Disclaimer: it's stephANIE not stephENIE.

a/n: I won't take up too much of your time. I'm sorry. I suck. I know it. forgive me? I'm trying to get better.
Muchas gracias to Meighan for giving me the medical info I needed. Also for creating this amazingly awesome blog: 4theluvofmary (dot) wordpress (dot) com. If you ever wonder what's going on …check there. Thanks to twilighter620 for reading bits and lmk if things flowed ok. And also to arra584 for being such an awesome beta, helping me out despite her busy schedule. *mwah*
the large portion in italics is a flashback. Also, I know little to nothing about Seattle, so names of places may be fictitious or unrealistic to the location suggested. Using my creative license again *shrugs*

Chapter title comes from Just Surrender's "You Tell a Tale." The song has no application to the content of this chapter.
Chapter songs:
"This is Our Emergency" by Pretty Girls Make Graves
"For Your Lungs Only" by Alkaline Trio
"Siren Song" by The Anniversary

"You want me to tell you what happened on the night of your accident?" Bella cocked her head to the side, somehow puzzled by my request.

"Yes." I drew the word out so she would hear clearly. Somehow she wasn't understanding me. Do I need to speak slower?

"But why? Edward, your father is a highly competent doctor, and was also present that night. Surely he…"

"He gave me a basic run down, you're right. But what I want to know; only you can provide for me. You found me. You know everything that happened."

"Well, not everything." I noticed a delicious blush coloring her cheeks.

"I know you stayed the whole night. That was one detail Carlisle made sure to mention. Especially after how horrible I had treated you."

"Oh." The blush blazed brighter. God, how I loved it.

"So…" I trailed off, hoping I had prompted her enough to go into the story.

"Well, where do you want me to start?"

"Start by pulling up a chair and making yourself comfortable." I smiled, feeling the tightness around my mouth, but Bella had already turned around to grab the chair. She had missed it. I suffered through the pain for her and she missed it.

Not like it was that much anyway. Can't be that great of a smile if my face is still fucked up.

My pessimistic attitude was wiped away when I saw my sweet Strawberry scoot the chair over. She had the biggest fucking smile on her face. She was beautiful and I stared unabashedly until she got settled next to me.

"Thanks, Edward."

"It's I that should be thanking you for taking the time." If my face hadn't been so sore I'd have tried to smile again.

"Laying it on kind of thick, are we?" Bella smirked at me.

Was I? Perhaps I was coming on too strong. But it was all with the intention of wooing my favorite nurse. I needed her to want me. Because the minute I was discharged, I was going to bend that hot little body over a hospital bed and…

"Well, I was driving back from Forks," she cut in, interrupting my little fantasy.

"Forks?"

"It's where my dad lives. Tiny town on the Olympic Peninsula. So, like I said, I was driving back…"

"But I thought you grew up in Arizona."

"I did."

"Then why is your dad in Forks?"

"Because that's where he lives." She gave me an exasperated look.

"How come he's not in Arizona?" I was confused. And very interested. I was all about getting to know more about what made Bella the tasty little dish that she was.

"Do you want to know what happened or not?" Her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

"Of course I do. But I'm also trying to understand you." Her face relaxed and she smiled once more. I seemed to be saying the right things.

"Fine. The abbreviated version of my life: parents married, got pregnant, had me, then divorced. I went with my mom to Arizona. My dad stayed in Forks. I visited him in the summers, lived with him for the last two years of high school, then came back to Arizona for school. Happy?"

"For now." I managed to smirk a little bit without too much pain. Progress.

"So you'll stop interrupting me then? Because if you can't be quiet, I can do this later." She started to lift herself out of the chair.

"No!" I was afraid she was really pissed at me. "I'll be good. I promise." I noticed her sly smile as she started to get comfortable again. "You're bad." I tried smiling in response, this time it hurt just a little bit less.

"As bad as I wanna be." She curled one leg under her as she got settled in her chair for good. My eyes went straight to the spot between her legs. I wished more than anything that Bella wasn't wearing those stupid scrubs right now. Especially when she was telling me how bad she was, or could be.

