BLEEDING LOVE

Drowning deep in my sea of loathing
Broken your servant I kneel
(Will you give it to me?)
It seems what's left of my human side
Is slowly changing in me
(Will you give it to me?)

Looking at my own reflection
When suddenly it changes
Violently it changes
Oh no, there is no turning back now
You've woken up the demon in me

Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Get up, come on get down with the sickness
Open up your hate, and let it flow into me

Get up, come on get down with the sickness
You mother get up
Come on get down with the sickness
You fucker get up
Come on get down with the sickness
Madness is the gift, that has been given to me

"Down with the Sickness" by Disturbed

Chapter Nineteen

Edward was already half-way down the hall when he felt a sharp tug on the back of his collar, effectively halting his rage-induced plummet to hell. He let out a low growl and tried to shake himself free, but the hand pulled him back forcefully.

"Pull yourself together, man…you can't just run up to him and start wailing on him." Jasper muttered in exasperation.

Edward struggled against him again but Jasper spun him around and shook him roughly. He paused for a moment, as if to gauge Edward's reaction, but when he was met with the same glazed look Edward had had only moments before, he shook him again, this time with more vigor.

"Snap the fuck out of it! What's gonna happen when Chief Swan gets here and sees you beating Jacob to a bloody pulp, huh? Have you thought about that?"

Silence.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You never think things through do you?" Jasper spat out.

This time, Edward met his gaze full on, his eyes now burning with returning anger.

"Look," Jasper began again. "I know you're mad as hell, Edward; I would be too if I were you. Fuck, I want to kill him too for what he said to her but that doesn't mean I should do it. Bella's father, the Chief of fucking Police, is going to be here soon and the last thing he needs to see is the guy who knocked up his unwed daughter kicking the shit out of the guy who basically put her in this hospital. So, think, Edward… think about this for a second. Think about Bella…your energy would be much better spent taking care of her instead of killing Jacob. Just think about this before you do anything fucking stupid."

Jasper released his shoulders and stepped back cautiously to give him the chance to 'do the right thing'. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited, hoping that his little speech had inspired Edward to just turn back and head straight for Bella.

Edward rocked back on his heels, considering Jasper's words for a moment. A split second later, he took a small step backwards.

As he continued to backpedal, he met Jasper's exasperated eyes. "I hear you, Jazz…I really do. But someone needs to beat the shit out of him and that someone needs to be me."

With that, he spun on his heel and continued down the hall with the same resolve as before, almost as if their previous conversation had never even taken place. He didn't even acknowledge Emmett or Rosalie as he passed them, especially not Emmett's needless apology. He was almost glad Emmett had told Jacob because that gave him a reason to bring them face to face without any manipulation on his part. He couldn't have asked for a better situation than this. Jacob had absolutely no fucking business coming to the hospital and everyone knew it, so no one could really be too upset with him for beating the living shit out the reason why Bella was currently in a hospital bed.

His heart lurched for a second at the thought of Bella. She was probably wondering where he was and when he was coming back…the right thing to do would be to just tell the nurses to keep Jacob out and to go back to her and be there for her. But…then again, Alice was with her, and he had a feeling this wouldn't take him too long.

As he neared the emergency room's sliding doors, his father tried to grab his shoulder but he just shook him off. No one was keeping him from doing this. He owed it to Bella. He owed it the baby they would never get to have. Hell, he owed it to himself.

He stepped up to the glass doors and peered out into the parking lot. His mouth turned up in a small smirk when his eyes found what he was looking for. That son of a bitch was getting out of his car and sprinting towards the doors. Like the astute man he was, Jacob skidded to a stop as soon as he saw who was waiting for him at the entrance. That hesitation was all Edward needed.

Before anyone could stop him, he flew through the sliding doors and towards Jacob in a blind rage. Everything around him passed by in a blurry red haze until he reached his destination and swung, connecting his fist with Jacob's jaw with a loud crack.

