Hello Everyone! This is my first fanfic. I hope you like it ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.. I wish...
Chapter One
"Edward! Step in for a moment!" The Chief shouted towards one of the guys sitting around the tables, playing cards. It is their turn to take the nightshift and it just started an hour ago. If you ever happen to look for the chief? He is at the fire station 24/7. Yes, the chief is a dedicated man.
"Sure thing, Chief! I really should cut the boys some slack because they are losing way too much money here." A tall strong-looking man with untamed coppery hair and bright green eyes stands up from the table, stretches and walks into the Chief's office.
"Could you shut the door for a moment?" He asked and Edward quietly shuts the door behind him.
"Ok, I know you're ambitious and driven. You probably walk out of here boiling with rage when I am done but you have to remind yourself that every life is precious and that everyone should feel safe." The Chief is rambling on.
"What…?" The young man in his mid-twenties starts but he is interrupted by the Chief.
"Edward, tomorrow at three o'clock a young lady is coming to the station and is hoping someone could help her with making her home fireproof. I think this is a job suited for you."
"What! Chief, you cannot be serious?! I am your best second in command! You cannot expect me to sort out a stupid administrative job!"
"Edward, you are still my second in command but you are this close to get fired. Some want you fired but I am holding off the best I can because you are one of a kind. However, to satisfy the demands a little I am ordering you to take this assignment." The Chief said in the calm voice he always uses when handling trouble.
"Who?" Edward asked with a low yet lethal voice. The Chief shakes his head.
"I am sorry but you know I cannot disclose that information."
"Fine!" Edward turns on his heel and storms out of the office, slamming the door behind him.
"Chief? Ehm, Edward has just left…" Jasper is saying while coming into the office, looking bewildered.
"Yes, let him go. He needs time off."
"Yes, Chief Callahan." Jasper makes a small salute and closes the door softly.
As if you didn't know it already, let me enlighten you. I am Edward Cullen and I have the honour to be a fire fighter for Station One in Seattle. I am twenty-six years old. Oh, and I am stuck with a stupid administrative assignment which is below me because I was first in my class, got through an extremely hard selection program and it only took me three years to get to where I am now, Captain of Fire Squad: Special Unit. Did I mention I was first of my class? See now, I have had a rough few months but that doesn't mean that I have to be degraded to an administrator. Because if it does mean that I am then I am not under any circumstances allowed to be a fire fighter.
Single-minded till the point of recklessness…
At precisely three o'clock Bella stumbles in Station One. She off-handedly dusts off her clothes and then takes in her surroundings which have always the same effect on people. She freezes and her mouth forms an 'wow' without actually voicing it. In the dark right hand corner Edward was silently observing her and then stepped towards her. The movement startled her and her eyes as big as headlights connected to his. He smiled politely and offered her a hand.
"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen. Pleasure to meet you." She let him envelop her soft hand.
"Nice to meet you, I am Bella Swan." She said with a smile.
"What can I do for you? My boss just handed me the assignment so I am not really that informed." He said while walking her to the same tables where he and the guys last night were sitting on.
"Oh, yes… Well… Ehm, the thing is…." Suddenly very nervous she started shifting on the chair and Edward knew then that he had to ease this up.
"Where are my manners? Would you like something to drink? Tea, coffee, a Diet Coke? Anything?" He asked her trying to lighten up the conversation.
"Yeah, yeah, I would like some tea if that's ok?" She said clearly relieved that she didn't have to start.
"Of course." He nodded and walked to the small kitchen block and made a cup of tea and one with coffee.
"Here you go."
"Thank you" She said and saw I was drinking coffee, "I am probably keeping you from your work, aren't I? Maybe I should…"
"You are not keeping me from anything, Miss Swan." He interupted her.
"Bella," She said, looking up from her lap and clutching her mug, "You can just call me, Bella."
"Well then, Bella, you are not keeping me from my work because right now it is not really busy as you can see." He said gesturing to the fire engines that were lined up neatly.
"Ah, yeah...Ok, sorry." She said and her cheeks flamed. She stared into her mug again and didn't say anything else. Edward figured that whatever she had on her mind was probably very important to her.
