Just a drabble that I started to write on Valentine's Day, so don't flame me! Also Carlisle doesn't know Esme in this story, so he's all alone for Valentine's Day…

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"So… doing anything this evening Dr. Cullen?" enquired Dr. Emma Smith as Carlisle paused at reception to hand in a form.

"Nope, quiet evening in, as far as I can tell." he replied as tactfully as possible.

"Really, not even a date!" interrupted a second doctor by the name of Phoebe Johnston, whose unbound enthusiasm for life in general tended to wear him down after a while. "Surely not?" she added, glancing at Emma meaningfully.

"Afraid so," he smiled wryly, "Now if will excuse me I need to see my patient in room twelve."

"See you later, Dr Cullen." he winced slightly as he heard Emma's voice chime from behind him as he left the room. Carlisle cursed his sheer luck that he had to be working a shift on Valentine's Day. Eternal youth was supposed to be one of the perks of being a vampire, yet some days Carlisle found it to be more of a hindrance. It wasn't that he hated the principal of Valentine's Day, but in practice he found it far too commercialised for his old-fashioned tastes.

He headed into his newest patient's ward, an elderly man who had suffered a fall a few days ago.

"Good morning Mr. Lawson." he greeted the patient who was currently propped up on his pillows and watching the football on the television. "How's the arm doing?"

"Much better, thank you doctor," Mr. Lawson replied. "And my granddaughter's meant to be coming in to visit later."

Carlisle looked up from the notes he was currently reading and smiled. "Well that's good to hear."

"Actually, she's quite a bonny looking lass," the man said while not bothering to take his eyes off the screen. "You should pop along later and say hello, if you catch my drift."

"I'll bear that in mind." Carlisle replied, simultaneously making a mental note to avoid that end of the ward for the rest of the day.

The old man smiled a toothless grin. "Unless you've already got plans for tonight of course."

Carlisle froze mid-way through signing his name in the log book. "I might have one or two things going on already, actually."

"Pity, I'm sure you would have liked her," the old man commented. "Sill maybe next time, boy." he winked theatrically before turning back to the game. Carlisle took that as a chance to escape before he could get himself tangled up any further. He sighed as he headed to his next room. It was going to be a long day.

It was around lunchtime when Jessica the receptionist (and queen of hospital gossip) caught up to him outside the canteen.

"Doctor Cullen!" she beamed when she reached him. "I've got something for you. Was left at the office this morning," she handed him a small, white envelope with his name scrawled on the front. "No idea who by."

Carlisle was rather glad that this was all she had to tell him. However his relief was short lived as once he opened the envelope he pulled out what was a very pink, very bright and very glittery Valentine's card. He stared at the explosion of downright cuteness that lay in his hand as though it was highly poisonous. Eventually he worked up the courage to open it, only to find that it had been signed "Guess Who?"

"So who's the lucky girl then?" Jessica asked innocently, while also attempting to slyly read the card upside down.

"It doesn't say." Carlisle muttered, mostly to save her time.

"Perhaps it's the girl who you're going on a date with tonight?" Jessica added absentmindedly.

"What girl?" Carlisle asked quickly.

"Oh, Mr Lawson was telling David the nurse, who told Sarah the matron, who told Emma, who told me that you had plans tonight," Jessica explained. "Unless… it isn't David is it? Because if it is then Phoebe will be really disappointed. I mean-"

"Why would Phoebe be disappointed?"

Jessica paused, putting her hand to her mouth as though in shock. "Oh, I wasn't supposed to say anything!" she lent in closer. "But she likes you a lot! she and Emma spent all morning trying to find out who sent the card!" the receptionist raised her eyebrows knowingly, "But if you've got plans with David…"

"I've not got plans with David, ok?" Carlisle confirmed.

Jessica clapped her carefully manicured hands together in glee. "Brilliant! Phoebe will be so glad to hear that!" she cried happily, before turning and bounding off towards where Phoebe and Emma where sitting in the canteen.

Carlisle looked back at the Valentine's card again, not quite sure what to do with it. Not having the heart to throw it out, he eventually decided to store it safely away in his locker. Of course once he got to his locker there was another surprise waiting for him. A huge stuffed bear sat on top of his locker, and just in case he happened to mistake the bear for someone else, 'Dr Carlisle Cullen' had been written on a bright pink Post-It note that was stuck to the bear's forehead. He leant against the locker in despair, silently asking God what he had done to deserve this. As if to make matters worse, at that moment a fellow doctor by the name of Ben happened to walk in.

"Hey Carlisle!" Ben grinned at him while heading over to his own locker, "Got yourself an admirer there?" he added, glancing at the bear. "You should look more happy about it; I don't have anyone for tonight."

Carlisle lifted up the bear by the ear and grimaced slightly. "Well if you could take either Emma, Phoebe, David or Mr. Lawson's granddaughter off my hands for me I would be much obliged."

Ben nodded seriously. "I'll see what I can do," he replied, before heading towards the door. "Wait," he paused and turned round again. "David? David the nurse?"

Carlisle shook his head. "Don't ask. Or ask Jessica. Take your pick."

Ben grinned again. "Asking Jessica sounds like much more fun. See you later,"

"Bye." Carlisle muttered, rolling his eyes. His only comfort was that he would be finished his shift in an hour or so.

By the end of his shift Carlisle found himself hiding in a storage cupboard. Not his first choice of hiding place but he had to made a quick exit after running into David outside the men's bathroom. When he arrived home he found himself not only carrying his Valentine's card, but two roses, a box of chocolates and the gigantic fluffy bear with the Post-it note still on its head.

"Had a nice Valentine's Day then?" Emmett smirked as he entered the living room.

"Don't suppose you know anything about this Emmett?" Carlisle enquired suspiciously.

"No, but-"

Carlisle turned as Alice burst into the room. "Yay! You got them!" she exclaimed happily.

"You sent me these?"

"Yup - well, me and Emmett," She beamed at him. "We thought it might cheer you up." she explained, bounding over and kissing him on the cheek.

"And besides, the look on your face just now was totally worth it!" Emmett added with grin.

"So," Alice began, "How was your day then?"

Carlisle rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't believe it."

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