His head flew back and before Jacob even had a chance to react, Edward swung again, this time popping him directly in the nose.

"Fuck!" Jacob yelled, his hand catching the blood running down his chin.

But Edward wasn't done yet.

He swung again. And again. And when Jacob staggered toward him with his arms outstretched protectively, Edward lunged at his waist and threw him to the ground.

By the time Jacob rolled onto his back in agony, Edward was glaring down at him with fire in his eyes.

"You…you…" Edward sputtered in rage. "You…motherfucker! How could you do that to her? How the fuck could you do that to her?"

Jacob wiped the blood from his lip and spit out a tooth in the process. "Fuck you, Edward."

Edward's eyes narrowed.

"Get up!" He screamed. "Get the fuck up!"

Jacob responded by spitting blood out onto the cement. Edward didn't waste anytime and grabbed him roughly by the shirt collar, forcing him to stand up and look him in the eye.

Jacob just jabbed a bloody finger at him. "You can blame me all you want but the fact of the matter is that we both know who's really at fault here."

"What the fuck are you talking about? If you had just left her alone, if you hadn't fucked with her, Jacob, she wouldn't be in the fucking hospital right now."

Jacob shrugged and pushed himself off the ground to meet Edward square in the eye. "That's funny. I could say the same thing to you."

Edward responded by shoving him in the chest. "What?"

"You heard me. You're the one who got her pregnant in the first place. Haven't you ever heard of birth control? Fuck, what if you gave her a disease or some shit like that? Did you ever think about that?"

Edward's arms fell at his sides, his hands clenching into tightly coiled fists. "You're saying this is my fault? Because I got her pregnant?"

Jacob just nodded once.

That one, slight movement was all Edward needed to send him flying into another rage. He lunged at Jacob again, this time his hands closing dangerously around his neck.

"Fuck you!" He screamed into Jacob's face. "I'm fucking in love her!"

"So am I, you asshole." Jacob choked out.

Edward's iron grip loosened on his neck and his features creased on confusion. "What did you say?"

"You heard me. I love Bella. I've been in love with her since middle school, Edward. I just…I just never knew what to do about it. And then you…do you have any idea what it's been like these last few months to watch you two…to hear it…"

He laughed when Edward froze.

"Did you really think I didn't know? That I was that stupid? I just…I just can't believe that Bella would be so…trusting…and you…you fucking ruined her. And for what? So she could be another notch on your bed post? You may have been able to fool her into believing that you love her but you can't fucking fool me. I know better. She thinks you've changed for her, that things are different with her…it's just bullshit and you know it. How much longer were you going to fuck around with her before you tossed her away like all the other ones?"

Edward's hands began to clench and unclench dangerously at his sides as he toyed with the idea of pummeling Jacob again.

"I don't have to convince you. Bella knows I love her and that's all I care about. Your opinion means shit to me." He spat out.

"Everyone else may be able to look the other way…fuck, everyone's been doing it for your entire god damned, privileged life…but I'm not going to. You need to wake the fuck up and take a good look in the mirror, Edward. You destroy everything you touch. You know that. I'm not going to let you ruin her anymore than you already have."

Edward took a deep inhale as Jacob's words reverberated over and over again in his head. For once in this fucked up situation, Jacob had a point.

So he did the only thing he could do. He shrugged his shoulders and took a small step backwards, giving Jacob a little more room to breathe.

"You're right about that, Jacob. I fuck everything up. If I hadn't gotten her pregnant, your fight with her wouldn't have ended up like this. But…that doesn't change the fact that you said those things to her. You had no right to do that. You had no right to talk to her like that. Fuck, Jacob…you left her on the side of the street in the middle of the night. What if something had happened to her? Did you ever think about that? You say that I don't really care about her, that I was just using her, well you know what? I would have never, ever done something like that to her. I care about her more than I care about myself, which is more than I can say about you. You know what you are, Jacob? You're nothing but a whiny little bitch. You're just pissed you didn't get your way."