Too bad she didn't mean it in any way sexual…at least not yet. That time would come, or at least I hoped so-in every sense of the word, in the near future.

But thinking about Bella coming, or anything sexual for that matter, was not what I needed to do right now. Right now I needed the facts.

"So you were driving home from Forks…" I prompted her again.

"Right. I stayed with my dad that weekend. He had a few things of mine that I needed for my new place." I noticed a strange look in her eyes, something akin to longing. It was weird. But I figured I would ask about that later. "I was driving down Jackson when I saw you, well not you, but your car."

I almost stopped breathing at her words. I would finally know what happened. As Bella began recounting the story, her eyes grew serious and the smile she had been wearing curved down into a slight grimace.

Bella was so glad she was almost…home. She cringed slightly at the use of the word. She still thought of her place back in Arizona as home. The house she and Jake were living in together. Everything that made her feel safe and happy was still with him back there. This new place made her feel isolated and alienated in a new area. Bella really hoped that once Jake moved out to Seattle she'd consider her new house a home.

She was cruising down Jackson, getting closer to her small bungalow, when she saw taillights in the distance. It looked like the car was over too far to the right. She subconsciously slowed down as she neared, taking in the absolute mayhem of the scene.

The car, some kind she didn't recognize, was practically wrapped around the light pole. Glass and other debris were littered across the street. The transformer, once on the pole, now rested on the hood of the car. Sparks crackled in the dark sky, giving an eerie ambiance to the accident. In Bella's mind, there was no way someone survived an accident like that; not a head on collision of that magnitude.

She instinctively pulled out her cell phone to call 911. After giving her location to the operator, Bella hung up and rushed to the driver's side door. The man inside was covered in blood. His entire face was cut up and swollen. The urge to cringe back from the rust scent was almost overwhelming. Luckily years of desensitizing herself in order to become a nurse took the edge of the desire.

"Sir, can you hear me?" Bella called out as she tried opening up the door. Medical training dictated she not move the man. But she still wanted to determine just how bad he was…if he was even alive that is.

The broken man in the front seat let out a small groan, barely audible as Bella managed to pry open the door.

"Oh my god, are you ok?"

But there was no response. Whoever this man was, clearly he wasn't coherent enough to be of much use to assessing the damages.

Bella reached forward, needing to find a pulse to reassure that the person inside the car was alive still. When she at last felt the faint throb on his neck, her heart beat fast in her chest; almost as if compensating for the weak one belonging to the man.

"Can you hear me?" There was no response. "Please, sir…if you can hear me, blink or something, so I know."

Still nothing. Bella was getting even more worried than before. She desperately needed to hear this man say something, if not for his sake, than for hers. For whatever reason, seeing his broken body pulled at her heartstrings more than just a normal patient. Maybe it was finding him like this, alone and bleeding, that caused her to feel so strongly. She needed to save him.

He was bleeding a lot, and from so many places. She noticed the cuts on his face, the ones on his chest that oozed blood now soaking into his shirt, and from the looks of it, his left leg was broken, pretty badly at that. Bella needed to do something.

Running to her car once more, Bella scrounged through her luggage, retrieving a clean towel. It would have to make do to stanch the blood flow. She needed to put pressure on his wounds. She used the tiny surgical scissors her first aid kit included to cut the towel into strips. When she was back at the man's side, Bella worked quickly to do all in her power to keep him alive.

Bella could hear the smallest of groans leaving his mouth whenever she applied direct pressure to a wound. The noises made her hopeful.

"Can you tell me your name sir?" She stilled her motions, hoping the silence would allow her to hear something, anything of significance from her patient. "How about allergies; do you have any?" She was growing desperate, feeling completely helpless in the situation. "Where do you live? Do you have family nearby?"

Bella searched the car, hoping to find a cell phone that would display some list of contacts to identify the mystery man in the car. There was nothing though. Perhaps he kept it in his pocket. And because she didn't want to risk moving him, she wouldn't go searching.

Another noise escaped his mouth.

