Chapter 9

BPOV

Charlie and I arrived at the hospital and I was surprised by the ridiculous amount of cars that were already parked in the lot. I didn't even realize Forks had this many people. We got out of the car and I walked to his side.

"Here we go," I said as I looked over at him. He looked kind of nervous. "You good, Dad?" I asked nudging his arm.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm just now remembering that I'm not really a 'party person'."

"Then why the heck are we here?" I asked.

"Because, it'll be good for you." He stated as he started heading for the door. I ran after him and followed him inside.

I shot Charlie an impressed look when someone offered to take my coat at the door.

"Yeah, sure thanks." I said to the lady as I shook my snow covered coat off. I leaned over to Charlie and whispered, "Geez, I didn't realize the hospital got this classy while I was gone." Charlie rolled his eyes at me, but nodded.

"I told you this thing was formal." He said in an 'I told ya so' kind of way. He started heading over to the main floor and I was surprised by the number of people that already covered the area. Most of them were on a make shift dance floor that truly wasn't make shift at all, it actually looked like it had been there forever. I immediately felt my stomach drop. I don't know why I was shocked, of course there would be dancing at a party I didn't want to be at in the first place. I scanned the crowd and tried to push aside the negative feelings I was already beginning to have. I took note of the extremely elaborate decorations, whoever they hired do decorate this place did an insanely amazing job.

There were at least ten Christmas trees just on this floor, and they weren't those dinky little artificial ones, they were huge and decorated to perfection. The lighting was dim and warm due to the Christmas-y lights that were hanging everywhere. It seemed as though the inside of the hospital had been transformed into a winter wonderland. I was brought back to reality when I heard Charlie's voice.

"Hey, you want to get something to eat?" I could tell he was already eyeing the buffet table. I hadn't even noticed it yet…it was…exorbitant. That was the only word I could think of. There was probably more food and more varieties of food on that table than I had ever seen in my entire life. There were turkeys, ham, roast beef, every side you could imagine, and don't even get me started on the desserts.

"Dude…" I whispered as I stared at the table.

"Yeah, I know." Charlie said with his eyes completely lit up and a big smile on his face as he continued to ogle at the table. I laughed at him and nodded as we headed over to the mountain of food. I looked over at Charlie when he seemed happy with the mass amount of food that he had piled on his plate.

I followed Charlie as he walked contentedly back to a table with my significantly less substantial plate of food in my hands. We sat down and he immediately began to dig in. I looked around the room and moved some food around my plate, taking a couple bites here and there.

"You gonna eat, Bells?" Charlie asked as he momentarily looked up at me.

"Yeah, I'm just having more fun watching you demolish that plate of food." I leaned back in my seat and laughed at him. Charlie looked sheepish but his eyes left my face and moved up and slightly to my left. I heard someone clear their throat behind me and I followed Charlie's gaze as I glanced back.

"Hey Bella! Long time no see!!" Mike Newton said in an exuberant voice. I tried to keep the smile on my face from faltering or turning into a grimace as I answered back.

"Oh, hey Mike. How's it going?"

"It's going great! Hey, do you want to dance?" I was a little shocked by his forwardness, after all I hadn't seen him since high school, and it took me a moment to stutter my way through an answer.

"I-I-y-um…sure?" It came out as more of a question as I glanced over at Charlie and caught him chuckling and rolling his eyes. Mike's face lit up a little too much, which worried me. I knew he had a little thing for me in high school, but I thought maybe, hopefully, he had gotten past that. He put his hand out and I took it warily. I took another quick look at Charlie and this time I caught his eye and I gave him a look that clearly said if he didn't save me I would kill him. He gave me a little nod and I turned to follow Mike to the dance floor.

I knew this was going to be awkward…beyond belief. He fumbled to grab my hand and he swayed me awkwardly to the song. Being me and my incredibly uncoordinated self, I probably stepped on his toes at least ten times in the short amount of time we were dancing. He started talking to me, so I pried my eyes away from my feet and glanced up at his face. "Bella, how have you been? It's been forever." Mike said in a very low whisper.

"Umm…I've been alright. College has been nice." We both awkwardly kept dancing and he struggled to make conversation because I certainly wasn't going to help. I was hoping he would cut the dance short and never talk to me again.

"Bella, you are gorgeous, you know that?" Mike said, trying to make eye contact with me. He pulled me closer to him and I looked up at his face. I gave him a slight nod to let him know I had heard him, but I wasn't going to address his statement.

"Hey, how is Jessica, last time I checked you guys were going out after high school and going to the same college?" I stated excitedly.

"Oh, um…she's alright. She couldn't come tonight so I'm all alone." He said with a little emphasis at the end.

"That's awesome that you guys are still together. It's been a while, hasn't it?" I said, keeping the topic of conversation on her.

