A/N… There may be a slight tissue warning for this chapter. Maybe? We start things off, though, by going back in time. I'll get out of your way…

~oOo~

Chapter 22

EDWARD

"Edward, you can't go in there," Alistair said, gripping my shoulder. "Buddy, she's sick. You could catch—"

"So what if I catch it? She's alone in there," I snapped back, and normally, I tried not to be an ass to Al, because he'd been cool to me since I showed up in Oz about a year ago.

But this was Bella. And she was fucking sick.

If this was the kind of sick that killed everyone we knew, then I didn't know what to think or how to feel. My best friend had looked so small and frail in that hospital bed at the clinic as Mr. Weber checked her over. She'd been there for two days with a high fever and terrible cough.

Alistair and I stepped back when Mr. Weber came out of her room.

"It's not the virus," he said firmly. "If it were, I'd have intubated her already. No, she's a fighter, but it's a pretty bad infection. The antibiotics I have aren't doing the job. I need something stronger."

"Like what? Maybe we can get Charlie to smuggle something out," Alistair offered, tapping the clipboard in Mr. Weber's hand. "Write down what you need. Let me see what we can do."

Mr. Weber wrote down a list of medicine names and handed it over. I snatched it before Alistair could even reach for it.

"I got this," I said, stalking down the clinic hallway. Alistair caught up with me, tugging me to a stop by the sleeve of my hoodie. Before he could say anything, I stepped closer to his face. "We haven't got time to wait for Charlie. I got this, Al."

He studied my face. "You wanna do this alone?"

I shook my head. "No, I'll take Em and Rose with me."

"Sue's going to kill me dead," he muttered to himself, and I huffed a laugh.

"Tell her you couldn't catch me." With that said, I jogged the rest of the way out of the clinic and back out onto the streets of Sector D.

Emmett and Rose were leaning against the wall of the clinic. "Edward! Wait up. How is she?" Emmett asked as they both ran to catch up.

"Really sick, and she needs medicine we don't fucking have. I've got to go get it," I told him. "You in?"

Rose smirked, folding her arms across her chest. "Hell, yeah, I'm in," she said, smacking Emmett's shoulder with the back of her hand. "And you are too. She'd go for us."

"Yeah, she would." Emmett sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "What's your plan?"

"Middle of the night, take my dad's badge, and sneak into the hospital," I told them. "We'll use the underground as much as possible."

The mere idea of going anywhere near my parents pissed me off, but this was more important. I couldn't let my best friend die of a stupid infection, not when I had the capability of fixing it.

We waited until the sun went down before the three of us slipped through the crack in the wall behind the old apartment building. It was the way Emmett had brought Bella and me to Oz, and any time that we went into the Sound with Alistair, that was the best way in.

We crossed the street, dropping beneath the city in silence. When we got to the garage at my parents' apartment building, I stopped them.

"Wait here," I told them. "I have to do this a specific way, and I have to be fast and quiet."

Rose nodded, saying, "We'll be in the tunnels, just in case the raiders come by. Just let us know when you're back down here."

Nodding, I tugged my hood up, opened the door to the stairwell, and went up. I didn't really need them for this part, but I would need them for the hospital. I'd need a distraction and a lookout, which was why I asked both of them to come with me.

Once I reached the tenth floor, I slipped silently into the corridor. I pulled out my key and unlocked the apartment door, going inside as quickly as possible. A part of me wanted to simply reach out and snatch the lanyard my father wore at the hospital with his keycard on it, but something made me step fully inside the apartment.

Nothing had changed, and from the sound of things, both my parents were asleep.

My old bedroom door stood open, and aside from the neatly made bed, nothing had really been moved. My bookshelf was dusty, and on a whim, I grabbed a couple of novels for Bella to read. And apparently, at some point, I'd gone through a shark and whale phase, so I grabbed two small rubber figurines – an orca and a great white shark – along with a couple of books on those animals. It would give Bella something to do while stuck in bed.

Everything was shoved into my backpack, and I jumped a little when my dad's snoring echoed out from their bedroom. I needed to get my ass out of there.

Not bothering to look back, I left the apartment, locking it quietly, and darted into the stairwell. The next part would be tricky, but I knew the hospital since my dad worked there, which gave me an advantage.