"Bella, what can I do for you?" He asked her softly but he was already sure that whatever it was, he would do it anyway. She looked at him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.
"I need my apartment fireproof. I am a klutz and never thought it was that bad but recently there was a fire because of it. My dad is Chief Swan and he said that I had to come here." She rambled and seemed to hold her breath when she was done.
"Your father is the Chief of Police here in Seattle?" Edward asked surprised. She nodded.
"Ok, well then if it is ok with you, I would like to see your apartment so I can see the damage for myself." He said and started to get up but Bella reached to touch his hand.
"Thank you." She whispered and while she was looking up at him, he suddenly felt the strong urge to bend down and claim her lips. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and walk toward the exit. Bella followed him.
"Do you live nearby or did you come here by car?" He asked her, turning around. She quickly was staring at something beside him.
"No, I used public transport but I live north in Seattle." She answered and he nodded.
"Is it ok then if we take my car to drive to your apartment." She nodded and they walked to his car, a silver Volvo. After a good ten minutes of silence, Bella took a deep breath.
"Edward? There is something that I need to tell you…" She was nervously looking outside and when he looked at her, she started to blush.
"Yeah?" He was smiling slightly because she seemed to be very uncomfortable being in the car.
"Ehm...yeah, you should take a left next corner." She said suddenly and after that she indicated where he could park.
She walked towards a shabby looking building which was at least fifteen stores high. Edward immediately noticed that the flat was not fireproof at all and he could a nagging feeling that it would only be proofed more. Bella walk to towards the staircase and Edward assumed that she did not live on the topfloor.
'Thank God, because she would never make it out alive if she was.'
But they kept going up and up. Five. Eight. Twelve. And Edward was slowly getting more nauseous because a pit in his stomache that just wouldn't go away.
"Fourteen." Bella said and opened the door to the hallway. She didn't look out of breath while Edward needed a minute to recover.
"I'm sorry for the workout but the lift doesn't work, ever."
"I seriously need to get to the gym more often." He said breathing and ruffling through his hair. Bella shrugged her shoulders as an apology and then started walking towards the end of the hallway, No. 388. She grabbed her keys from her bag and she opened the door walking in and expecting Edward to follow her.
"Mommy!" And while Edward closed the door, Bella was knocked of her feet by a dark-brown haired girl and Bella stumbled into Edward's chest, who steadied her with his hands on her hips.
"Hello Tibby. Did you have a good time with Emily?" Bella asked and she kneeled next to the girl. The girl started babbling and Bella nodded and smiled at the girl. Edward was just standing there, surprise written all over his face.
"Ok, sweetheart, now go and help Emily with cleaning up your toys and then say goodbye to her. Ok?" Bella said looking into the little girl's eyes. She nodded and looked sideways the tall man with some sort of uniform on while walking away.
"Yeah, I should've told you that I have a five year old daughter who since the accident is scared to death of fire." Bella said and she looked very embarrassed. When his eyes connected with hers, he was silently comforting her while she sniffled a bit.
Emily walked into the kitchen and said goodbye to Bella.
"Mommy, who is that?" Tibby asked while standing in the doorway to the living room. Bella turned around and smiled to her daughter while opening her arms. Tibby ran to her and was picked up.
"This is Edward. He is going to help us. Say hello to him, Tibby." Bella said while turning to Edward with Tibby in her arms.
"Hello Edward. Nice to meet you." The tiny girl said and she held out her hand which Edward took with one corner of his mouth lifted and a tiny wink.
"Hey Tibby. It's nice to meet you too." He said looking at her with a reassuring gaze, "I am a fire fighter, Tibby." Her clear blue eyes widened and she pressed herself closer against Bella.
"Shhh… Sweety, it's ok…" Bella shushed her daughter while giving Edward a apologetic look. She walked towards the couch in the livingroom and only now Edward realized that the flat was scarcely decorated with only the essentials and the walls were covered in colourful paintings and drawings, which Edward assumed were Tibby's.
Bella was quietly talking to Tibby on the couch and Tibby nodded agreeing with whatever Bella was saying while rubbing her eyes.
She gestured for Edward to come and sit beside her.