Jacob's face twisted in anger and he jumped at Edward, swinging his fist. Edward easily caught it and just shoved him backward. Jacob staggered until the backs of his knees hit the edge of a car and he slumped down on it. His hands flew to his face and he shut his eyes tightly.

"You're right," he whispered through his hands. "I was a stupid, jealous, horrible motherfucker. I shouldn't have said those things to her but as soon as I knew for sure…what was going on…I just…I lost it. I was so angry that she would choose you over me. There's nothing about you that's good. Nothing you can give her that I can't. Nothing you can do for that I can't. I just…don't understand why she made that choice."

"Me either." Edward whispered back.

"I've never been anything but good to her… at least up until last night. I've been there for her when she needed me, I've done everything she's ever asked me to do but it's never been enough for her. I just don't understand…"

Jacob paused there and rubbed his hands over his face. He grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled on it in frustration before turning his attention back to Edward. They stared at each other for a few moments before Edward sighed and leaned up against the car next to Jacob.

From where they were sitting, they could see the worried faces of Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper watching from about twenty feet away, braced and ready just in case another round of fighting broke out. Edward just nodded to them, which they took as their signal to go back inside.

Jacob exhaled loudly and ran a hand over his face. "The thing is, Edward…the thing is that no matter what you think about me now, I really do want Bella to be happy, even if it's not with me. Ever since her mom…she just hasn't been the same Bella. I just want her to be happy again. And then…these last few months, something changed. She just kind of had this, I don't know what to call it, this glow? She was smiling again. She was laughing again. She just seemed…back to her old self and as soon as I figured out the reason why, I should've been happy for her. But I wasn't. I was just so…angry and jealous and…I wanted to be the one. I wanted to be the one to make everything better for her. But you did it. She chose you."

Edward sighed and ran a hand through his already wild hair. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say to that."

Jacob just shrugged. "You don't have to say anything."

A few more minutes of uneasy silence passed between them before Jacob spoke again.

"You're not good for her."

Edward nodded slowly. "I know that."

"But she still chose you."

Edward nodded again. "I know."

Jacob sighed and rubbed his throbbing jaw. "I shouldn't have said those things to her. She'll never forgive me."

"She might…because, well, because she's Bella. But I won't." He answered quietly.

Jacob nodded and sighed again. "I can live with that."

Edward eyed his former friend and roommate carefully before responding. "You know…I understand why you did what you did. I get it. I really do. Because if our roles were reversed, I'm sure I'd feel the exact same way. But from here on out, you need to respect Bella's decision, even if you still don't understand it. And you need to respect our relationship. I love her, Jacob. I don't owe you an explanation of my feelings for her because to be completely fucking honest, you don't deserve it. But you need to understand that I do love her, that I'm not going to hurt her, and that I'm never going to let anything happen to her ever again. It's time for you to just let it go, Jacob."

Jacob's head bowed down into his chest as he nodded. "You're right. I do need to let it go…would it be alright if…can I see her? I just want to apologize and then I'll go."

Edward's eyes narrowed at the suggestion and he exhaled loudly. "Well, I'm not going to make that decision for her. You can come to her room but the second she wants you to leave, you're gone."

"That sounds pretty fair. Thanks…"

Edward said nothing and just eased himself off the edge of the car to head back inside the hospital. Jacob immediately followed suit and they made their way back through the parking lot, each keeping a careful distance away from the other.

"Edward! Jacob!"

They turned around at the voice and both visibly stiffened at the sight of Charlie jogging up to them.

"What's going on? Where's Bella? What are you guys doing out here?" Charlie asked breathlessly, his hand subconsciously resting on the pistol at his hip.

"We were just talking, sir." Edward answered lamely.

Charlie's eyebrows rose as he looked from Edward to Jacob but instead of responding to the obvious fight that had taken place, he just shook his head because there was someone more important to worry about.