"Yeah, yeah, it has." He said sounding a bit resentful. I wasn't really sure how to take his answer, so I just looked back down at my feet and tried not to fall on my face.

"Why couldn't Jess come tonight?" I asked him.

"Oh, she didn't have anything to wear." He said rolling his eyes for a moment, then continuing. "I only really heard about this party this morning and I asked her if she wanted to go with me, but she was mad about my 'late notice'." He said with annoyance.

"Really?" I asked shocked. "I thought Forks started doing annual Christmas parties or something. When Charlie told me about it he made it sound like they had been having one for the past couple of years."

"No, we haven't had anything like this before. I am surprised it looks this good, actually." He said looking around and taking note of the elaborate decorations. He took a deep breath and appeared to be about to say something else, but the song ended and before he could say anything I dropped his hand, looked up at him and thanked him for the dance as I ran back to my table. I sat down with a huff and threw a glare at Charlie.

"Thanks, Dad." I hissed.

"What?" Charlie said in mock disbelief.

"What do you mean 'what'? I told you to save me!" I stated glaring at him. Some dad he was. He rolled his eyes.

"Bella, it looked like you had everything under control to me. And besides, you didn't technically 'tell' me anything." He said, quite obtusely if you ask me. Under control? Seriously?

I rolled my eyes at him. "Well, thanks for nothing." I said, giving him another glare. "I'm glad you were more concerned with finishing the food on your plate than helping your only daughter out of a humiliating situation. That's really awesome." I chided.

"Bells, I'm sorry. I'll remember that for next time." He said grinning at me.

"Next time?" I said with confusion. I felt a little tap on my shoulder and in turn I felt my insides tighten up. My mouth formed into a tight line on my face and my eyes were as big as saucers as I stared down at the table, not wanting to look behind me. I slowly turned and rearranged my face into something that was somewhat less rude. I plastered a on a small smile as I looked up at the person who had tapped on my shoulder. Joy, it was Eric Yorkie. What was this, a high school reunion?

"Hey, Bella! I haven't seen you in forever!" he said enthusiastically.

"Hey, Eric, yeah it's been a while" I said through my teeth. I started to turn around, all the sudden becoming very interested in the food I had barely started eating.

"Oh, Bella, I was wondering if you wanted to dance?" my smile faltered a bit.

"Can I take a rain check? I'm starving and I haven't really gotten to eat yet?" I asked. Hopefully he would get the hint.

"Yeah, that's fine, I'll catch you in a bit." He said, undeterred. I let out another huff of air and turned back to my plate. I glanced up at Charlie and he was laughing.

"This is not funny." I stated.

"Oh, come on, Bells. It's a little funny." I jabbed at a piece of chicken on my plate and popped it into my mouth as I made a face at him.

"Well, I'm going to go and walk around a bit, you want to come?" Charlie asked.

"Nah, I'll stay and finish eating. I can't really let Eric see me up and walking around now can I?" I stated.

"Alright." Charlie said with a chuckle and he turned and disappeared into the mass of people.

I sat there, absentmindedly putting food in my mouth here and there, admittedly zoning out a bit. I must have been sitting there for a while, just staring at my plate because I was brought back to reality when someone began speaking to me. "Bella, do you want to dance?" I looked up in mock horror when I found Charlie standing in front of me holding out his hand.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny. Why do you insist on teasing me so?" I asked him, sarcasm dripping from my words.

"Come on, Bells. I'm being serious, or did you want to wait for that Yorkie kid to come back?" He said, obviously not taking no for an answer. I thought about his logic and hesitantly got out of my seat.

"Fine." I said rolling my eyes. He was so stubborn.

Charlie and I walked out to the dance floor and started dancing. It was actually a really sweet 'father, daughter' moment, which was kind of a rarity.

"So, are you feeling any better, Bells?" he asked me, looking down.

"Yeah, Dad. This party has been really great, thanks for taking me." I stated in all seriousness. I mean it had at least been a nice distraction. Except for the fact that every single song that was being played at this dang party I recognized as being songs on Edward's ipod. Oh the irony. Why did I seem to relate everything about tonight back to him?

"No problem, I'm just happy that you came with me." He said. The song ended and new one began, one I immediately recognized, Claire De Lune. I rolled my eyes and laughed to myself as the music filled the room. I looked around as all the couples dispersed and lowered my head as my thoughts drifted back to Edward. How could they not? Charlie let go of my hand and leaned down to my ear.

"Merry Christmas, Bells." I glanced back in front of me, but no one was there. I got a little panicked and immediately scanned the crowd for Charlie. He was just here! Suddenly, someone grabbed my waste and took my hand and I immediately realized I was now forcibly dancing with Eric Yorkie.

"Hey Bella!" Eric said, obviously pleased with his smooth move.

