them." I sighed, leaning into Edward when he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and kissed the side of my head. "I ended up with Carlisle, and… Well, you know the rest."
Edward chuckled into my hair at how I'd ended that, whispering he loved me.
"Rosalie Hale, now McCarty. I was born on the East Coast, but we moved here when I was little. Just before the walls went up. My parents were killed when they raided the same building where Bella's mother died. We were a few floors below them. I was able to hide when they attacked. After it was over, Charlie brought me to Sue."
Emmett grinned, shaking his head. "They know our story, Grandma." She smirked his way. "I told them on the way into Oz."
Flash stepped into the room, but I was surprised by who was with him.
"Dad!" I gasped, getting up from my chair.
"There's my girl," he whispered, wrapping me in a hug when I rushed to him.
He smelled like leather and gun oil, probably because he was still in uniform. It felt like forever since I'd hugged my dad. Hidden and cryptic notes were fine, but I missed his presence.
"I can't stay," he stated, pulling me back to cup my face and kiss my forehead. "I just wanted to check on everyone and let you know that Demetri won't be raiding Oz today."
"You're sure?" Sue asked him.
My dad's smile was wry and maybe a bit evil. "He may or may not have caught himself a stomach issue."
Edward and Emmett cracked up, which made everyone else chuckle.
"How?" Alistair asked him through laughter.
Dad shrugged. "Don't know," he lied smoothly. "Something in his morning coffee? Maybe his breakfast was bad? Maybe someone swapped his medication?"
"Oh, boy," Carlisle said through an amused smile.
Edward grinned at his dad, but then he turned back to mine. "Do we want to know what you did?"
"It wasn't me. I was on patrol overnight." He held up his hands in a defensive manner. "Demetri, however, has more enemies than he probably thinks. Careful how you treat those below you… Those who cook your food or make your coffee."
Chuckling, I hugged him again. "You can't stay for lunch?"
"No, baby girl. I'm due back soon. I just wanted to let you know you're clear for the day, at least."
"Before you go, Charlie," Flash piped up, holding up a thumb drive in his hand. "I was able to go through the information you left for us. I've put together something that, should we gain access to Aro's computer, would go out to every walled city. A computer virus. Not only will it broadcast Aro's confession of inventing and releasing the virus to every linked city, but it'll also shut them out of their own network. As in…no communication, no control of power or water, no access to shipments. All of them. Every walled city will lose control of their systems."
Dad narrowed his eyes. "What do we need to do to accomplish this?"
"Plug it into Aro's computer in his home office," Flash replied. "He's the main connection. If I do it remotely, they'll shut me down, but his computer will have all the access without restrictions, and it'll deliver directly to every server."
My dad sighed deeply, smoothing his mustache with his hand as he thought it over. Finally, he nodded once. "Okay. Let me work on how to get inside that apartment. Don't do anything until I get back to you guys."
"You wouldn't need to do much," Alice piped up softly. She fidgeted again when we all stopped to look her way. "His computer… The back of it faces whoever is standing in front of his desk. Just standing in front of him, you'd have access to the place to plug it in. He'd never see it."
"You'd just need a small distraction to do it," Alistair surmised, glancing back to my dad. "You ever been up there?"
"Yeah, once or twice. He has a select group of guards," Dad answered, gazing around the room. "Don't worry about it today, guys." He kissed my forehead again. "And well done on that train. You've sent a clear message to them. They're gonna start panicking soon because we keep taking away their means of transport."
"Yeah, but we gotta lay low for a bit," Edward piped up. "I'm out for weeks, and we've pushed our luck with the last few raids. With Alice and the train and now getting my parents out, we've done almost too much too fast. We should go silent for a month or two."
"I agree," Dad said, and Sue and Alistair also nodded. Dad looked back to me. "You… I want you to take it easy. I need a happy, healthy grandkid."
Grinning, I let out a laugh. "Yeah, Daddy. I hear you."
"Good," he huffed teasingly. "I'll get back with you about Aro's computer. I'll let you know what we can do."
There were murmurs of agreement around the table, and my dad whispered he loved me and hugged me one more time before he left. When I took my seat back between Alice and Edward, Sue pointed to Flash.
"You're up, son. We're introducing ourselves to Edward's parents. Meet Carlisle and Esme Cullen."
Flash grinned. "Nice! Glad you're on this side. My name is Owen Gordon, but everyone calls me Flash." He held up the thumb drive. "As in flash drive, not the comic. But it stuck when I was a kid. My dad worked in computer security for Aro originally but got us out of the Sound when everything became violent. He taught me everything he knew. So…I'm the tech guy."
Edward's parents greeted him back warmly, and the next to stand up was Alistair.
"Alistair Ross. Former Navy Seal. I did two tours overseas, and I was stationed here in Seattle when my time was up, but I didn't reenlist. The military bases here emptied the day that Aro attacked the protestors at the main gate. There was no one to prevent it." Al smiled my way. "Bella's dad and I worked together to get the remaining protestors to safety. We started working together then and haven't stopped. We've been able to pass on our knowledge and training. It's kept us as safe as we can be."
The room stayed quiet when Alistair sat back down, but Sue locked her gaze on the last one. "Edward, you want to say anything?"
He grinned down at his plate, linking our fingers together. He didn't say anything for a moment, but he did glance over at me and then to his mother.
"I'm… I… I feel incredibly thankful today," he said, not really looking anyone's way. "I just… Everyone in this room has lost family; in fact, we are each other's surrogate family. We're brothers and sisters, parents…grandparents." He gestured to Sue. "It really works, and we all fight for what's right. I have no regrets there. But…" He swallowed thickly. "I got my family back. And I'm… I'm about to have a family of my own."
He gazed my way, and the green of his eyes was so warm, so soft as he reached up to tap my chin lightly with our linked fingers. "There's a part of me that wants to seal this room up so nothing can touch a single one of you."
Carlisle reached over to squeeze his son's shoulder.
"But we're not done. Not yet," Edward went on with a slow shake of his head. "The next time we hit the Sound, we should make it our last. One big hit." He pointed to Flash. "Take what we have and shut every walled city down. Take away their control, end it, finish it. Because I… I want my child to only know peace."
Tears welled up in my eyes with his honest declaration. He so rarely spoke of personal or emotional things in front of everyone. With me, he'd talk about anything. Where normally, the guys would razz each other over emotional stuff, not one said a word. In fact, there were hums and nods of agreement.
Sue's eyes were watery, too, as she raised her glass. "Hear, hear. Happy Thanksgiving."
~oOo~
A/N… This chapter was best to cut short. Here. There's a shift in things coming soon. Most of you are worried for Charlie. Some of you don't trust very many people, Alice being one of them. Or any of the freed slaves for that matter. I get it.
Next update will be next Sunday, with the teasers some time before that. I hope that I'll be good to go for the one after that, but that remains to be seen. We'll see if RL can cut the shit and give me a break. I sincerely doubt it.
Until next time… Mooches, Deb ;)