"How's Bella? Is she awake yet?" Charlie asked again.

"She's awake now, sir." Edward answered quietly.

"How is she…I mean, is she…?" Charlie's face had twisted into a grim, solemn expression and Edward couldn't stop the feeling of despair that rushed over him yet again.

Edward sighed and ran a hand through his hair as they came up to the doors. "I don't know. It's hard to say…I think she's still too shocked to have any other reaction."

Charlie nodded quietly. A few awkward moments passed between them before Charlie spoke again.

"Look, Edward…I just want to see Bella first and then, you and I are going to sit down and talk about all this."

Edward swallowed nervously and did his best to not look as terrified as he felt. "Yes sir."

"Ow…Alice! Do you have to?" Bella whined as she swatted away Alice's hair brush, effectively knocking it out of her hand.

"Shit, Alice, you're hurting her!" Rosalie snapped from the other side of the bed.

Alice huffed and snatched up her hairbrush, throwing it back into her oversized bag.

"Seriously, what do you keep in there? It's like you carry around a fucking suitcase with you all day, every day." Rosalie muttered in exasperation.

"Shut up." Alice retorted. "I was just trying to help. Bella's hair looks like a rat's nest."

Rosalie's eyes widened in horror. "Oh nice! Real nice! I can't believe you just said that…"

"Alright, alright…" Bella held up her hands, playing the referee. "That's enough out of you guys. Can we just…relax maybe? Where are the guys anyways? Where's Edward?"

Alice and Rosalie sent each other an anxious look, which only tipped Bella off that something was very, very wrong.

"Okay, what's going on? Where is everyone?"

Alice just looked down at her feet while Rosalie's eyes flitted anywhere but at Bella. This, of course, only served to piss Bella off.

"Seriously guys, what---" she stopped abruptly at the sight of her father, Edward, and Jacob in the doorway.

"Um…we'll just be right outside." Rosalie mumbled, dragging Alice out with her.

The second Charlie's eyes met hers, a fresh batch of tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Charlie was at her side within seconds, with Edward close on his heels, but Jacob lingered in the doorway, obviously unsure of what to do. But the fact that Jacob was there didn't even really register with her quite yet. All she saw was Charlie and her vision blurred.

"Hey, hey…don't cry, Bells. Everything's going to be okay now." Charlie whispered to her.

Bella sat up so she could throw her arms around his neck, not caring that the sudden movement caused her some discomfort in her abdomen. It didn't matter because she had never been so glad to see her father as she was in that moment. She never thought that would ever happen again. But all of that didn't matter anymore because she needed him and he was here for her.

He held her tightly and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"Dad…I…I'm so sorry for everything…I never should have…" She sputtered.

Charlie just shook his head. "Don't, Bells. You don't have to apologize for anything. You never have. All that matters now is that you're going to be alright. You got that?"

She laughed lightly and nodded as he kissed her head again. Charlie released her and looked around awkwardly, from Edward, who was sitting on the opposite side of the bed, to Jacob, still in the doorway, with his head hanging low.

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat. "Well, if you don't mind, Bells, I'd like to talk to your doctor and ask him a few questions."

She nodded quickly. "Yeah, sure. Carlisle's outside somewhere…he can help you find my doctor."

Charlie nodded silently and squeezed her hand before getting up. He had obviously sensed that the three remaining in the room had some business to attend to and he figured it was best to just give them the space he needed and ask questions later.

Now that there was no longer a buffer between them and the lingering figure in the doorway, Bella looked anxiously at Edward, who just sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was then that she finally noticed the blood, cuts, and bruises on both Edward and Jacob.

"What…" She looked anxiously from Edward to Jacob, waiting for an explanation.

"Jacob and I were...discussing the conversation you and him had last night…aggressively…in the parking lot." Edward explained quietly.