"Hey Eric" I stated a little resentfully. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a retreating figure, one that I had seen a million times tonight, but only in my mind. I saw his messy bronze hair and his tall frame. I lowered my head and mentally berated myself for reaching a new low of the night, hallucination.

"So, Bella, how is life going for you?" Eric asked

"Oh, it's going. You know, school takes up most of my time, so…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean, all work and no play." He said. I had only barely registered what he had said because suddenly, my heart skipped a beat, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. My feet were glued to the floor and I just stared, slack-jawed, at the man with green eyes and messy bronze hair that was making his way toward me. Our eyes met and I couldn't break the contact. Eric looked at me with confusion because I had stopped our awkward swaying.

Before I could even comprehend what was happening Edward was standing in front of me, with that crooked smile on his lips. "Wha—" was all I managed to get out before he turned to Eric, breaking our eye contact. I tried to catch my now shallow breath.

"Do you mind if I cut in?" Eric seemed to be as shocked as I was, probably not for the same reasons, but shocked nonetheless.

"Uh…sure Cullen." Eric said dejectedly.

"Thanks, Eric" Edward said giving him a nod as Eric walked off the dance floor, shaking his head. Edward then proceeded to take my hand and spin me around as he started swaying me in little circles. The way he was holding me, I couldn't make my brain work enough to even ask him why he was here, or how he had gotten here, or how any of this was happening. Five minutes ago I didn't think I would ever see him again, and now, all the sudden he is standing right in front of me. Not only that, he is dancing with me, holding me tight, tighter than I had ever been held.

"Bella." Edward whispered. Before he said anything else, I had to get my brain working and I had to get some answers.

"Edward, how are you here right now? And how do you know Eric?" I asked, stopping our movement and looking up at him. He looked a little surprised by my action, but recovered quickly.

"Well, you know, we learned a lot about each other when we were stranded together, but somehow we skipped over the fact that we both live in Forks." He looked like he was going to continue, but I cut him off.

"We both live here?! How can we possibly both live here and not know it?! This is basically the smallest town known to mankind!" I asked him incredulously.

"My thoughts exactly, but when you think about it, it makes sense. You moved here before I did, and you were off to college by the time I got here. You didn't come home last year, at least not often enough to really catch up on things, and when I moved here I immediately went to college. I guess we just missed each other." He stated in a very matter of fact manner, shrugging his shoulders. While he may have had some time to come to grips with this information, my mind was reeling.

"We just missed each other?" I repeated, still trying to understand what was going on.

"And, in answer to your other question, I am here because of those two." He said nodding to his left.

I looked over and saw Charlie and someone, I could only assume it was Dr. Cullen, shaking hands and talking amongst themselves, with random glances in our direction.

"Oh God, what did they do?" I asked suspiciously. Edward took my hand and started dancing with me once more.

"Let's just say they helped arrange this whole thing." He said slyly.

"What do you mean, what whole thing?" I said narrowing my eyes at him.

"Well, when Carlisle just happened to witness me almost pull my hair out when I didn't catch you before you left the hospital, he of course asked me what was going on. I told him about what had happened and I told him about you, and he obviously knew who you were." He said, pausing to laugh at my confused expression, and then continued. "Well, I guess he thought this would be a perfect time to have a hospital Christmas party." He stated.

"Are you telling me he planned this thing in less than 24 hours?!" I asked, flabbergasted. Edward looked away from me grinning and laughing to himself. "How is that even possible?!" I demanded.

"You really need to meet Alice. I guarantee you she was the one who 'planned' this thing in less than 24 hours. She has many years of practice and was literally bouncing off the walls when Carlisle told her about it." He stated. "Anyway, my dad figured that would be a great way to meet up again because there was little to no chance we would miss each other. That's where your dad came in." He said grinning at me.

"My dad? What did Charlie do?"

"Was there any point on your way home when Charlie got out of the car, or you didn't see him for an extended period of time?" he asked, his brows furrowing. I racked my brain, trying to remember.

"Yeah, we stopped at a gas station and he…was in there forever." I said when the pieces started coming together in my mind. "I didn't even think any thing of it when he was in there for a long time. I just figured I was depressing him or something, I didn't even question it."

"Well, he was probably in there talking to my dad on the phone." He paused for a second, like he was thinking about something I said that bothered him. "Why would you be depressing Charlie?" he asked. I panicked for a moment. I hadn't even realized I had said that until it was already out of my mouth.

"Eh…it's not important. What was he talking to your dad about?" I asked, attempting to change the subject.

"Trying to get you to come to this thing, of course." He said as if I were missing the point. "And you're not getting off that easily, why were you sad?" he asked again, the concern was evident in his voice.

"It really isn't a big deal. I just was a little upset when I didn't think I would see you again, that's all." I said almost inaudibly, but somehow he caught it.

