Chapter Six

Hours later, we're sitting at the table at my house, all of us. My family and Bella's, even Rosalie, as Charlie tells us everything the doctor said.

They caught it early.

She has a chance to survive.

It's those words stick with me the most.

"She'll have a better chance if she has a bone marrow transplant," Charlie explains and shudders. "I'm a match to her blood type, but can't donate." Accepting that can't be easy for him. I know it wouldn't be for me.

"I don't match," Emmett grumbles. I can see that it pisses him off.

"So far, there's no one on the registry that matches close enough to her," Charlie says, patting his son's back. "No other family that could be matches."

Bella and Charlie share a look as Emmett mutters a curse. Renee, Bella's biological mother left when they were seven. They hadn't heard from her since. If she's a possible match, I'm positive Charlie would hunt her down.

"We can organize a blood drive and ask those with the same blood type to see if they'd match," Mom suggests.

"The test is really intrusive," Bella says, shuddering. I wince. She told me she had to have a spinal tap earlier, even passed out from the procedure. She wouldn't wish that on anybody. "But it's worth a shot."

She's worth it and so much more.

As Mom and Alice clean up in the kitchen after dinner, I watch Charlie and Emmett. They're barely holding it together. Emmett is the worst of the two, even as Rosalie keeps whispering something to him.

I don't know what to make of her. She's comforting him, but she still makes me nervous. Whatever happened with her and Bella has remained between them. No one knows the whole story, but rumors say it's because of Peter.

Bella said it was private. I want to know. I need to know if I can trust her. Hate the doubt that still lingers. I don't have to be nice to Rosalie for very long. Emmett takes her home and heads out for a while.

Our parents are busy making plans for the blood drive and work to find a specialist for Bella. I want to be right there with them, but I can't leave her side.

She's sitting beside me on the couch, her head on my shoulder. The flat screen is on, but it's just background noise. My head's a mess, but I try to let it all go as I play with her hair.

She's humming something, absently drawing shapes on my chest with a fingertip. I can't imagine what's going on in her mind right now. Are her thoughts anything like mine? I hope not.

The late hour threatens to separate us and I'm not sure I can handle it. The news is too new and raw for me to have the strength to let her go. My breath stills as Charlie rises to his feet, calling it a night.

Bella's hand fists my shirt, her eyes wide as her breathing picks up. Her eyes close and she takes a deep breath. She doesn't want to leave me. Everyone goes suddenly still as if they all sense our turmoil. The idea of her leaving my side after all that we learned to today…it's too fucking much right now. They know this.

"Would it be all right of Edward spends the night?" Charlie surprises all of us. He rubs a hand over his face. "My shift starts in a while and I don't want to leave Bella alone tonight."

Mom nods and Dad gives me a look that says, don't fuck this this up. "That'll be fine, Charlie," Dad says instead.

"Thanks, Charlie," I say, pulling Bella to her feet. "Let me grab a bag real quick."

"I'll be home late," Charlie says, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks at Bella. "Um…leave your bedroom door open please."

The look he gives me then matches the one Dad gave me. "Yes, Sir."

He walks over to Bella and drops a kiss on her forehead. He's gone without another word. I hear Bella sniffle a little and watch as a tear slips down her cheek.

"He doesn't have a shift tonight."

Fuck. That can't be good.

Bella and I don't talk much when we reach her house. We just fall into her bed after a quick shower together of light touches and soft kisses. Neither of us was up for much more than that. Tired and emotionally fucking drained. I hold her close as she falls to sleep, and my eyes close. I try to fight it. I'm afraid of what my nightmares will be like now.

I hear the cruiser pull up and another car some time later. I check to see that it's almost four in the morning. I slip out of bed, covering Bella with another blanket. A minute later, there's some banging around in the kitchen when I take a leak. I don't want him to wake up Bella.

Washing up, I head downstairs already knowing what I'll find. In the kitchen, Charlie's sitting in one of the chairs—drunk.

His blood shot eyes meet mine. I have to say something. "Don't do this, Charlie." He says nothing, now staring at something over my shoulder. "She needs you. Don't fucking do this, Charlie!" I hiss.

Tears fill his eyes and fall, his face flushing red. He's angry, but fuck if I'll let him do this to Bella and Emmett. "I won't."

The problem is he already has. "You've been sober for over seven fucking years!"

Emmett told me that after Renee left Charlie turned to alcohol, though Bella doesn't know. They don't want her to. It took him almost losing his job and the threat of losing his kids to get him to sober up.

"She has the right to know."

Charlie shakes his head. "No."

"I'm telling Emmett about this," I say flatly, too tired to have this conversation. "You need to go to a meeting and call your sponsor."

He nods. "Tomorrow."

"I'll be reminding you of this conversation in the morning." His eyes close as he nods again.

I leave. There's nothing else to say.

The sleeping arrangements only last three nights, because our parents aren't that understanding. I need to figure out how to bypass the alarm on her window.

Two weeks later, we're in our treehouse again. It's fucking freezing outside, but we're under a ton of blankets.

Since Bella's news, I stopped smoking. I didn't want to do it around her, but a part me wants to be clean and shit. We needed a break today. It's been weird at school. News travels fast here, and everyone in town knows Bella's sick.

We're not sure how people found out that the drive we're organizing is mostly because of Bella. It's too late to deny it. Everyone in town fucking knows. It doesn't matter because we're getting the word out for the drive. The more people that show up will increase our chances of finding a match for her.