"Please talk to me. Please be ok. Please hang on. Please…please…please…" Bella felt traitor tears leak down her face. She was a professional. She should be able to keep herself more distant than this. .

The thing was, someone had hit him and took off. The back of his car made that clear enough. Some bastard left him for dead. How could anyone do something like that? The knowledge that someone could be so cruel made it even worse for her.

Bella had worked her way down towards the broken leg. It was really bad. But she couldn't do much for it, not with her limited resources. Using some of the scraps in her hand, Bella tied a tourniquet around the shattered leg. He was losing too much blood, too fast. When she tightened the cotton fabric around his femur, the man seemed to be pulled out of the hazy consciousness he was in.

"Dead?" The voice was raspy and harsh, forced out of lungs that weren't inflating right.

"No, not dead, not if I can help it."

Her fingers ghosted down to his chest, feeling the ribcage. There were definitely a few broken, and judging by the way he was breathing and the slight blue tint of his lips, he was probably suffering from pneumothorax.

Damn, how long had he been sitting in this car?

Bella took her jacket off, holding it firmly over his chest. She prayed it would be enough to help splint the fracture and get him breathing more steadily. She did not have the equipment necessary to do much else.

With every labored breath, Bella felt her own catch in her throat. He was struggling to hold on to life. With that thought, the tears started leaking from her eyes. She hated showing any weakness when facing a situation like this, but it couldn't be helped. Bella cried for the man in the front seat who needed care now. And she cried for herself; alone and scared.

A slight movement drew her away from the overwhelming feeling of desperation. It was him, his arm. It twitched like he was trying to raise it. That would be a bad thing for him to do. He needed to remain immobile until help arrived. Bella turned to him, noticing one eye open, barely more than a small slit on his face.

"No, don't try to move. Be still. I'm here for you. I will not leave your side until help arrives. Just stay with me." She watched as the swollen lid closed, a look of what Bella hoped was relief, on the battered face. "Just stay with me."

The ambulance showed up on scene shortly after that. Bella sent a silent prayer of thanks at their timing. Judging by the unknown man's weak pulse and shallow breathing, medical attention of a more severe kind was needed as soon as possible.

EMTs rushed to her side as she backed away to allow room. They questioned Bella on what had happened. Her answers were lacking, as her knowledge of the accident was limited. She relayed all that she could and went over the injuries she was aware of. The hardest part was watching as they extracted the almost lifeless body from the car. It took several of the medically trained personnel to get him out with as little jarring as possible. Every movement made Bella cringe as she held back from trying to help. She knew it would only hinder their progress at this point.

When the patient was securely on the stretcher and being placed inside the ambulance, Bella made to follow inside. An EMT stopped her before she could climb inside.

"What are you doing?" His voice was clipped, annoyed that he had to take time out to talk to her.

"I'm coming with, what does it look like?" Bella tried to maneuver her way around the man, head peeking over his shoulder to see how her patient was doing.

"Are you family?"

She stopped to think for a moment. Maybe she should lie about being family. The person questioning her had not been present when she discussed coming upon the accident. He didn't know she was as clueless about the injured man as the rest of them. If she just told a tiny white lie…

But no, there was trouble in that. She worked at a hospital, and judging how well respected Seattle General was for their trauma unit, the ambulance would be racing towards her place of employment. If she lied, someone would find out. She would be reprimanded. Bella was too new to be getting in trouble.

Plus, there was always the While You Were Sleeping factor to remember. The patient would wake up and have no clue who Bella was. Talk about awkward. Mind made up, Bella responded.

"No, I'm not family. But I am a nurse on staff at Seattle General. Plus I'm well acquainted with this man's injuries. You could use the extra hands."

Bella would not allow that vehicle to go without her inside. The man bleeding there was her patient. She felt a strange sense of attachment and…ownership when she looked down at the pathetic body laid out on the stretcher.

As if he sensed her distance, the injured stranger in question began to twitch and shake while being administered to. Bella could see his eyelids flutter, trying to open. And the noises he kept making, shallow gurgles and pitiful whines, made it clear how distressed he was.

