Bella managed to slowly put the phone down after she and Alice had said their goodbyes and good nights. She slowly turned to Edward, her eyes filling with tears. "Some people are missing," she managed to say. She had taken Alice off speaker, because it had proved to be too emotional for Edward. "They need to do a police report and stuff, and..." She couldn't take it anymore. She put her face in her hands and completely broke down.

Edward crossed the room towards her and put his arms around her. "It's going to be okay," he said, trying his best to control himself. "But, Bella, if this guy came after Tillicum Park Prep, too, I swear to god..."

Bella shuddered in Edward's arms. "I don't know if I can afford to lose Mike. I mean...Geoffrey needs his birth father..."

Edward pulled back and studied her. "What if the guy came after Tillicum Park Prep and something happened to Mike?" he asked.

"Then, I would be there for James...and reverse the adoption so it was closed, maybe stop bothering that family," she said quietly. "I mean...I gave him up, so..."

"You wouldn't want to see Geoffrey anymore?"

Bella sighed. "Well, if he was eighteen, and if he wanted to see me, then things would be different."

"But you're eighteen, not him."

She lowered her eyes. "I know," she whispered. She raised her eyes slowly to his, and felt tears forming again. "Edward..."

"What?" he asked.

She put her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her. As they kissed, she managed to pull his shirt off from over his head.

Edward pulled back in shock. "Bella, what are you doing?"

Bella felt her lip starting to tremble. "I don't know," she said brokenly. "I know in light of recent events, we probably shouldn't, but..."

"But what?" he asked.

"I just need to be close to you right now," she said. "I'll beg you if I have to," she whispered, getting on her knees and starting to pull at his boxers. "Maybe this will—"

"Bella, are you doing what I think you're doing?" he asked, trying to get a good grip of her hands.

Bella looked up at him. "What?" she asked. "I've heard that third base can be a very pleasurable experience."

"I don't need third base, Bella," said Edward quietly, pulling her upwards.

"But I need you," said Bella quietly, pulling him towards her again, and was careful this time not to allow him to get away.

~*~

Bella swore that she was a bit bruised from the evening last night—hey, you would be, too if your head kept hitting a solid oak headboard! They began their seven and a half hour drive back to Olympic National Academy and Tillicum Park Prep respectively, both of them feeling plenty subdued. Snow was falling more now as Bella wondered more about the casualties that their respective schools had suffered.

"You okay?" asked Edward as they drove through the snow.

Bella nodded. "I guess so."

They parked in the schools' joint parking lot before kissing one another and running back to their respective schools. Bella was worried that she would encounter the killer, especially after seeing some bodies—which she wondered about as she hurried by—which were stained with copious amounts blood. She managed to climb the wall of Olympic National and slip in through the window of their room.

"Alice!" she hissed.

Alice emerged from beneath the bed. She let out a cry and ran and grabbed Bella in a death-grip-like hug. "I thought...I thought..."

"Nice to see you, too," said Bella. "Where's Katie and everybody?"

"Well, Angela and Jessica—and Ben and Alistair, of course—were taken out this morning," Alice said quietly.

"Taken out?!" cried Bella. "You're not serious!"

Alice sighed. "No. They were sent to St. Michael's in Spokane," she answered. "A lot of students are being relocated there... And Katie's in the shower."

"Neither of you are leaving?" asked Bella.

"We're all here on scholarship!" cried Alice. "My parents are not about to withdraw me just a few weeks from graduation."

"Good point," said Bella. "But, where's James?"

"James's on his way to see your dad," Alice said quietly, and then let out a sigh. "He needs to give a statement... I think you'd better sit down."

"Do I want to sit down?" Bella asked.

"I think you'd better," Alice replied.

Bella shifted from standing to sitting before making up her mind. "No," she said resolutely. "I'll stand."

~*~

Classes resumed the following Monday without incident—other than there was a significant amount of security almost everywhere on campus. It was also formally announced that the swat team were a phone call away, given the circumstances. James arrived in the physics class that afternoon looking drawn. Katie had been paid off to be with Tanya during that period. They had the class outside in the sun, so at least they could breathe in the fresh air.

"James," Bella whispered.

He turned and looked at her. "What?"

Bella put her arm around him. "I'm so sorry."

"What?" he asked bitterly. "You screwed the guy once, and you may have his baby, but you gave it up," he said, on the verge of tears. "Just like I had to give Mike up over the weekend. Do you know what the guy said to me? He said, 'Choose which one I shoot. You're a couple of fags who don't deserve a good way to go, so a bullet in the brain will do you good'."

Bella's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry."

James shuddered as he attempted to keep his sobs at bay. "And then, before I could say anything, Mike goes, 'Shoot me. Just get it over with, you pussy.' And then, it was enough distraction for him to push me out the window of the barn. The shots rang in my ears as I ran to safety, and to get enough service to call the cops."

Bella sighed. "I'm sorry. God, I am so sorry."

James's eagle eyes caught sight of her left hand, and his eyes widened. "What the hell is that supposed to be?!" he demanded, his eyes ablaze with a mixture of sadness and anger. "Did your little boyfriend propose?"

"Yes," Bella said quietly.

James had been away for the weekend, too—I.D.-ing the perp who had caused so much destruction and the breakage of many families. "So, what, you get engaged and I lose my boyfriend?!"

"James, please don't look at it that way..."