"I just told Tibby that you are only here to get to know her today." Bella said. Her eyes pleading with him to play along for now. He nodded understanding the situation.
"That's right, Tibby. I would really like to get know the one has painted all these beautiful pictures here." He said softly, looking at Tibby who was now shyly looking at him.
"I did." She whispered.
"Hm? I am sorry, what did you say? Are you the one who made all these?" He asked pretending that he didn't hear and gesturing to the walls.
"I did!" Tibby then said smiling very proudly and moving to sit in Edward's lap. He was surprised at first but then he asked her to explain some of the pictures.
Bella was busying herself in the kitchen while the other two could be heard from the living room. Bella needed her usual routine right now because this whole day had made a 180〫turn the moment she met Edward Cullen. Her legs had gone jelloed when she had looked into his emerald green eyes. She had become a blubbering mess basically. On top of that, she was very embarassed to tell him that she had scared her own baby girl because the hairdryer was blowing fire instead of warm air. Bella tried to explain that it was because of the electricity network that the hairdryer went ballistic but Tibby had been so scared to go their bedroom the last week that Bella had to see her cry herself to sleep every night. Her father had said that she should go to the fire department when she had told him. Chief Callahan had been really understanding and he said that he would asked one of the fire fighters to help her. No idea that her whole life would change on Wednesday at three o'clock.
She sighed and shrugged in disbelief.
He looked quite fierce and decisive but when he started speaking to her, she had just wanted to leave the ground and shot to orbit. No one would believe how melodic his voice sounded to her. She felt something deep inside her flaring up. She had never felt that way not even with Jacob, Tibby's father. And she did not even want to begin to describe what the incredible sex hair was doing to her.
Again she sighed and tried to clear her head while staring into the fridge, looking for something but not quite knowing what.
"Do you want to cool your head down?" His voice sounded like a velvet cloud slowly surrounding her in her own small and shabby kitchen. Of course, she shot up her head and hit it in the same motion against the shelf.
"Ow!" She nearly shouted but it turned into a groan as soon as she touched the sore bump. Edward stood rigid for a second.
"Are you ok?" He walked to her and touched her shoulder with his hand.
"Uhuh… This happens daily." She said rubbing her head.
"Let me check if it's alright." He said and he gently removed her hand and looked down on her head, touching and probing the area. When he brushed over the bump, she cringed and that was exactly the moment when Tibby walked in.
"Are you hurting my mommy!?" Tibby suddenly screamed and she ran into Edward who had no idea what was happening.
"What the…." He said when Tibby's tiny fists connected with his body.
"Tibby! Stop that immediately! He was not hurting me!" Bella cried out in utter shock and she lifted Tibby off the ground.
"He was hurting you! He was hurting you, momma…." Tibby's voice dropped to nothing more then a whisper.
"No, he wasn't. Mommy hurt herself. You know how clumsy I can be. Edward scared me and I bumped my head in the fridge. Edward was just checking if it wasn't bleeding." Bella explained and she walked Tibby towards another room next to the kitchen. They sat down and Tibby curled up against her mother with a thumb in her mouth while Bella rocked her to sleep. Edward watched them from the door opening, feeling like he was intruding something. Several minutes later, Bella slowly lay down Tibby and stood up, walking towards the door. She did not look at Edward until she had close the door behind her.
"I am so, so sorry for that… I have no idea what has gotten into her… She has never been like this before… I don't know…. I don't know what to do...I...I…" She stammered and started to get upset until Edward put his finger on her lips. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"You are not a bad mother, Bella. I think, I know what is bothering Tibby. Don't blame yourself." He whispered softly, leaning toward her to look deep in her eyes. Bella took a shaky breath and nodded weakly. As if suddenly Edward realised, he was too close to her, he stepped back and walked towards the door.
"Ok, well,….If it's ok with you, I'd like to come back tomorrow when Tibby is at school?" He formed the last sentence into a question.
"Yes, yes, that might be a good idea." Bella said softly still a bit spaced out.
"Ten?" He asked looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Yeah, that's fine. Thank you, Edward."
"No problem. Bye."
Please let me know what you think you it! Points of critique or things you loved.