Carlisle Cullen sighed as he made his way to the ER bed where his last patient of the day would be.
He knew he shouldn't be, but he was preoccupied with thoughts of his children who were, hopefully, waiting at home for him. He wondered who he may have to punish tonight. Lately, it seemed that there was always at least one of them who had misbehaved to such an extent that it warranted a punishment and he was becoming very concerned by that.
Arriving at the room that contained his last patient, he took a deep breath, hoping to clear his mind of his concerns so that he could focus solely on the patient. The scent that seized him with the breath he took however, had his mind reeling for he was almost certain that he had just found his true mate.
Knocking lightly on the wall as a courtesy before pulling back the curtain, he entered the space with a smile.
He glanced at the chart in his hand before speaking. "Hello Miss Swan. I'm Dr. Cullen." He held out a hand and she shook it as she smiled, her eyes, he noticed, had widened, the pupils dilated. Interesting. It seemed that she was reacting to him just as he had reacted to her.
He moved to the corner, grabbing the stool and sitting. "So, we're seeing you today for a possible sprain in your left ankle?"
She blushed a bit and nodded. "Yes, I am a notorious klutz, so this is not the first time it's happened to me, nor will it be the last, I'm sure."
She chuckled as he rose and washed his hands before examining her. He sat back down and rolled a bit closer. "Let's have a look, and then we'll send you off to x-ray."
She lifted her leg and he held it gently as he palpated the swollen ankle carefully. "Well, I don't believe that anything is broken, but we'll take an x-ray just to be sure. It is quite a nasty sprain though. You'll be on crutches until you're comfortable bearing weight on it again."
He lowered her leg. "How did you injure it?"
She blushed again and shrugged a shoulder. "I was walking down the stairs in front of the high school where I teach." She looked up and smiled. "Your children are wonderful, by the way, especially Edward and Jasper. Don't tell anyone, but they're my favorites. So polite and helpful and sweet."
His brows rose as she spoke and he laughed quietly. "Are you sure you're speaking of my sons, because those two cause more trouble than all the rest combined."
She grinned. "Oh yes, I've seen their files but I'm certain that they're your sons."
He rolled back over to the counter and her open chart, making notations as he spoke. "Well, it's refreshing to hear something positive about them. I know they aren't too terrible, but they seem to get into any mischief they can think up and it gets very tiring."
She laughed. "Well, at 14 and 15, it's sort of in their job description."
He chuckled and looked down, nodding. "Yes, I guess it is. I'll just be glad when they are through this stage. It's very difficult to deal with on my own, especially since I have to work such long hours."
"Does your wife work too then?"
He glanced up at her and she blushed. "Forgive me. That's a personal question and I shouldn't pry."
He smiled a small smile. "It's quite all right. This is such a small town that I'm surprised you don't already know."
He turned back to her chart to finish his notations. "My wife left me five months ago. She said that my long hours and the stress from the kids were just too much and she didn't want to deal with any of it any longer."
Bella frowned. "Oh god, that's terrible. I'm sorry."
He smiled a wan smile. "No need, really. It's much better for all of us that she was honest about what she felt rather than staying, potentially venting her anger on the kids." He shrugged. "She moved on and we're dealing with it."
He stood, closing her chart and sliding it back into the file holder on the wall. "The nurse will be by in a while to take you to x-ray. As soon as that's done and I've looked at it, I'll wrap that ankle for you and you can be on your way."
She shook his hand. "Thank you Dr. Cullen."
"My pleasure Miss Swan. I'll see you in a bit."
He left, drawing the curtain shut and Bella let out the breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
Good god, she knew his children were beautiful but he was…...perfect. It was the only word that came to her mind when she thought about the hunky Doctor. Absolutely perfect. She sighed dreamily and the nurse who had just entered laughed. "Yes my dear. Dr. Cullen has that effect on every female that he encounters and some of the males too."
Bella smirked as she hopped into the wheel chair. "I bet he does. I'm shocked that you aren't swamped constantly by teen girls, injuring themselves just to see him."
The nurse chuckled. "Don't laugh but there are a few that have been suspect. The most common injury for teen girls around here are sprained ankles or mystery aches and pains in a knee."
Bella shook her head. "Great. I'd better make sure not to injure a knee any time soon then. Wouldn't want to be grouped in with the fan girls."
The nurse laughed and patted her shoulder. "It's a diverse group, believe me. Ever since his wife took leave of her senses and left him, it's only gotten worse. I don't know how the poor man deals with it all, but he does, with grace and dignity. He's an amazing man under the hot looks. He's one of the rare ones, for sure."
The nurse rolled her up to the table in x-ray. "Well, gossip time is over as this is the end of the road for me. The tech will be with you in a few. Take care."
Bella waved a hand. "Thanks for the lift."
The x-ray didn't take long and she was now back in the same room she'd been in, waiting for the Doctor to see her one last time. She didn't have long to wait as she heard the light knock on the wall as the curtain moved aside and he entered with a smile. "Well, just as I thought, there's nothing broken, so I'll wrap it and you can get out of here. Did you have any questions for me?"
He washed his hands and sat on the stool, rolling up to her again as she answered.
