Chapter Fourteen
Healing
Grace Cullen

Bella was up and walking by the end of the day, struggling with the heavy boot on her leg but making good progress none the less. I had her walking the hallway as a pre-release test while Carlisle followed us filling out the evaluation. The surgery had tired her out, but, as always, she surprised me by bouncing back fast.

Ultimately, much to Bella's dismay, Carlisle and I agreed that Bella was too weak to fly home tonight and would have to stay overnight in the hospital. She had protested and tried her hardest to convince us she was fine and could handle the short flight, but her results and tired face couldn't fool us.

"I really need to get back to the station in the morning." Charlie sighed, speaking to me softly in the hallway just outside Bella's room as the rest of the family spoke with her and Renee. "I've got to handle the situation with the hikers and I've been getting calls about the the break in at the high school."

"Oh, well I can get Bella home soundly." I promised him. "The rest of the family is headed back tonight anyways. Carlisle, myself, and Edward are going to stay with Bella. You can fly home with Esme and the others, if you'd like to?"

"Yeah, that's fine with me." He nodded. "You know, I really do like your family." He smiled teasingly at me.

"I'm glad." I smiled earnestly. "I was afraid they would scare you off."

"Never." He promised me. "I really have to stop talking to a stranger like this. My girlfriend might get mad." He chuckled as Esme joined us in the hallway.

"Oh, you two are just too cute." She giggled, hugging my side tightly. "I'll make sure he gets home in one piece, sis. Although, I can't promise that Alice won't bother him with questions." She teased me.

"Great." I laughed. "Thank you." I smiled at her.

"I've got sooo many questions." Alice hugged me as she and the others passed by us headed to the elevators to leave.

"I'll see you later." Charlie promised me, stepping forward and pressing a quick kiss to my forehead before hurrying off after Esme.

She and Alice looked like giddy school girls as they held the elevator for him, giggling at our interaction. I rolled my eyes as I entered Bella's room and went to record her vitals.

"Honestly, I'm fine, I don't see why I can't go home." Bella fussed to her mother, a last chance hope to convince someone she could leave.

"I really think Doctor Cullen and his wonderful nurse know what they're doing." Renee smirked at her, shooting me a cheeky smile.

"I promise you that you'll thank us in the morning." I smiled at Bella. "Doctor Cullen is going to give you something to help you sleep through the night and a good dose of pain medication in the morning. You'll feel much better." I assured her.

"Right. Sleep deprivation after a taxing surgery is not good for your body." Carlisle backed me up. "Besides, Edward is staying here too so you won't be entirely without company." Carlisle teased her.

"Oh? You're staying?" Renee asked and he nodded. "Well then I suppose I feel better about leaving you here. I may catch that flight home after all. Phill has a big game tomorrow." Renee sighed and my motherly instincts went off in warning.

I suddenly saw the flighty mother that Charlie had told me about.

"Okay mom." Bella nodded. "You're going to come visit during the summer though. Aren't you?" She asked, and my heart hurt for her.

"Yes, of course sweetie. Just pick a good time for you and I'll see if it matches up with my schedule." Renee smiled and kissed her head. "I love you."

"I love you too." Bella nodded and Renee quickly left the room.

I dropped the illusion and sank into a nearby chair, entirely exhausted after a long day of keeping a constant mask.

"I'm impressed. You did a very good job today." Carlisle praised me, running one of his hands through my platinum blonde hair.

"I feel drained." I laughed weakly. "I haven't put up that constant of an illusion in decades."

"I'm just happy you look like you again." Edward chuckled. "It felt strange only seeing one Cullen twin."

"It was." Carlisle agreed. "I missed my sister." He smiled down at me.

"What a bunch of softies." I joked as I sent Bella a playful smile, and we both laughed.

"Alright, I'm going to go turn in the paperwork and book flights home for tomorrow before going on a quick errand. Edward, care to come along?" Carlisle asked in the open doorway.

"You'll stay with her?" He asked me.

"Of course." I smiled. "I don't think I can stand from this chair at the moment." I laughed and he kissed my cheek before leaving with Carlisle.

"They're going hunting." I told Bella. "Carlisle probably thought he was being polite by not saying it in front of you." I smiled.

"I assumed it was something like that." She nodded, finally starting to relax from the sleep meds and pain killers in her IV drip. "Edward wouldn't leave otherwise."

"I swear I didn't raise him to be so self-righteous." I laughed and she easily echoed me.

"You know, I can see how my dad fell in love with you." She smiled sweetly at me, and my heart just about melted in my chest. "You're beautiful of course, but my dad's not that shallow. You're really funny and kind without being extroverted, that's just Charlie's type. I'm actually really glad he has you." She confessed, looking like she was afraid she said too much.

"Bella, you really are a very bright young woman." I smiled softly at her. "That's a very sweet, intelligent, and mature response. I really love your dad, more than I can properly express, and so I hope you'll allow me to get to know and love you as well. I'm not trying to replace your mother, not at all, but I would love to be another motherly figure in your life. If that's something you would be okay with."

"Of course." Bella nodded, a thoughtful look on her face as she played with her IV line. "I've never really had a stable parent figure, and so being with Charlie these past few months have meant a lot to me. Edward thinks the world of you, so I think I'd like to have a dad like Charlie and a mom like you in my life." She smiled sleepily at me.

That was all it took. In that one moment I knew I would do anything for Bella Swan. Yes, she was a huge part of my mates life and literally a piece of him, but it felt entirely different. It felt as if my soul had adopted her like it had adopted Edward and Emmett.

"You should get some sleep, Bella." I smiled at her as I got up and put a fresh warm blanket over her.