Bella didn't have the strength to yell at either of them for their stupidity. She was just too tired for that. It would just have to wait until she was in the right state of mind to ream both of them a new asshole.

A few uneasy moments of silence passed before Edward let out a loud huff.

"I told Jacob he could talk to you as long as you wanted him here, Bella. Just say the word and I'll get him out of here."

Bella didn't say anything. Instead, her gaze slid to Jacob's solemn eyes, and she swallowed loudly. She knew exactly what he had come there to do, she knew exactly what he wanted to say to her and why. She just wasn't sure if she was ready to hear it yet.

"I don't know, Jake…" she whispered hoarsely.

Edward was already walking around the bed, headed straight for the doorway where Jacob waited, already having surrendered when Bella's voice stopped him.

"Wait! Jake…you can say what you need to say…and then I think it would be best if you left."

Jacob nodded sadly and took a few steps inside the room, shuffling his feet and still unsure of what he was supposed to do. He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets as he got closer to her bed.

"Bella…" he began softly. "I don't think I'll ever be able to say or do anything to make you forgive me but…I shouldn't have said those things to you. I shouldn't have done it. I should've handled it differently, talked to you about it differently and waited until I wasn't so upset about it. I…I'll understand if you can't ever forgive because I know I'll never forgive myself for what I did…I'm just…I'm so, so sorry."

Bella exhaled softly and leaned back on the bed in thought. She glanced over at Edward, who had taken his place again next to her on the bed. His eyes were trained solely on her, waiting for her to make her decision and waiting to carry it out for her. He sent her a brief, reassuring smile that told her to take all the time she needed.

She sighed again and squeezed her eyes shut. On the one hand, she hated him for what he did. Part of her could hardly even look at him without clenching her fists in anger. But on the other hand, she knew that all he was really guilty of was caring about her, even if he had went about it the entirely wrong way. She couldn't really fault him for that anymore than she could fault Edward for all the mistakes he'd made in his past as well. Besides, wasn't it possible that the miscarriage would've happened anyway and that their argument had just sped it up? That didn't excuse the things he had said or the tone he used with her and while she knew she wasn't ready to forgive him then, that also didn't mean she couldn't at some point. What he said to her should have been unforgivable but she knew, deep down, that some day she would be able to forgive him. That day just wasn't today.

"Jake…" she began softly; her eyes closed briefly when she felt Edward's hand close supportively over hers. "I appreciate your apology, I really do. I just…I can't give you what you want yet…I can't forgive you yet. I'm not going to make any promises but I think that I'll be able to some day…just not yet."

Jacob nodded in understanding and sent her a small smile which she returned weakly.

"Are you alright, Bells?" He asked quietly.

Bella swallowed and nodded, giving him another small reassuring smile. "Yeah, Jake. I'm going to be alright."

He smiled again, nodding quickly to Edward to signal that he knew it was time to leave.

"Okay…bye, Bells."

"Bye, Jake."

She couldn't watch him walk out the door. She knew that if she did, it would just bring on yet another batch of tears and she was just too exhausted to cry anymore. She didn't have it in her and she definitely didn't have the strength to watch Jacob, her former best friend, walk away…maybe even for good.

That feeling, that horrible feeling of despair and hopelessness eased up when she felt Edward squeeze her hand in his. She looked up at him and he smiled down at her. And that was it. That was all she needed. All she would ever need to set things right for her. It was simple. It was easy. It was just Edward.

He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.

"I love you," he murmured into her hair. "That's one thing that's never going to change."

"I love you too." She exhaled breathlessly.

He smiled again, that crazy lop-sided grin that always drove her crazy, even when she wanted to kill him and he reached up to brush a stray tear from her cheek.

"Please don't cry anymore, Bella." He whispered into her hair again.

Just then, someone cleared their throat loudly, and somewhat awkwardly at the doorway. Both Edward and Bella looked up to see Charlie waiting uncomfortably, his eyes shifting nervously from his daughter to her boyfriend sitting very closely together on the bed. From the pained expression on his face, it was obvious he had seen and heard the exchange that had taken place between them.