"Did you know?" he demanded. "I mean, I know you can predict crap sometimes, I'm not completely stupid. So, did you know?"

"What the hell are you asking me?!" she cried.

"I'm asking if you knew Mike was going to die," he hissed.

Bella sighed. "No," she said. "No, I didn't."

James shook his head. "I don't believe you," he said miserably, and walked off purposefully in the other direction, stumbling in his too-high heels.

~*~

Bella and Katie walked to the spring poetry slam that evening. Bella had written something that she felt was meaningful, and Edward and Tanya were even going to be there. Alice was in bed with a cold, and Jasper's mother had sent along some chicken soup to spoon-feed her. Katie thought the whole arrangement was comical, but Bella thought it was sweet.

Edward and Tanya met the girls at the doors of the Mountain View Auditorium—a small building which was past the stables but before the beach and the barn—and the girls separated from one another. Edward and Bella sat together to review each other's pieces, and Edward had some very nice things to say, which Bella reciprocated gallantly. Then the hat was passed around, where you withdraw your number, which determined when you would go. Bella drew a twenty, and Edward drew thirty-seven, and they became at one with their choices and decided to concentrate completely on their breathing.

"Have you heard about Mike?" asked Bella in a soft voice.

"He's still in the hospital," Edward replied.

Bella sighed. "Is your dad in charge of his case?"

"Yeah... He's still on life support," said Edward in a melancholy voice.

Bella shut her eyes. "Oh, god, that's awful..."

"It's the machines keeping him alive at this point, according to Dad..." Edward shook his head in an attempt to clear it. "He was shot through the ear, but thankfully it didn't get to his brain, so it's not like he's totally brain dead here. It impacted the skull, but only fractured it. The guy beat him up and so it looks like he'll need a kidney."

"Are either of his parents a match?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I'm not a match either... I got tested," he said softly to Bella, who nodded in understanding. "They told me not to get tested, that I didn't need to do that, but I'm eighteen, so I didn't need permission. So, I got the results earlier today, and I'm not even close."

"Any other family members?"

"Unfortunately not. His parents were both only children, and he doesn't have any surviving grandparents either... We just don't know what to do here," he explained.

"He's on a waiting list, then?" Bella whispered.

"Of course," said Edward. "What else can my dad do?"

"I got seventeen," said Katie from behind them.

"I got twenty-six," said Tanya.

"What did you guys get?" asked Katie.

They told their friends of their mutual numbers before turning their attention to the stage. The deans of Olympic National and Tillicum Park Prep spoke briefly about the tragic shootings for a moment, and declared it an annual Remembrance Day for the respective schools. Then, the numbers were called, and the games were ready to begin.

~*~

Edward and Bella went to go see Mike in the hospital the following Friday. He had bruises on his face which were still blue and purple, although some had begun to yellow a bit. He still had black eyes, and his lips were still covered in dried blood and other bits of peeling skin. His head was wrapped in a bandage, and he wore a hospital gown with yellow ducks on it. His left hand was smashed and also in a bandage, while it looked like the fingers of his right hand had been bent every which way. His right leg was up in the air and wrapped up in a cast, while his left leg seemed to have cigarette burns all over it.

"Oh, god," Bella whispered.

"You okay?" asked Edward in a concerned voice.

"No," said Bella, and she fell to her knees.

"Dad!" she heard Edward say. "We need help in here!"

~*~

When Bella came too, she was in her very own hospital bed. Dr. Cullen stood by, evaluating her with a kind look on his face. "You're very fatigued, and obviously under a significant amount of stress," he explained to her and Edward in a very kind voice. "But there is something else, son, something you should know."

"What is it, Dad?" Edward asked. "Please, tell us."

"Did you know your fiancée is pregnant, son?" Dr. Cullen asked in a suspicious voice.

"Pregnant?" asked Edward, turning to Bella.

Bella sighed, shutting her eyes. She knew that in a hospital that her condition could be found out at any moment, and she cursed herself for not being more careful than she had been recently, personally or physically. "Yes, I am pregnant," she replied.

"When did you—?" Edward started.

"You knew about your condition?" Dr. Cullen asked, his voice kind.

"Yes. I've known for a week now."

Dr. Cullen smiled at her. "Esme will be thrilled," he said softly, before clearing his throat and resuming professionalism. "Well, I'll start you on prenatal vitamins and I'll come up with a good diet plan for you, Bella," he said. "You're only about ten weeks along, but I'm glad I discovered it," he said pleasantly. "We'll get you in...I'd say a month from now for an ultrasound to determine the sex," he said before leaving.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Edward quietly.

Bella shook her head. "With everything happening...I don't know," she said in a soft voice. "It never seemed like the right time."

Edward smiled and sat beside Bella on the bed. "Was this the early wedding present you were talking about?" he asked, taking her hand.

Bella smiled and watched their hands intertwine. "Of a sorts," she said in a quiet voice, and bit down hard on her lower lip. "How's Mike?" she asked, her eyes locking with his. "Has there been any change in his condition whatsoever?"

Edward sighed and shook his head. "No. But...James showed up about fifteen minutes after you fainted. He had some good news."

"What?" Bella asked.

"Can't I apologize to her first?" asked James from the doorway.

"Sorry," said Edward, throwing up his hands. "James, would you like to tell Bella what's going to happen? Or, rather, what the doctors here at this lovely hospital have discovered?"

"Discovered?" Bella asked. "What?"

James smiled. "Mike may be all right after all."