"Listen, you can either allow me to pass or I will force myself inside. Either way is fine by me. Because I will be riding with him. And the longer you stand there with your thumb up your ass, the closer this man gets to dying. Do you want to be responsible for that?"

The EMT was shocked by the outburst, that much was clear by his mouth hanging open like a complete idiot. Bella had always been more…brazen…whenever provoked. Right now, the fool in a uniform was irritating the shit out of her. And now that he was just standing there, shocked, motionless, she rushed past him.

She went straight to the side of the man struggling to stay alive. Bella reached out to put soothing hands on his body, anywhere there was room, as one medical personnel struck the battered chest with a syringe. A sigh left the cracked and bloody lips. Bella felt herself relax in response.

"I told you I wouldn't leave you."

The doors on the ambulance shut, a driver now behind the wheel prepared to take them to the hospital. Sirens filled the air, calling out an S.O.S. into the night. They raced towards the hospital, a sense of hope lingering in the air; hope for survival.

Once the vehicle had reached its destination, doctors and nurses came running towards them. Bella's mind was in a daze, lack of sleep and overwhelmed by emotions, finding it hard to concentrate on what was being said. All she knew, was that if she left his side, Bella would feel as if she had failed…

"Oh my God! It's Dr. Cullen!" A shrill feminine voice called out. Loud gasps and exclamations were shared as others took in the news.

Dr. Cullen? As in…Carlisle Cullen? Bella had enough sense about her to know the man next to her could not be Dr. Carlisle Cullen. She had seen pictures. Dr. Cullen had blonde hair, and though she couldn't accurately tell because of the facial damage, was older. This man had reddish colored hair that looked almost stained from his blood. And while he looked older than Bella, the patient looked like he was probably young enough to be Dr. Cullen's son.

"Somebody, quick, call Carlisle. He needs to be here."

And now Bella was even more confused. Someone just i. the victim as Carlisle. Now they wanted to call him? Hysteria was beginning to set in as Bella realized she was slowly suffering from shock.

Too much to take in too little time.

"What happened to him?" A man Bella didn't recognize from the mass of people surrounding her, called out in a calm, reassuring voice. She didn't respond, too lost in the confusion of bodies and machines. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but I found this man unconscious in a mangled up car on Jackson."

"Goddamn it, Edward. You idiot." The man shook his head solemnly, as if he always knew something like this would happen.

Edward. He had said the name Edward. Edward? The name didn't immediately register in her mind. But, if she were to rely on the fact that he was indeed a Dr. Cullen, she was staring down at the broken face of Edward Cullen.

"He's one lucky SOB. He's alive. And I plan to keep him that way." An older man had made his way towards us, draping himself in a pale blue apron.

"Too bad he's the one injured and not helping. We could've used his skills on a job like this." Someone else was speaking now, clucking her tongue at the disaster splayed out on the gurney.

"We need to get him into an OR. Look at his leg, his chest. And fuck, his face looks like someone took a meat tenderizer to him." The older man was talking again. Bella didn't like him, not the way he was speaking about his patient. It sounded so cold and distant. He knew the patient and still talked that way. What was wrong with him?

Before Bella had a chance to fully take in everything, this man, her patient, Edward, was being wheeled away from her. She didn't stop to think as she began to follow the train of people rushing towards a free room.

"Miss, I'm sorry but you can't come in here." The kind voice of the first man filtered through her ears.

"But he needs me." Bella choked out, completely losing it by this point. "And…and...I'm a nurse." The man turned a questioning face towards her. "I work here. Please let me come with."

"Again, I'm sorry. Really I am. But if you work here you know protocol. Maybe you should go home and get some rest. You look like you need it." The gurney was closing in on the double doors leading towards a place Bella could not follow.

Go home? She couldn't go home. And not just because home was in Arizona. But because her car was still parked on the side of the road. She had no way of leaving this hospital.

"Why don't you wait with me?" A new voice reached her ears as she felt a warm, heavy hand on her shoulder. Bella turned to the sound and recognized the face of Dr. Carlisle Cullen staring down at her. "I'm going to be here all night waiting for news on my son. I could use the company."