"Well," Charlie began awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I talked to the doc, Bells and he…he told me everything I needed to know. Can I…can I get you anything? You hungry? Or thirsty or something?"

Bella shook her head quickly. "No, Dad. I'm fine, thanks."

Charlie looked around the room anxiously and recognition flickered across his face. "Where's Jacob? Did he leave?"

"Uh…yeah, I told him to leave." She answered quietly.

Charlie opened his mouth to speak but Edward promptly cut him off.

"Chief Swan? Maybe it's time for us to have that talk."

Charlie blinked in surprise and after a moment of hesitation, he nodded and watched as Edward leaned down to kiss his daughter's forehead before getting up and walking around the bed to the doorway.

"Don't worry, Bells. I'll bring him back to you in one piece."

"You better!" Bella called back as they walked out of the room.

"She seems to be doing okay," Charlie said as they made their way down the hall. "But on the other hand, she's so much like her mother…always keeping that sort of thing in."

Edward nodded in complete understanding. He, too, was worried that Bella's seemingly calm demeanor was just a front for the way she was really feeling, which was most likely all the same things he was feeling: devastation, grief, anger…and so on and so on. There was some inevitable therapy in their future, but he knew it was going to have to be up to Bella on when and where they started it.

"So…should we get some coffee?" Edward suggested.

"Yeah, I guess that's what you do when you're waiting in a hospital, isn't it?" Charlie replied heavily.

Edward smiled grimly. "Yeah, I guess it is."

They walked in silence to the many pots of coffee in the waiting room, neither one making eye contact with anyone else. Luckily, Rosalie, Alice, and Esme were simply flipping through magazines and Jasper and Emmett got up to take a walk while Carlisle chatted with another doctor.

Once their cups were filled, they found a couple of chairs in a quiet hallway where they could have as much privacy as one can have in a hospital.

"So," Charlie began unsteadily. "Do you want to explain to me what the hell happened between Bella and Jacob? Well, wait…why don't you…you just start from the beginning. How long have you and…my daughter…been together?"

Edward took a deep breath and exhaled, taking a moment to gather up enough nerve to answer all of Charlie's questions.

"Well, it started about two months ago and we didn't tell anyone because…well, to be honest I don't really remember all the reasons we had for keeping it a secret. I didn't really want to…Bella just, well, she had her reasons. Last night at the club, Jacob figured out that we were together and he…it's my fault…I had to stay late to help clean up so he gave her a ride home and I shouldn't have let her leave with him. I should have made her wait for me but I didn't because…I didn't want her to have to hang around if she didn't have to. I don't know all the details but what I do know is that Jacob confronted her about our relationship during the ride home and he…wasn't very nice to her; he pretty much told her that I was just using her and that she was an idiot for being with me."

"Are you using her?" Charlie asked pointedly.

A look of shock and surprise crossed Edward's already pained features.

"No, sir. I'm not." He replied quietly.

Charlie stared at him for a few moments, his eyes boring straight into Edward's. He wanted nothing more to look away because he had never been so scared in his entire life but he knew exactly what Charlie was doing. He was testing him. And if he looked away, he would fail Charlie's test and there was no way he was going to do that.

"Alright...is there anything else?" Charlie asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"He left her on the sidewalk in the middle of the night. I know she called Alice for a ride to her place and when Jasper dropped me off, Bella was just getting back to our apartment. I knew…I knew the second I saw her that something was wrong, that something wasn't quite right and I tried to get her to tell me but she wouldn't. Then I let her leave. I knew something was wrong and I let her leave. Jasper called me not even an hour later and told me to get the hospital. I…I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for this."

"For what?" Charlie asked quietly.