There have been a few problems though.

A few people treat Bella like a pariah as if her illness is contagious. Which is fucking bullshit and ignorance. Lauren and her two ass-kissing friends are the worst. They accuse of Bella of attention seeking and milking it to get easy A's. The entire situation reminds me of the shit I went through back home. I don't want that for Bella.

She hates every second of the attention she's gotten. I've spent the last week, walking her to every class and glaring at anyone that dared to stare at her. Most don't have the balls to stand up to me.

"I'm going to lose my hair," she whispers, bringing me out of my thoughts. Her fingers tap a few times on my bare chest.

"Don't care." I pull a curl and watch it bounce back. I'll miss it, but if means she lives, I don't care.

For days now, she's said she'd understand if I left her. She has doubts, and I don't blame her. I haven't exactly been reliable, having run from her more than once.

"I'm going to get even thinner." That scares me. She's small already.

"And when you get better, I'll go buy you fries."

"I might not be able to have kids."

I already knew. I looked that shit up. The morning after the diagnosis, I spent hours on the internet, looking up anything on Leukemia. The medication she'll have could fuck up her organs.

"I know, still don't care." As long as she's by my side, I'll be happy.

She props herself on one elbow, and I can't help but touch her. My fingers graze the side of breast, rubbing her nipple, gently. I want her again.

"I'm not going to college this fall," she says.

I knew that, too. "I'm sorry."

She only shrugs. "It might hard for me to graduate anyway." The chemo and radiation treatment will make her sick sometimes. Studying might be hard on her.

My grades aren't too bad this year. "I'll help you," I whisper, pulling her down for a kiss. She's soft, warm and smells good. It was hard to keep my hands off before, but now, it's impossible.

For a few days after I found out, I was hesitant and scared I could hurt her or give her something. After Dad confirmed with a doctor friend, he told me we can have sex as long as we're careful and always use condoms. That was another uncomfortable conversation with our parents, since Bella had to confirm it with her doctors.

"What if nobody shows up tomorrow?" She's worried about the blood drive.

My hand falls away, but immediately cradles her cheek. "I'm not nobody," I say. Her bottom lip trembles, but softens against my mouth. "Try not to worry."

"It's hard."

My mouth tips up one side and I wiggle my eyebrows. She rolls her eyes. "You're unbelievable."

I don't sleep much nowadays. Every time I try, I wake up in a cold sweat and barely breathing. It sucks to have so much information at your fingertips. My imagination has been working overtime.

I go downstairs to grab something to drink or eat.

"Edward?" Mom enters the kitchen minutes later, turning on the light. I wince and give her a small smile. "Can't sleep, either?" I shake my head. She pulls me against her, and kisses my temple. "It'll be okay, sweetheart."

"I know."

She offers me a small smile. "How do you know?"

I shrug. "It has to be."

Her smile falls, but I can't take back the words. I won't be the same if Bella…I can't even think about it. I kiss Mom's cheek and head up to get ready for the blood drive.

One thousand, four hundred and fourteen people showed up that day. Ten were possible blood type matches. Out of that ten, only seven passed the medical screening to donate bone marrow. Those seven needed to have a sample collected for testing. The closer the match, the better chance she'll make it.

"You don't have to do this," Bella says as Mom gives us a minute a few days later. The test consists of a spinal tap, and considering how much she hates needles, she's freaking out again.

"I do." I touch her face. "I'll do anything for you, even bleed." We found out the day after the blood drive that I had the same blood type. I had to do this.

She frowns. It looks all wrong on her face, so she smiles when I ask her to. "You look good in a hospital gown."

I pull her down for a kiss and tease her, "I never pegged you to have a doctor/patient fetish." I need her to laugh for me.

She giggles, but she wipes away tears. Those come more often, not that I care. I'm here to dry them whenever she needs it. I do it now.

"I love you," she whispers.

It's the first time she said it. "I know." I shake my head and groan, making an adjustment I can't hide in the gown. "Did you have to tell me now?" She laughs and kisses me, not helping the situation. It distracts her, even if it's only for a little while.

Today's the day we'll find out if someone is a match. The doctor's office is full. Mom, Sue and Emmett are standing behind us, waiting to hear the results. Bella wants me here with her and Charlie seems okay with it. The man still won't look me in the eyes.

I'm fucking nervous.

The doctor comes in and starts to tell us a bunch of medical shit that sort of blends together. Bella's hand squeezes mine. I look at her, and I'm really fucking scared. I can't lose her.

"The results are back…" the doctor continues.

The room is too fucking quiet and I swear I can hear my heart pounding. The doctor gives us the results and there's a collective cry of relief.

Bella's in her father's arms; he's in tears. She moves to her brother, and soon, to Sue and Mom. My mind feels like it's fucking floating and I can't hear anything.

Until Bella drops down on my lap and I wake up. My arms wrap around her and I openly sob against her shoulder. I don't care who is watching. All I care about is the girl in my arms, holding her as she cries.

"I knew," she murmurs, pressing her lips all over my face.

I knew, too.

I'm a match.

AN: That's the end of the original one-shot. I added about three thousand words to the original, some of the new passages are important for the rest of the story. Chapters will be short after this and will NOT focus on the illness but the relationships that tries to survive it. Stay tuned and thank you for all your wonderful reviews.

Unedited. Any mistakes are mine, all additions throughout were added after my beta looked at it.