"No, like I told you, this isn't my first rodeo. I'm a pro at looking after bumps and bruises. I haven't perfected the use of crutches yet though. They seem to confound me every time. Seems that I can't operate them and carry all the crap I need for classes in the morning." She sighed.
He smiled as he wrapped her ankle. "I'm sure that you have students that will offer. I'll mention it to my boys. Emmett and Rosalie can get them there early enough to meet you and help."
"Thank you Dr. Cullen, that's very kind of you."
He glanced up at her as he finished up the wrap. "It won't be a problem. They have enough time to get into trouble most mornings, so this will give them something productive to do and hopefully keep them out of detention."
She scrunched her nose up and he thought it was adorable. "They end up there a lot, huh?"
He stood and made some final notes in her chart. "Yes, unfortunately. This past year has been particularly bad."
"Well then, I'll just make it my mission to find things for them to do when they aren't in classes. There are always things that I could use help with and I'm always up for free labor."
He laughed and turned to face her. "Good. If they seem reluctant, don't give them a choice and I'll back you up at home."
She smirked. "Oh, I have my ways Doctor. They'll be there willingly, trust me. I'd rather not deal with surly teen boys if I can avoid it."
He closed her chart and placed it in the holder for the nurse. "Well, if you don't have any questions for me, I'm off to do paperwork and then to home."
She shook her head. "No, no questions here. Thank you and it was nice meeting you."
He inclined his head. "Likewise Miss Swan. Take care of yourself."
He turned and left and she sighed again, eyeing the dreaded crutches with disdain.
Carlisle tossed the white coat into the basket for the cleaners and grabbed his jacket. It was finally time for him to get out of here and go home and he looked forward to it and dreaded it in equal measure.
He loved his kids. He really did, but the situations that he sometimes had to deal with when he got home were less than pleasant and lately, that had been an every day occurrence.
Making his way toward the exit, he was surprised to see Miss Swan sitting in the waiting area. His true mate. He still couldn't quite believe it and wasn't sure what to do about it either as his last relationship had left him a bit gun shy to be quite honest. He knew that he couldn't just leave her sitting there though and so he approached.
"Do you have a ride home Miss Swan?"
He cringed mentally when she jumped, losing her grip on the book she had been reading, which he caught just before it hit the floor.
He smiled as he handed her book back. "My apologies for startling you."
She waved a hand in the air. "I should know better than to get so absorbed into a book. I do it all the time at school and the kids just love to scare the hell out of me when I'm reading. They find it funny for some reason." She smirked and he chuckled.
"I can see where they would find it amusing."
"As for your question, I'm having to wait for my Dad to get off work before he can come and get me. My truck is a manual transmission, and the clutch is not within the realm of possibility for me at the moment."
"I was just leaving. If you like, I can take you home."
"Oh, you don't need to trouble yourself. I'm perfectly fine right here with my book until my father gets here, really."
"It's really no trouble. You live close to your father?"
She blushed. "I actually live with him for the time being. I'm trying to save for a house."
He smiled. "That decides it then. I go right by there on my way out of town, so you see? No trouble at all."
She bit her plump bottom lip in thought making Carlisle want to experience just how plump and soft that lip is.
"Well, okay, if it's really no trouble, then I accept. Thank you."
She put her book in her bag and he took it from her as she struggled with the crutches.
They slowly made their way out to his car and he chuckled as he glanced askance at her. "You really are quite terrible with those aren't you?"
She smirked. "Oh, this is me at my best with these things. Trust me, it gets much worse at times. Stairs are almost impossible. I'm dreading the stairs at home and at school. My dad can help me at home, but at school…"
"My boys will help you. I'll make sure they know to meet you in the parking lot. Speaking of, how will you be getting to work if you can't drive your truck?"
He opened the door to his car for her and she sat, handing him the crutches. "I'm trading vehicles with my friend for a week or two. It's a tiny piece of crap car, but it's an automatic, so I can't really complain."
He stowed the crutches in the back seat and got into the car, starting it up. "Well, let me know if that doesn't work out for some reason and we'll figure something out."
She looked at him with a puzzled expression for a moment. "Really Dr. Cullen, you've done enough for me already, just with the ride home and the future help from your boys. I couldn't ask you for anything else. I appreciate the offer though."
If Carlisle could have blushed, he would have. He realized that he was coming on a bit strong for having just met her but he couldn't seem to help himself. He had a need to provide and protect and he knew that particular compulsion would never abate. He would just have to be very careful in how he approached her from now on.
"I apologize if I've been too forward. I know we just met, but…." He sighed in defeat. Perhaps he should go with a half truth for now? He glanced at her and she was studying him closely. Half truth it is then.
"What I'm trying to say is that I really like you and I would love it if you would consent to having dinner with me sometime." He looked at her as he stopped at a red light.
"So will you? Have dinner with me?"
She smiled shyly. "I think I would like that very much."
He grinned as he continued on from the green light.
She held up her index finger. "But, not until I can make my way around without crutches."
He nodded. "Perfectly understandable. I shall look forward to your speedy recovery."
She smiled. "So shall I."