"Goodnight, Grace." She yawned as she settled down.

"Goodnight." I smiled warmly down at her.

Several hours later, I was feeling much better after resting from using my gift for so long uninterrupted. I couldn't help but be overly enthusiastic about the possibility of gaining a daughter and let my mind run wild with the idea. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I about jumped out of my skin when my phone rang out.

"Hello?" I answered it quietly and quickly, not wanting to wake up Bella.

"Hey, it's me." Charlie's voice spoke from the other end. "I just got home and wanted to call and see how Bella was before heading to bed."

"She's great.The sleep medicine on top of her pain meds is giving her a nice deep sleep. Carlisle had me slip an oxygen line onto her face so she's getting plenty of good air too." I couldn't help but smile at her. "We had a really nice talk right before she went to sleep." I told him.

"Really? About?" He asked.

"She told me she could understand why you fell for me and that she was happy you found me. I told her I wasn't trying to replace her mother, but would like to get to know her and love her like a daughter and she seemed really excited about that. She told me she was enjoying the stability she had with you and she would be glad to have a mom like me." I cooed softly.

"That's my girl." He sniffed, sounding like he was tearing up.

"What a softie." I teased him. "You should go. Get some sleep before you go to the station in the morning." I told him.

"Yeah, I will." He promised me. "Goodnight." He told me.

"I love you, so much." I swore to him.

"I love you too." He promised me just as fiercely before hanging up the phone.

"Talking to your boyfriend?" Carlisle teased me as he opened the door and shut it back behind him and Edward quietly.

"Oh stop." I smirked, knowing I would be blushing if I could. "He called to check on Bella."

"I'm sure he did." Edward smirked back at me as he took the seat next to Bella's bed. "Were we not supposed to hear the declarations of love?" He teased.

"Honestly you're both just trying to embarrass me." I huffed, crossing my arms in front of me.

"No sister, we're so happy for you, really." Carlisle cooed to me. "It's just fun to finally get to tease you about being lovesick like you've teased me." He chuckled.

"Easy excuse." I teased him back.

"Grace." Bella suddenly spoke my name, and we all froze in fear we had woken her. However, she was still sound asleep.

"She talks in her sleep a lot." Edward informed us, and I had to resist the urge to question how he knew that.

"Grace." She repeated. "Mom." She muttered shortly after and I couldn't help but smile brightly at the term.

"It seems like she really likes you." Carlisle smiled sweetly at me as he sat beside me and put his arm around me.

"It seems so." I agreed happily.

Bella woke around nine in the morning, in pain but trying to hide it from us, and Carlisle pushed another round of pain medication through her IV before detaching it. I had shifted back into my projection of red hair in glasses so I could go down the hall and start the discharge paperwork and pay off any bill her insurance wouldn't cover.

"Dr. Cullen is paying for the procedure?" One of the nurses I had met yesterday, Julie I remembered, asked incredulously.

"Yes, she's his sons girlfriend. She actually only fell out of that window because she was running down the stairs away from her boyfriend. So, Dr. Cullen feels awful about it and insisted on paying, understandably." I explained.

"Wow, that's so good of him." She marveled, grabbing a chart before starting down the hall.

"Are we ready?" Carlisle asked, approaching the counter, Edward pushing Bella in a wheelchair behind him.

"Ready." I nodded, grabbing my bag and paperwork before following them out to the car.

Hours later, I was glad to finally have Bella back in the state of Washington. I thought there was no better feeling than to know everyone was safe and relatively happy as we exited the plane...until I saw Charlie there waiting for us and broke out in a sprint to hug him tight. Having Charlie in my arms, along with knowing everyone I love is fine and happy, is my favorite feeling.

"I missed you too." Charlie chuckled, squeezing me tight before letting go of me to reach out for Bella.

I had to keep myself from laughing at the awkward father daughter hug they shared. I'd have to get them both more comfortable with affection.

"I'm fine dad." Bella assured him as he let her go.

"Good." Charlie nodded awkwardly and I laughed then.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." I giggled, trying to get myself under control. "You're both just so awkward."

"Yeah, yeah, Miss Perfect." Charlie teased me, reaching out to catch my hand in his. "Let's get home."

I had Carlisle sit up front with Charlie while I sat in the back of the cruiser with Bella and Edward. We dropped Edward and Carlisle off at the Cullen house before going to the Swan residence. I helped Bella get up the stairs and dressed for bed before heading back down to the living room to Charlie.

"So, how did everything go with the officers and the school break-in?" I asked him as I cuddled into his side on the couch.

"We have a memorial planned for Friday for the three deceased officers. The break in was ruled as a faulty glass door since cameras didn't catch anything." He explained.

"The cameras didn't catch anything?" I questioned him. "How? They're set up right outside of the records office."

"The memory was strangely wiped out. Faulty electrical wiring." He dismissed firmly as he stood from the couch and went into the kitchen.

"Charlie, did you cover up the break in?" I asked him, surprised beyond belief, as I followed after him.

"I couldn't explain my being seen on camera with Miss. Cullen during an active break in doing nothing to stop the situation." He shook his head as he poured a cup of coffee.

"You covered up a crime for my family and I?" I asked him, my heart strangely warming at such a sweet gesture.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's not the last time I will either." He sighed deeply, leaning back against the countertop.

"I know the law is important to you, Charlie. Obviously it is or you wouldn't be a chief of police. So, it really means a lot to me that you're going against your instincts here." I cooed, wrapping my arms around him and putting my head on his chest to listen to his heart race.

"My instincts are telling me to do whatever it takes to keep the beautiful woman in my arms happy." I felt him smile against my head. "Even if that means breaking the law." He chuckled.