Just outside the back door of the hospital, I stopped Emmett and Rose. "I need one of you to cause a distraction and one of you with me to watch for anyone coming. We're taking the stairs to the fourth floor where the pharmacy is."

Emmett grinned. "Oh, you know I can distract like nobody's business!"

Rose rolled her eyes to me. "Well, at least he's honest."

Grinning, I swiped my dad's keycard and tugged open the door when it clicked. We took the service stairs up to the fourth floor, and Emmett stepped into the hallway, aiming for the nurses' station down at the end. Rose and I slipped quietly into the hall behind him, turning in the opposite direction.

He started a conversation with one of the nurses, and I swiped my dad's keycard to get into the pharmacy that no one truly monitored. The hospital in the Sound ran small crews. Most doctors and nurses retrieved their own meds for patients, so I simply needed to hurry the hell up and find what was on Mr. Weber's list.

"Okay, help me out," I said, pulling out the slip of paper from the front pocket of my jeans. "You stay at the door, and I'll hunt this shit down."

It didn't take long, and what Mr. Weber wanted was in liquid form, so it was in plastic IV bags. I grabbed a handful of them, setting them into my backpack, along with a few other drugs that I knew the clinic always needed – pain relievers, some cough meds, and vials of birth control. I'd heard Rose and Bella complain about those things because periods were "fucking awful."

After zipping up my backpack, I walked to the door behind Rose. "We're good," I whispered.

She nodded, but she was highly amused at Emmett's antics down the hall. It seemed he was trying to convince the nurse that he was looking for someone specific. The idiot was making her search the computer for Atticus Finch, a damn character from To Kill a Mockingbird. We'd just read it in English class. He was stoked, and she was completely oblivious.

"Grandma Sue will be proud," I muttered to Rose.

She snorted, tugging my sleeve. "C'mon. We'll get to the stairs, and then you can whistle for him."

We did just that, and Emmett's head spun when I gave a soft, sharp whistle. He faced the nurse again, saying, "Oh, found him! Gotta go."

We were down the stairs, out the back door, and under the city again before any raiders showed up to find us. Once we were back through the crack in the wall, I turned left to head toward the clinic. Mr. Weber was in his office, and he stood quickly when I showed up in the doorway.

"Al said you were… Did you…"

I set my backpack on the top of his desk, unzipping it. Pulling out all the meds, I said, "I got all that was on your list and a few other things. And I have something for Bella. Can I see her now?"

"You could still catch it, Ed," he advised, but I shrugged and brushed past him to cross the hallway to Bella's room.

"Yeah, well, now you have what you need to fix me if I do," I barked back.

I just fucking missed Bella. Sick or not. And she was all alone. Her dad was gone, and the rest of the resistance had been busy. She needed to know that she wasn't alone. Fuck, it seemed she was always alone – from being shoved at my parents as a slave to pushing through this infection.

Mr. Weber took one of the bags of antibiotics and hung it up on the pole by Bella's bed. He attached the line to it, and then he thought better of warning me again, so he left us.

I sat down next to Bella, reaching for her hand. Sleepy eyes blinked open, and I smiled over at her.

"Are y-you causin' trouble?" she asked, breaking out into a wretched deep cough.

"Always," I said with a grin. I pulled my backpack closer. "I brought you something."

"You shouldn't be in here. Not that I'm complaining. I'm going crazy without you…all of you," she whispered, gazing around the room. "I feel trapped in here."

I pulled out the small stack of books and set them on her rolling bed-tray thing. Lastly, I reached in with both hands and palmed the figurines.

I held out both fists toward her. "Pick one."

Her brow wrinkled and she sniffled a little, but she reached out and tapped my right hand with a finger. I turned my fist over, opening it to reveal the orca figurine.

"Cute," she whispered, coughing again and reaching for the little whale. "Where'd you get them?"

"My old bedroom in the Sound."

Her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"I had to go. You needed medicine we didn't have, so I took my dad's badge." I opened my other hand to reveal the shark. "These were on my shelf. You keep that one. I'll keep this one. That way you know I'm not far and you're not trapped, Bella. You just gotta get better."

"Did Al take you—"

"No, I just went."

Bella coughed again, meeting my gaze. "For me?"

I nodded, raking my hand through my hair. "You'd have done it for me."