My son. It should've registered sooner. Her patient, Edward, was Dr. Carlisle Cullen's son. Wow.

Bella nodded as the sudden appearance of a world renowned doctor began to lead her away from the OR and towards the waiting room. She wondered how he could remain so calm, then realized years of handling life or death situations probably helped. Still, that was his son in there. He had to be going crazy on the inside. She was, and she hardly knew the man.

Before she left Edward, she felt a need to reassure him one last time, as if he could possibly hear her and be healed by words of comfort. Maybe she needed to say them for her own benefit. Because now that she was here, she was here; in for the long haul. She would not rest or leave until she knew her patient was ok and well taken care.

"I'm sorry, I can't go in there with you. But I'll see you on the other side." Bella squeezed his arm as the doctors pushed him away from her grasp. The doors closed with a resonating thud.

"Do you know my son well?" Dr. Cullen asked as they settled into the hard plastic chairs. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, Bella wondered why they were allowing the previous Chief of Staff to sit in such a shitty waiting room.

"No. Not at all." Carlisle looked taken aback by the news. "I just found him in his car. I feel responsible for his safety after how he was left for dead."

"Such a compassionate soul you have. Nursing is a great field for you." His mouth turned up into a hint of a smile. Even though Carlisle was probably older than her father, she felt herself flush the softest of pinks. He was incredibly attractive even at his age. And he somehow knew already what she did for a living.

"How did you know I'm a nurse?"

"Stevens told me about the new transfer. He's very happy with how well you are adapting to a new hospital." The smile grew and Bella felt the urge to look away before she blushed hotter. That smile was pretty damn dangerous if it could cause such a strong reaction from a woman already in love with someone else.

"Oh. I'm glad." She didn't know what to say in response. She was very pleased her new boss noticed all the hard work she was putting forth. She was also very pleased Carlisle Cullen noticed. He was a legend in medicine.

"Will you tell me what you know?" The handsome face was gone, replaced by a look of torment.

Ah, Bella thought, there was the desperation.

She replayed the scene, for the hundredth time, as Dr. Cullen listened on. He did not interrupt until she had reached the end of the story. He asked question after question, making Bella go back in her own mind to really think about what she had seen, felt, heard. She wished there was more to give him, say, a license plate number of the person that had hit Edward. But she had nothing.

Then they went on to discuss what was happening with Edward at that very moment. Bella wondered why Carlisle just didn't use his power to gain access to the OR. She doubted anyone would care or try to stop him.

"I wish I was in there." The doctor sighed out, as if he knew what Bella had just been thinking. "Edward wouldn't want me there though." His defeated tone made Bella think Carlisle had forgotten she was still there.

"Of course he would." Bella opted for not being invisible in the situation. "Go. At least then you will know what is going on. I'm sure Edward would want you there, will be able to feel you there. That could help with how he takes to the surgery."

Deep blue eyes turned to stare into her own brown ones.

"You're right. You don't know Edward at all."

Still, Carlisle stood up and made his way towards the doors that would take him to Edward. His face was grim and his gait stiff. Bella doubted it had anything to do with sitting in uncomfortable chairs for too long. Why was this father so hesitant to watch over his son?

"Dr. Cullen?" Footsteps came to a halt as Carlisle turned to look back at Bella. "Will you please keep me posted? I feel..strangely protective of him." She blushed at admitting that fact.

"Maybe you should go home Bella."

"I'd rather wait. Please." The hard look on the doctor's face softened as he nodded in approval. "Thank you." She settled into her chair, trying to find a comfortable position. Though she doubted sleep would come easily, eventually her mind slowed and she drifted off.

"Bella." A hand was shaking her. "Bella, wake up." The hand was more forceful as Bella worked to open heavy lids. "He's made it through. They've moved him to the ICU."

She was so relieved, so happy at the news. Though far from over, Bella felt the worst of things were behind her…and hopefully for Edward as well. For the first time all night, Bella felt happy enough to smile.