Edward shrugged. "All of it. As much as I want to blame Jacob for everything and believe me, I've tried…I was madder than hell. I really thought I might kill him too…but bottom line, all of this is my fault. If I had just grown a backbone and told the manager at the club I needed to leave instead of staying to clean up, Bella would've gone home with Jasper and me. Jacob would've had some time to cool off, maybe even confronted me about it instead of her…and I was the one who…the one who…"

He couldn't even say it out loud in front of Charlie: I was the one who got her pregnant in the first place.

Charlie, however, seemed to understand what he was trying to say. He nodded slowly and rested his hands on his legs.

"Well, it wasn't necessarily the right way to handle Jacob but I understand why you needed to beat the crap out of him. And you know, if it I knew it wouldn't kill Bella, I would probably beat the crap out of you too. But…I'm not going to do that…as much as I'd like to right now. Sorry but I can't have any other reaction. But, all things considered, from what you've said, I don't see what you could've done differently, Edward. This isn't your fault anymore than it is Bella's. It's like her doctor, what's-his-name, told me. Sometimes these things just happen and there's nothing anybody can do."

"Thank you, Chief Swan."

"So you gave Jacob a good ass-kicking, I guess, right?"

Edward bit back a smiled and nodded. Charlie just chuckled and shook his head.

"Well, I doubt he's going to press charges so you should be fine there." He said lightly.

When that somewhat light moment passed, another bout of silence took over. Neither one really knew what to say, even though both knew that more still needed to be said. It was just getting the nerve and the balls to come out and say it.

So after a few moments of that awkward silence, Charlie finally sighed and said simply:

"Do you love her?"

Edward nodded. "More than anything, sir."

"Are you going to marry her?"

"If she says yes."

Charlie chuckled a little. "Well, from what I saw back there in her room, something tells me you don't have to worry about that too much."

Edward swallowed nervously before speaking again. "Sir, uh, could I…could I have your permission to ask her to marry me?"

Charlie inhaled deeply and crossed his arms over his chest again in thought. Several moments passed before Charlie began to nod slowly.

"Yeah, Edward…you have my permission."

Edward smiled weakly. "Thank you, sir."

Charlie nodded again. "You know, Edward, the whole way here, all I could think about was how much I wanted to kick your ass…not to mention getting her pregnant but I guess that's beside the point now…I know the reputation you have with…women…but, after seeing what I saw today, with you and Bella…I just…I see it, Edward. I really do. Hell, I'd be an idiot not to. I can see how much you care about her, how much you love her and I can see that she loves you just as much. That's all her mother and I wanted for her. And despite what happened last night, I can't see what I saw and not trust that you'll take care of her. And I know that, someday, you guys will be back in this hospital on much better terms…just hopefully later rather than sooner, you know what I'm saying?"

Edward chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I get it. I can't say it would've been ideal but…Bella and I would've found a way to make it work and when it does happen again, we'll be ready and waiting for it."

Charlie placed a hand on his shoulder. "I think so too."

Both men exchanged a brief smile and new understanding before Charlie rose from his chair.

"Well, I think it's time we got back to Bella. She's probably going crazy…thinking I'm killing you or something…"

Edward just laughed and stood up to follow Charlie back to Bella, back to where he belonged and where he was always going to be.

So...yeah, it's been way too long since I've updated (and I knew you'd all be too excited to read an AN in the beginning so I put it here). Student teaching kinda caught up with me and I had some major writer's block with getting this chapter out. It was a long process that really sucked...I'd write something, hate it, delete it, start over, repeat. There were a lot of loose ends to tie up with this chapter that I wanted to get right and I hope that I did.

Big, big, big thanks to brighteyes87 for helping me work out the kinks and for being my cheerleader for finishing this chapter. You rock, girl!

Anyways, I'm thinking there's probably just one chapter left of this. And maybe in epilogue if I can manage it. Then it's back to work on "The Truth About Edward and Bella".

I know it's been a while, but show me some love and let me know what you thought of the long-awaited showdown! Thanks!