~oOo~

Pressing kisses to the top of Emily's head, I came up out of that memory with a smile because the orca and the shark were sitting front and center on the shelf over Emily's changing table. Bella had kept them over the years. For quite some time, we each carried one of those in our pocket, especially if we weren't working together on a mission. They became good luck charms, talismans.

My baby was almost asleep, so I settled her into her crib and turned to face the shelf again. Smirking, I snatched up those figurines and crossed the hallway to our bedroom. Bella was sitting in the middle of the bed wearing one of my T-shirts. I toed off my boots, taking the spot in front of her.

Holding out both fists, I said, "Pick one."

Bella chuckled, glancing between my hands and my face. "Edward…"

"Pick!" I urged, waving my fists dramatically in front of her face, which only caused her to laugh at me.

With a sweet smile, she tapped my left hand. I opened it to reveal the shark. "There you go. You hold on to that, and I'll hold on to this one. These tiny little apex predators have never let us down, love, so we'll let them protect us again."

There was a small part of me that wondered if the whole ocean theme for Emily's room stemmed from the small pieces of rubber in our hands. No one knew about the shark and the orca; it was a secret just for us. It always had been. They got tucked away into pockets along with keys and bullets. But any time we'd been apart for whatever reasons, I'd always had one in my pocket. And I'd always made her pick. I couldn't remember the last time we'd used them, but we were going to use them now.

This mission would be long and dangerous. We'd be apart for longer than we'd ever been, and I knew her stress, her worry. I knew that her fear was valid. The mere thought that I'd never see her again or see my baby grow up to be as beautiful as her mother… That terrified me.

But I couldn't allow Marcus to take my people, my team to Atlanta without me. I didn't give a fuck about Mr. President. He was all right, and his people loved him, but I couldn't get Alistair's warning out of my head.

Never stop resisting.

I wasn't doing this mission for Marcus, despite his title, or even myself. I was doing it because Marcus's brother needed to understand that no one would be putting up with his bullshit any longer. No one. No more slaves or walls or executions. Well, except for his execution. Marcus had pretty much called his brother an enemy of the state.

This would be the last major player in the fight. Los Angeles was in it too, but not as big as Atlanta. Marcus said he'd tend to LA, but Atlanta was different. And Charlie and I wouldn't budge on leaving this island unprotected, so Marcus offered up fifty of his men to stay behind, along with his ship. It wasn't that we didn't think the people of Oz couldn't defend themselves; it was the length of time we'd be gone.

Bella ran the tip of her finger along the shark's fins, tail, and finally its teeth. She squeezed her fist around it, shifting to crawl into my lap. Wrapping my arms all the way around her, I hugged her tightly.

"We'll get through this, love. We always do."

I pulled her back just a little so I could see that beautiful face, the face that tied me to this earth, the one that made me leave everything I knew just to protect her.

She nodded, glancing down between us. "I hate that I won't know anything."

"You might," I countered softly. "Like I said, Flash has boosters and relays for us to set along the way, which will keep the radio signal connected. Would that make you feel a little easier?"

She nodded again. "If we could know that you were okay, then yeah, definitely. The time apart will be awful, but knowing you were okay would make it…I don't know…tolerable?"

Grinning, I nodded. "You know that goes both ways?" She wrinkled her nose adorably, and I couldn't stop from leaning in to kiss the tip of it. "In fact, once we leave, I would like you to work with Flash and Nolan. You'll be our radio guides, and you can keep us posted on Caius's security feed."

She held up the shark by its tail. "Thank you for this. I'd forgotten all about what we used to do with them."

Smiling, I shifted us until I loomed over her. "And here I thought maybe Emily's room was decorated around them."

She chuckled, setting the shark down on the nightstand. "Actually, no. But your dad found those in a box of our stuff and added them to the room when he moved us. Apparently, he remembered getting those for you. He said there used to be an aquarium in the Sound…when it was Seattle."

"I don't remember that."

"He said you probably wouldn't. He said you were just a bit older than Emily."

Grinning down at Bella, I shrugged. I studied her face. "Let's show her the water tomorrow. We've got all day just the three of us."

Bella's eyes watered as she nodded. "Yeah, we can do that."