"Hey," he said as he lifted my chin so I was looking into his eyes, "I almost had a mental breakdown in the hospital when I realized you were gone and I thought I wasn't going to see you again." He said with a reassuring smile. "So, I am sure whatever you were like with Charlie seemed tame."

"Well, there were definitely less witnesses." I said, messing around with him.

"That's true." He said with a chuckle. "I think Dr. Goldstein was seriously considering committing me. It's a good thing Carlisle came when he did." He laughed.

The song ended and Edward and I stopped dancing. I actually had forgotten we were dancing at all, a stark difference from my hyper awareness when I was dancing with Mike and Eric. Well, I guess that's not entirely true because I was hyper aware of the fact that Edward's hand was at the small of my back and our close proximity had hardly escaped me. I was surprised, and admittedly impressed that I was able to actually form sentences while we were this close. He took my hand and led me over to where Charlie and Dr. Cullen were still standing. Edward walked over and shook Charlie's hand.

"Chief Swan, I am very happy to be seeing you again." Edward said gratefully. "Thank you for everything you did."

Charlie smiled at him. "Yeah, well, you're welcome. I got a little worried there in the middle when Yorkie interrupted the 'hand-off'." Charlie said with a smirk.

"Yeah I know. That was a most inopportune moment, wasn't it?" Edward said with a chuckle.

"Well, you did good kid, and I only did this stuff to make sure that Bella's happy." He said as he glanced down at me for confirmation. He looked more at ease when he saw the genuine smile on my face. Edward turned to his father and put his arm around my waste.

"Dad, there's someone I would like for you to meet." He said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes and laughed. I stuck out my hand and Dr. Cullen shook it.

"It's nice to officially meet you." Dr. Cullen said.

"Yes it is." I said smiling. "And, you know, thanks. I'm not even sure how to repay you guys. I mean, you went to way too—" With that I was pushed backwards and I would have been on the ground if Edward had not been behind me as a little pixie girl smashed into me.

"Alice!" Edward yelled. "What are you doing?!" he set me up straight and Alice pulled back with the biggest smile I had ever seen. I couldn't help but laugh. She stuck out her hand and I took it as she shook my hand eagerly.

"I'm Alice, and you must be Bella." She said still smiling at me.

"Yes." I said with a smile in return. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Have you?" she said as she threw a glare at Edward.

"All good things, though" I pointed out. Edward gave me a thankful smile and continued to scold his sister.

"Alice, you can't just tackle people like that. Especially people you have never met. You know, these are just life rules in general, ones that I would have thought you'd know by now, ones that I am pretty sure every other sane person on the planet is familiar with." Alice rolled her eyes and ignored her brother.

"Sorry for tackling you, Bella. I am just really excited to finally meet you. Well, I guess I have only known about you for a short time, but it feels like forever, especially the way Edward has been going on and on." She said with a knowing smirk. I glanced over at Edward and cocked an eyebrow. He looked mortified. With that, he took my hand and looked pointedly at his sister.

"We are going to walk around outside for a bit, get some fresh air." He looked back at Charlie and Carlisle, "Thanks again. I really don't know what I would have done without your help." They both gave us a nod and with that we headed for the doors. Edward grabbed my coat and he led me outside. We began walking around the hospital courtyard and I shivered a bit.

"You ok? You want my coat?" he asked with a smirk. "Or would body heat be enough for you?"

"Very funny." I laughed and smacked his arm. "I will have you know that we are no longer in a life threatening situation, so no extreme measures need to be taken." I stated.

"Well, that's disappointing." He chuckled. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"So you guys were talking about me in football terms?" I asked pointedly. Edward cocked an eyebrow in question. "You know, I believe 'Yorkie interrupted the hand-off' were the exact words, but I could be wrong."

"Oh, yeah." Edward laughed for a moment. "Your dad seemed a little more in his element when we spoke in 'sports lingo'."

"Ah…that makes sense."

Edward took my hand and stopped our walking as he leaned down. He was mere centimeters from my face and I could feel his warm breath on my skin, contrasting with the coldness of the night. He gently brushed his lips to mine.

"Bella," he said my name in a husky tone. I stood up on my toes to close the space between us. Our lips crashed together and moved at rapid speeds as my fingers tangled in his hair and he lifted me slightly off the ground. I felt like there was nothing in the world that could be more perfect than this moment, right now. Edward and I met under the most unlikely circumstances and after I thought I would never see him again, he was here. He set me down gently and we reluctantly broke apart.

"Wow." Edward said with a ragged breath. "I can't tell you how much I have wanted to do that ever since I met you." He said with a wide smile.

I looked up at him and smiled wider.

"Touchdown."

A/N: hope you liked it!!! Sorry it took me so long!!