"I think you know the rest." Bella turned at the waist, vertebrae popping as she cracked her back. The sound broke me out of my reverie. It was almost trance like listening to her talk.

Both of us were silent as I digested all the information Bella had given me. She hadn't been present for my surgeries, hadn't been allowed. But she stayed. I felt my pulse quicken at the thought. She was amazing and she didn't even know it. Bella was kind, patient, compassionate, and a whole slew of other positive adjectives. How else could she have put up with me for so long? Carlisle had been dead on in his assessment.

Carlisle. That was another story. I hadn't realized he sat in on my surgeries. The news shocked me. My chest felt tight, almost painful, and I didn't really know why. Probably from anger though. Knowing Carlisle he went in to merely observe me like a rat in a lab. Bella had spun the tale to paint him in a good light. I knew better though.

"Thank you for telling me all of that." I broke the silence, eager to hear her talk again, though about happier things now.

"Of course." She smiled at me, though I could see sadness in the curve of her lips.

"It was hard on you, wasn't it?" I watched for her initial facial response, so much more telling than anything that came out of her mouth. Her eyebrows furrowed minutely, lips pursing in thought, before smoothing her features.

"I won't lie, it was. Seeing you like that, trying to help you, was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."

Yeah, but the hardest thing you'll have to do in the future is my cock.

I wanted to groan at how fucked up my mind was. Did I really just think that? Bella was sitting next to me, confessing how awful that night had been, and all I can think about is my cock and…

That train of thought had to end.

"And I'm sure me being a douche afterwards didn't help at all." Bella let out a small giggle.

"I'll just have to get you back later." Her smile this time looked almost wicked.

And I'll have to get you on your back later, sweet Strawberry.

"I'm really glad you stayed. Not just that first night, but even after I fucked up. It means a lot. You're the only person that works here that I actually like talking to."

"Oh." I watched in amazement as my pretty little Nurse blushed strawberries and looked down at the floor. Did she like hearing me say that? Or did I embarrass her? I didn't realize my comment was anything out of the ordinary, but apparently it had some kind of strong effect on Bella Shortcake. "Thanks Edward. I really enjoy talking to you too."

Bella lifted her gaze to mine while her head was still tilted down, effectively looking up at me through her lashes. Fuck that was hot. I really wanted her to do that while she was on her knees in front of me, taking my cock in her mouth.

"So you feel protective of me, huh?" I had paid particular attention to that part of Bella's story. I enjoyed hearing those words come out of her mouth.

"I suppose I do." Bella let out a nervous giggle, getting redder by the second.

"Why?" I needed to hear more. "I mean, clearly I offended you after I came out of my coma. By that point you had already done everything in your power to help me. You didn't have to come back. Why did you do it?"

Nurse Shortcake was all blushes and fluttering lashes as she looked anywhere but at me. Now I had definitely made her nervous. But I wanted to know. There was something that made her come back. What was it?

"Um…"

"Bella, won't you tell me?" I forced my face to comply and smile for her. Unfortunately the sharp sting in my cheek made me grimace at her. I must have looked like a complete jackass because I heard soft laughter.

"I can't really explain it Edward. I just feel very compelled to be here for you. I know you're on the mend, but what would you do without me? Hospital life would get very boring, don't you think?"

It would be boring without her, that much was true. But it still didn't explain why she accepted my apology

"C'mon, you gotta give me more than that." Not one to quit, I tried to smile again. This time I think I managed to pull it off because I heard Bella suck in a quick breath.

"Uh, well, um." She was flustered. Always a good thing. My smile was coming back to me.

About fucking time.

"Yes?" I was loving this shit.

"You looked so helpless in that car." She finally looked me in the eye. "When I found you, I felt so disconnected from my surroundings. Seeing you there, lifeless and alone, I just felt some kind of twisted connection to you. Almost as if, saving you would help me find myself. She looked away again, probably afraid to see my reaction. "I know it sounds stupid. But I'm all alone right now. My work is my life, it's all that I have right now. And since the night of your accident, you have occupied the majority of that time." There was a long pause before she started up again. "When you accosted me, even then I still felt like I needed to be there for you. Like it was my duty to see things through till the end. I believe there's good in everybody. Even you Edward."