I stood up off the bed, tucking my little orca into the pocket of my jeans before dropping them to the floor. I hadn't been exaggerating when I told her I just wanted my girls the next day and a half. My little one had been fed and put to bed, and now it was time to hold on to Bella with all I had because she needed it. Hell, I needed it.

Reaching back, I gripped my shirt and tugged it off over my head, and it, too, hit the floor. Crawling up the bed, I loomed over her again, slipping an arm beneath her in order to lift her up. She giggled into my shoulder when I pulled the covers down and dropped her back onto the sheets.

She was still giggling softly as I braced a hand by her head, brushing her hair away from her face with the other. She placed her hands flat on either side of my face, pulling me gently in for a kiss. The laughter faded as the kisses grew deeper, harder, more.

My hand started to roam, and I slipped it beneath her shirt, pushing at it until Bella broke away from our kiss to sit up enough to remove it. I gazed down at her, shaking my head.

"You're so beautiful," I stated in a whisper.

I meant it, too. Her body had changed after Emily, but it didn't take away from any part of her. Marks on her belly or her breasts didn't change how I felt about her or how she made me feel. She had a little extra weight that I kind of loved on her. No, she was still just as perfect as ever. Maybe more so because of what those changes represented – Emily.

"I love you," she said back, tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't know how strong I can be, Edward. This next part…"

"Shh," I breathed against her lips and then pulled back to look her in the eyes. "You're the strongest person I know, Bella."

"I'll miss you… You're going to be… And Emily…" She met my gaze as tears spilled from her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I said, settling down in the cradle of her legs. "This will work like any other time we've gone into the Sound. We'll fight but be careful at the same time. We all want to stop this asshole, but we also have so much to come home to. Even Marcus doesn't want us taking stupid chances. It's just going to be a longer mission than we're used to, baby. That's all."

She nodded, wrapping everything around me and holding me close.

I brushed away her tears, hating them, but I understood them. Things were different now. There was way more at stake than just going over a wall. We were going to be apart for weeks, maybe months. The trip to Atlanta alone would take us at minimum three days, and that was without stopping. So we were betting on a week of simply travel. And that had nothing to do with what we'd face once we got there.

Brushing a kiss across her lips, I whispered, "There are no tears in our bed, love. None. There's no place for them. It's always been you and me. It'll always be you and me."

I kissed her again because I wanted to forget what was coming. I wanted her to forget too, if only for the next thirty-six hours.

~oOo~

I woke up the next morning to an empty bed, but I could hear my girls somewhere in the house. There was music faintly playing from what I'd guess was the kitchen. I could also smell something cooking.

Stretching languidly, I finally got up, pulled on a pair of pants, padded into the bathroom, and then made my way down the hallway. Leaning in the doorway of the kitchen, I couldn't help but smile as Bella sang to Emily while dancing a bit as she moved about putting breakfast together.

As she sang about having a ragdoll and loving someone river deep and mountain high, my daughter was all smiles and only had eyes for Bella at the moment.

That, right there, was the shit I needed to get through the next phase of our lives – that picture of my two gorgeous girls wearing big smiles and happy faces. As much as I understood Bella's trepidation, I also knew just how damned strong she was. I had faith in her strength.

But I needed this feeling all day.

Emily finally caught sight of me as I moved toward the kitchen, and her face lit up even more, which made Bella laugh and face me.

"Mornin', my girls," I whispered, taking Emily when she reached for me with flailing arms. I pushed loud raspberry kisses into her neck just to make her squeal.

"Morning," Bella said, standing up on her toes to kiss my cheek. "C'mon. We're doing breakfast outside by the water. That way it's not too much sun for Emily."

"Yesss," I hissed, grinning at my daughter. "My little sweet potato is hittin' the beach."

"Edward," Bella said through a laugh, shaking her head at us. Bella took her from me and pointed to a basket on the table. "Bring that. Everything's in there."

I picked it up, noting that she even had a blanket folded on top. I knew just the place we were going. Just to the right of our dock was a group of three trees. It was flat and perfect, facing out over the water.

I led them there, spreading out the blanket so Bella could set Emily down with a couple of toys, not that she was going to give them much attention. She was getting there, but not quite yet.

However, she was starting to sit up on her own, which made me wonder for a moment just what I'd miss while I was gone. A month was a long time when it came to how fast Emily was growing.

