Bring Him Home - Chapter 19

There is some medical information in this chapter and whilst I have done some research I am not a doctor so please cut me some slack!

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The rest of the day passed quite quickly, the doctors were pleased with Edward's recovery and apart from a lot of external cuts and bruises, internally he was ok. As soon as Carlisle had provided Insurance details for Edward, more tests were arranged at Carlisle's insistence. These had nothing to do with the beating, but he wanted to make sure no lasting damage had been caused by Edward's recent lifestyle. A few hours later Carlisle and Emmett wept again as they were told Edward was underweight, malnourished, dehydrated and deficient in most vitamins and minerals. He has also suffered two cracked ribs as well as a broken nose from the beating in the park.

Edward, on the other hand, was adjusting well to being fussed over, he tried to keep up with the conversations his Dad and Emmett were having, but his focus would wander and I would catch him looking at me. They tried to ask him questions about where he had been and what he had been doing but Edward would skilfully avoid them by ‘dozing' every so often. Emmett and his Dad were so wrapped up in having Edward back they didn't seem to pick up on the very obvious avoidance tactic.

I also noticed that the first place Edward looked when he opened his eyes was at me, at first I thought I was imagining it, but I got up to stretch my legs and must have disturbed him because his head moved quickly as he scanned the room. His eyes settled on me and he watched as I returned to my seat, when I sat back down he closed his eyes again and drifted off.

The next time he opened his eyes was to deal with the doctor and nurse in his room, he was due the first of his shots and the small regular meals they were putting into him. To start him off they were giving him some sort of a high protein high calorie, multi vitamin smoothie. It was gentle on his stomach but would start to build him up. He was being treated almost like a frail old man, but I could see the comparison, he needed ‘feeding up'.

 While most of his problems could be sorted out gradually with shots and a monitored and strict diet, the worst part was waiting to see if he picked up any viruses or parasites living the way he had. Finally, he got the all clear and the doctor informed him that after a couple of day's rest and more shots to boost the levels in his body he would be able to go home.

As soon as the doctor left the room Edward turned to speak to his father, but before he could even say anything Carlisle cut him off

"You ARE coming home with me, no excuses, no arguments, no discussion, the company can look after itself for a couple of weeks while I get you well and we sort out this mess you think you are in".

The relief on Edward's life was instant, he seemed to deflate and sink into the bed, it was as if he was finally able to exhale and relax. I could see the tears gently roll down his cheeks and I knew he had been worried that he wouldn't be able to come home. I didn't understand that; why would he be worried he couldn't home?

"I thought it would never happen, I thought you wouldn't want me back, but I hoped so much, I can't go back out there Dad, I can't live like that any longer".

As soon as he finished talking, the most I'd ever heard him speak, the dam finally burst and all his pent up emotion flooded out as he sobbed. Both Carlisle and Emmet went to his side and the three of them had a family hug, I felt oddly detached and invisible as they comforted each other. For the first time in a very long time I felt very alone and missed my Dad. I hadn't thought about him properly in ages, as I'd trained myself to do, but my emotions were bubbling under the surface and I knew I needed to get out, it was time for me to leave them to reconnect as a family.

I didn't even bother saying goodbye, I quietly slipped out of the room and made my way back to the office. I decided to walk as it wasn't that far back to the office, I needed to get my feelings and emotions in check before I faced everyone. As I made my way through the throng of people on the sidewalk I must have looked a strange sight as the tears fell steadily down my cheeks I just couldn't stop them.

 As soon as I walked in I was swamped with questions and calls to return as well as several enquiries from potential new customers. I quickly settled into what remained of my work day all thoughts of the earlier part of the day were locked away in a place my brain knew no emotion was allowed.

Over the next couple of days, I purposely stayed away from the gym and to a lesser extent Rosalie. Whilst I was intrigued with the back story of Edward, there was too much simmering emotion to be around any of them. I was back into my normal routine and everything seemed to be settling down again, I kept a discreet check on the you tube videos and while the first one was now over two million hits it was definitely slowing in views.

Rosalie on the other hand was loving the notoriety her video clip had brought her and she had actually started her own blog. On it she was planning to give advice to people who wanted to live an alternative lifestyle and she was sure she could point people in the right direction when they asked where they could find clubs and societies that could help them. We spoke at great length about whether it would be to the detriment of the business or not and in the end I gave her my blessing as long as she didn't mention the company at all. With Jasper's help she also managed to get a copy of her video onto her blog without the introductory message. As she pointed out she was the star of the show, why shouldn't it be on her blog something she was managing?

When I asked how Emmett felt about it all she looked at me as though I was speaking in a completely foreign language.

"Why should Emmett have a problem with it?"  She really had no idea what the issue could be.

"I thought you two were in a relationship. What does he feel about you posting the video on your blog?"

"Yes we are having a relationship of sorts and he is happy to let me have my freedom as long as I'm safe, and I feel the same. We are not exclusive"

I couldn't understand her need to see lots of different people, but who was I to pass comment? Here I was a virgin who had no idea about her sexual side, it was so deeply buried I almost considered my asexual.

We agreed to disagree and as the days passed I caught snippets of phone calls as she checked in with Emmett to see how he was and whether he was coming back to the gym or not. I gathered from what she didn't say, she had no idea about Edward, who he was and even what was keeping Emmett away, when I finally plucked up the courage to ask what was happening with Emmett all she knew was that there had been a family emergency he had had to deal with.

 After all the excitement of the past few days, things quickly slipped back to normal, we continued trying to find who had posted the two videos and Jasper assured me he was getting closer every day.  I knew he was doing a lot of the digging in his own time, that's why he was taking so long to find anything.

I did courtesy calls to our clients, my time taken up shaking hands, eating lunches I didn't want and drinking coffee until I was sure I would be ill if I tasted another drop. I was happy that every one of my clients understood these were malicious attempts to undermine the company and I asked them to be aware because if they hadn't already been approached by a competitor they would be soon. Surprising very few admitted they had had any approaches that weren't the norm so I was a little confused why ‘the enemy' weren't capitalising. That frightened me a little, was there something else in the pipeline?

I kept watching the videos, I told myself it was just to keep an eye on the numbers, but deep down I knew I was looking at Edward.

Three weeks to the day after my dash to the hospital the day started with a huge bouquet arriving at the office. My first instinct was that they were from Carlisle or even Emmett but as I opened the card I was surprised to see the message,

OK Bella, you have kept me waiting long enough

be at The Silverdale restaurant at 7.00pm tomorrow,

 It's time for me to start seducing you.

Jake.

I couldn't believe what I was reading, this guy really must have missed out on charm school altogether, unfortunately though he hadn't left any number on the card for me to call him so I had no way of letting him down gently.

"Boss you need to go, that is a fabulous restaurant and you haven't been out with a guy in ages as far as I can remember" Judy said as she read the card over my shoulder.

 "Also one thing is for sure at least you know he's not a cheapskate, there has to be a $100 worth of flowers here and the restaurant will set him back twice that if you have a decent meal and wine" she continued as she leant over to smell the bouquet.

"Put these in reception please, they are too pretty to sit in my office where no one will see them"

 I handed the bouquet to Judy as I made my way into my office. As much as I didn't want to go I had too many manners to let him sit there by himself, even if the last time I'd seen him ended up with Emmett hitting him. It looked like I had sort of a date tomorrow, my first ever. My first thought was shame it wasn't with someone else.

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