Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Faith, Hope, And Love

By Momma2Fan

Chapter 09:

Stay with me…

Edward barely got his car in park before he was sprinting through the doors of the hospital. He found Jasper waiting for him at the nurses’ station.

“Jaz! Where is she?”

“She’s in surgery. Come on, the family is upstairs.”

Jasper and Edward hurried to the elevator bank and waited. Edward was just about to take the stairs when the doors finally opened. The two men boarded and then waited as the elevator rose the four floors to the surgical area. When the doors finally opened, they stepped off and went to join the others.

“Any news?” Edward demanded when he saw his father.

Carlisle shook his head. “Alistair is performing the surgery. He wouldn’t let me stay.”

Edward nodded; Carlisle was too close to the case and Dr. George was nothing if not professional. “What was the prognosis?”

Carlisle couldn’t help the small smile that graced his face. Edward had put on his doctor cap and wanted information before he became the distraught friend.

“When her car flipped, her head hit the driver side window. She was jostled, but there were no obvious signs of head trauma. Her pupils were equal and reactive. However, the CT showed a small bleed on the right side of her cranium and her brain was swelling. Alistair wanted to go in and drain the bleed and then get her stabilized. He’s going to leave her under in hopes the intracranial pressure will lessen.”

Just as he finished his speech, Dr. Alistair George walked into the waiting room. “Charlie?”

Charlie stood up and Carlisle stood by him. “Is Bella…?”

“She made it through surgery. I have every confidence she will make a full recovery. I’m going to keep her sedated for the next couple of days, and then I’ll slowly wean her off the medication. Right now, I’ve done all I can. The rest is up to her.”

Charlie nodded and licked his lips. “Can I see my daughter?”

Alistair placed a hand on the chief’s shoulder. “As soon as she comes up from recovery, I’ll send a nurse to get you. You can visit two at a time.”

Charlie nodded and sank back into his chair. Carlisle looked at his colleague and friend. “Thank you, Alistair.”

The doctor nodded and then left them, returning to his patient.

The room was silent for a few minutes before Edward finally stood up. “I’m going to the chapel.” He didn’t say anything else, and didn’t expect anyone to follow him.

Edward sat down in the empty room and stared at the floor. He would never admit it to anyone else, but when Jasper had called him, he thought he had lost his chance. Now knowing Bella was in a coma, he let his tears flow. When he couldn’t take the silence any longer, he lifted his head toward the heavens and spoke to God.

“Dear Lord, please help Bella to be okay. I know I screwed up a lot in the past by not telling her how I felt, but I promise if you give her back to me, I’ll do everything I can to take care of her like she deserves. She’s everything to me, and without her, I’m lost. Please send her back to me. I need her more than the air I breathe. Amen”

“How do you feel?”

Edward turned toward the voice behind him and saw Charlie standing in the doorway. “I love her, Charlie.”

Charlie nodded and walked to where he was sitting, lowering himself to the bench. “I know you do. I just wondered if you could admit it to me. I’ve known since you were in high school.”

Edward looked at him sheepishly. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

Charlie sighed. “After the Jasper and Alice debacle, Bella closed herself off to anything other than friendship for anyone. She doesn’t think I noticed, but she doesn’t lie very well. At least, not to me.”

Edward nodded. “She put on a good front for all of us, but Rose and I knew she never fully forgave either of them.”

“She hadn’t, until they graduated from college,” Charlie told him. “With Alice living in P.A., she was able to see those two are perfect for each other. She decided to let the past be and move on.”

The two men sat in silence for a while, both praying quietly for Bella.

“She was so happy when she found out you were moving back, Edward. I think she cares more for you then she’ll admit. She was on her way to see you when she was in the accident.”

“What?” Edward turned to him in shock.

Charlie nodded. “You didn’t know?”

Edward shook his head.

“She could hear how exhausted you were and wanted to take care of you.”

Edward couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was it possible Bella cared about him the way he did her?