According to the books I'd read when Bella was pregnant, Emily might be crawling or eating solid food by the time I came home. Hell, she might even utter her first word or get her first tooth. All of those changes could occur while I was away.

I glanced over at Bella when she offered me a cup of coffee. "Thank you," I whispered, my brow furrowing.

"It's just coffee, baby. I have sandwi—"

I cut her off with a kiss, making sure I didn't bump Emily over. "No, just…thank you." I pulled back and gestured around us with a wave of my hand. "I really need this. I know this will be awful, but I need this to hold on to while I'm gone."

"I know." Her answer almost sounded sarcastic until I studied her face.

There it was. My Bella had found that strength. I could see it in her deep, brown eyes. Determination and acceptance had taken the place of the worry and panic from the night before. She was giving me the day with her and Emily because we both needed it. By this time tomorrow, she may shed a tear or two, but she'd treat this like any other mission.

I locked gazes with her and gave her a nod. I took a sip of coffee, setting the cup down before rolling up my pant legs. With a grin, I picked up Emily, who squealed, and I walked us to the water's edge. We weren't going in, but I stepped into the wet sand, letting the small waves roll over my feet before squatting down. Emily's adorable face scrunched up when I let her toes touch the water. And those pudgy things wiggled before she looked up at my face.

"I bet when you grow up, you'll be in this water all day, every day," I whispered to her, setting her bottom on my thigh. I stayed squatted down near the sand but pressed my lips to her temple, whispering some more. "I bet you're going to be as beautiful as your mother and just as strong. And I hope that you never, ever forget just what an amazing gift you are to your mom and me."

Emily grinned, reaching for my face. I pretended to bite her fingers, and she pulled them back.

"C'mon, tater," I said, standing up. "I know you're gonna crash out soon." I set her back down on the blanket between Bella and me.

Bella handed me a breakfast sandwich she'd made and took one for herself while Emily seemed content between us.

"That looked like a serious conversation over there," Bella said, running a hand over Emily's head.

"It was," I concurred, nodding once. "I left her in charge of the island while I'm gone."

Bella chuckled, shaking her head. "Somehow, I don't think that's a lie."

Laughing softly, I shook my head. "No loud parties, no sneaking out, no boys. And she promised me that she'd make sure you didn't do those things."

Bella cracked up, practically spitting coffee over all of us. She wiped her face with a towel, giving me a side-eye. "No, you didn't."

Grinning, I said, "I might have."

Bella laughed again but sobered up quickly. "You don't have to worry about that, Edward."

I leaned in and kissed her. "I know, love. I just need you to be safe while I'm gone. And I promise to do the same."

Bella smiled sadly. "Then I guess all that's left to do is help you pack and put you on the ferry tomorrow."

Nodding, I gazed down at Emily as I finished the last bite of my sandwich. "Yeah, I guess."

Emily started to fuss, so I wiped my mouth and hands with the towel and scooped her up. She set her head on my shoulder, and Bella snuggled in on my other side. I pressed kisses to both of their heads and leaned back against the tree behind me.

We sat in silence as Emily slowly drifted off to sleep in the warm, summer morning breeze. For a few minutes, I soaked up the feeling of having everything. All the things. I had a child – a healthy, happy child. We had a safe place to live without walls and raiders, and we had food on our table. Above all that, I had the love of my life. Charlie had called us soul mates; my mother had told me the story of when Charlie had first shown up at their apartment to convince them to leave the Sound. He'd told them he didn't really believe in soul mates until he saw Bella and me together; no one could keep us apart, and we made the best team. Maybe Bella and I were soul mates. Maybe our inability to be apart back then was simply love all along. But it was a love that I was sure would survive this mission.

Yeah, I had everything to push me to be safe, to make sure my team and I made it back home – even if I had to walk back across the country. I had all a man could need.

Honestly, anything above that was simply superfluous.

~oOo~

A/N… So the calm before the storm. You all know it. You all know how it works. Even my pre-readers said it.

That being said, I'm going to take a week off between posts. This next part of the story will be detailed and touchy, so I kind of want to take my time. So the next up date will be June 16.

The song Bella's singing to Emily is "River Deep, Mountain High." The original is by Tina Turner. I happened to be listening to the Celine Dion version while writing this. Both are amazing.

Until next time… Mooches, Deb ;)