"Bella," I hedged. I needed to diffuse the weird tension in the room. "Are you saying I'm your life now?" Bella rolled her eyes at me. I breathed easy knowing she could tell I was joking. I was trying to deflect because I didn't really know how to respond to her statement.

Her words struck me hard. They made me uncomfortable, but not because she felt that way. I felt uncomfortable because of how her words made me feel. I didn't recognize what I was feeling. Empathy? Sadness? What? What was going on with me?

I knew I wanted Bella Shortcake in a sexual way, my body's natural response to her made that painfully obvious. But outside of my physical desire for her, what else was there? Was I really going this far to coax her into bed with me the moment I was free from my hospital bed prison?

Maybe it was simply because I was forced to interact. While I could choose to ignore the other stupid bitches that came in to take care of me, I had consciously put forth the effort to make amends with Bella. Now I was simply reaping what I sowed. So, what…it was obligation?

You fucking moron. If that was all there was to it, you could've dropped her like a bad habit after apologizing. You didn't need to keep kissing her ass in hopes of kissing other parts of her body.

Right…but bad habits are hard to break. Remember the no swearing thing? You expect me to "quit" Bella easily?

I wanted to scream. My mind was a fucking torrential storm raging in my head. All of this frustration over a girl. What the fuck was my life coming to?

Once again, it was quiet as hell in my room. I was too busy trying to run through what Bella had said and deciphering the complete mindfuck of it all. Bella could be off in la-la land for all I knew. Or she could be waiting for me to say something. Maybe she was thinking about her oh-so-handsome boyfriend Jake. What the fuck ever.

Wait a minute.

I finally latched onto something I could handle. Bella had told me previously about how attractive her boyfriend was. If I recalled correctly, she told me I couldn't look better than him or I'd be a fucking chick.

So if she has such a hot boyfriend, why is she alone here?

"Bella, where…"

"Edward, can…" We started at the same time, which caused a fresh round of adorable giggles from Bella.

"You go ahead." I nodded at her, wondering what she was about to say. I'd ask about this infamous boyfriend later.

"Thanks." She cleared her throat, as if bracing herself for something big. "Do you mind if I ask you something now?"

I thought about her request. Questions could lead to trouble, though based on how little my Shortcake really knew about not only Seattle but the people that lived here, I doubted it would be anything too bad. Besides, she had been an awfully good sport, from the very beginning of our acquaintance; being a quiet little Strawberry, staying on as my favorite nurse, telling me her story. I guess she deserved it. I'd throw her a fucking bone. How bad could it be, right?

"Sure, go ahead." Her answering smile made me want to do the same. Fucking beautiful smile…

"Well," she stopped to chew on her bottom lip, such an innocently sexy thing to do. Though I knew it was because she was nervous, not trying to seduce me. "I was wondering, if you wouldn't mind, do you think you could maybe…"

"Bella, spit it out."

She was being so fucking adorable in her awkwardness. The sight of her fidgeting made me wonder how she'd react when I got to see her completely naked. Would she fidget just like that when I stared at her tits? Her pussy? All blood seemed to be rushing down to my cock as I envisioned Bella naked for the first time.

"What's going on between you and your father?"

The blood that had been previously coursing down towards my dick had stopped. I was pretty sure it had just frozen in my body. Or maybe drained out of me completely, getting soaked up by my sheets. Because I felt a chill pass through me that no warm blooded creature should experience.

"What?" The words seethed out between my clenched teeth.

"I noticed a lot of animosity there. Why don't the two of you get along?"

Fuck, I guess her question could be that bad. Goddamn it.

so...again i'm sorry it took forever to get this out. let's hope i'm not a complete fucktard and get my act together with updating. at least this one was a long'n. right?
the flashback: clearly it was third person pov. i'm sorry if it was confusing or didn't flow that well. using all dialogue between e and b was just too monotonous. and doing it all in BPOV was not an option. sorry. hopefully it came out all right in the end. let me know