Explanations and the summary are in two rather lengthy paragraphs on my profile.


Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Twilight, but, perhaps, I could make a certain deal for its ownership…

Temptation

"No, Alice," Edward sighed into his cell phone, "I'm positive I haven't been associating with…" he surreptitiously looked about him to see if anyone was there, but thankfully the halls of the hospital were empty, and hissed, "…werewolves."

"This makes no sense, Edward," she chirped back, her voice rising in her distress. That didn't really surprise Edward, though; she was so often obsessing about things that hadn't even happened yet that he had grown the habit of blocking her out. "I can't see you!"

"That, my dear sister, would be because you are in Seattle and I am in Forks. No matter how well our eyesight is, being nearly one hundred miles away could make that little task rather difficult." Edward checked his watch and suppressed a groan; he simply didn't have the time to calm her down. Since Dr. Snow was on vacation with his family, and Dr. Wilson was faking sick so he could spend time with his mistress, he was stuck with piles of paper work.

"This is serious, you twit!" she snapped. "This could mean bad things!"

"Perhaps I just don't have any decisions to make now; it is, after all, Forks, land of the boringly consistent." He turned the corner quickly and dove into his office when he heard an intern coming down the hallway, locking the door for good measure. Edward supposed that he would have no other choice than to listen to what Alice said, and by the way she was starting, he knew that this was a discussion he couldn't risk anyone overhearing.

"No," continued Alice, "even in the most mundane situations I know the choices people make. If I concentrate, I can see that Rosalie will probably buy a red dress for a charity benefit here and that Esme is considering whether to take either a pottery class or learn how to paint stained glass from a book. Emmett's going to bribe a fledgling Japanese company for a not-yet-released TV, Carlisle's going to surprise Esme with a romantic anniversary, and Jazz is going to teach a history class at a nearby college, but you, for you I see nothing. Nothing! How can that be?" Edward knew he should be as anxious as her, but he was the only other person than Alice who knew how many visions she had had that didn't amount to anything whatsoever; maybe this lack of foresight was just a fluke, and it would all be normal later on.

"I'm sure everything's fine, Alice." He could practically feel her worry coming through the speaker of the phone, so he added, "I promise that I will tell you if I run into trouble." He pinched the bridge of his nose and changed the subject, "How are things with the family? Did you get the book I sent you? Gateway to the Psychic Mind? I thought it would be particularly amusing to you since it describes how every 'psychic' is actually a nutcase running around and prophesizing things that, inevitably, have a one in one billion chance of actually happening."

He smiled in relief as she went on to the new subject, bantering happily with him and bickering as if they were actually brother and sister. "Well, I say that describes me to a T, don't you think so?" She laughed to herself and said, "Maybe I was a loony in my human life."

"And, no doubt, it was only intensified by you becoming a vampire."

"Ha, ha," she shot back sarcastically before her mood was immediately sobered. "As for how our family is, well, we miss you Edward."

Guilt wormed its way into Edward's heart. Truthfully, he really missed them too; it seemed wrong to separate himself from them after all the years they had spent together. "I couldn't miraculously start working in a hospital after just graduating high school though. I had to go somewhere else, where they wouldn't recognize me, and Forks is small enough that a 'wonder kid and prodigy of a doctor' wouldn't make that big of a splash." He made his way to his desk and looked at his name plate, which sent a rush of pride through his body. For once, Doctor Cullen was him, not his adopted father.

"Besides, I can't continue this for much longer. I'm already trying to pass as a twenty-one year old and you know I can't go past twenty-four, at the most. I just… feel that I'm doing some kind of good here; like I'm making a positive difference that I never have before. I'll be home soon enough, but for now, I-" He was in his chair, which he had swiveled around to the face his large picture window that had the unfortunate view of the parking lot below him. It was nearly empty, but he could see a large red truck boisterously pulling into one of the spaces.

A grin automatically graced his beautiful face, showing his straight and blindingly white teeth, as he watched the brunette figure jump out of the truck and head for the entrance of the hospital. "Look, Alice," he said distractedly, "I've got to get back to work, but before I go, remember that I'm fine here. Nothing is wrong. Tell the family I said hello, and I'll see you next weekend for that hunting trip. Goodbye." He hung up and got out of his room, twitching with the bottom of his shirt in a way that would have been nervous if it were someone other than him.

By the time he got down to the lobby, the girl who had been driving the truck was talking to Mrs. Shaw, the nurse who managed the front desk. Mrs. Shaw was handing her a standard form to fill out, and Edward hung back, peaking over the corner, making sure if he could handle the situation. He could smell no blood, which was always a good sign coming from her, and by the way she held her left wrist delicately away from everything else made him assume that it was only a sprain. This was very good news on Edward's part, and his grin widened.

When she finished, Mrs. Shaw checked her computer and made a tuting sound. "It seems," she said to the girl, "that Dr. Snow is on vacation. Dr. Cullen has treated you here several times, I see, so I'll just call him down and-"

"Hello, Miss Swan," Edward greeted as he decided to make his appearance. At the nurse's questioning thought of How does he always know when he is needed, he added, "I saw your car and thought that I ought to get ready for another Swan Catastrophe."

Bella blushed and followed the doctor as he led her to the normal examination room, trying to keep her eyes on parts of the good-looking doctor that were appropriate. She sat on the crinkling paper and Dr. Cullen held her wrist gently in his cold hands. It seemed that low skin temperatures were unavoidable when it came to doctors. "What happened this time?" he asked with amusement clearly in his voice.

"Well," she couldn't find herself able to make coherent speech for a moment; his topaz eyes were focused right on hers and she couldn't help but notice how he smiled crookedly at her inevitable clumsiness, "I was going to go to school, but on my way down the stairs, I tripped and fell, and well, you can picture the rest." She held out her wrist to the doctor and displayed the swelling that had occurred. "I think it might be broken."

Edward prodded it and made a show of examining it before he told her what he had already deduced while she was in the lobby. "Good luck for you Miss Swan; it is only sprained. A rather minor sprain, in fact." He walked over to the cabinet in the corner and took out a length of bandages. "All we have to do is wrap your wrist to immobilize the sprain and provide support, and, when you get home, rest it, apply ice to it, and elevate it." Once he was finished with the bandage, he took hold of her good hand and helped her down from the table, letting his touch linger for a bit before letting go. Both tried to ignore the electricity-like feeling that ran through their veins when they touched in this sweet and rather affectionate way, not the all business one they were so used to while he was tending to her bumps and bruises.

"What should I do about school?" Bella asked, just looking for an excuse to continue looking at him.

"Don't worry about that, Miss Swan," he smiled and her heart felt like it were about to melt. "I'll call the school once you are gone so that they will know about your accident. I just want you to go home and rest." Finding that they both had nothing left to say to each other except goodbyes, they did just that and walked back in different directions, she to the parking lot, he to the front desk to complete the call he had promised, both feeling vaguely disappointed by the departure.

It was obvious to everyone but themselves that they were in love with each other.

Edward returned to the examination room to clean up, rolling the extra bandage and setting it aside, putting away any misplaced tools and objects. He moved as if he were in a trance, which was a good enough way to describe how he felt when Bella Swan was on his mind. She really is something, he thought with a smile.

A polite cough interrupted his thoughts and Edward turned, much more quickly than one would think humanly possible, to see a man sitting in one of the chairs, relaxed and seemingly at home in the starch white examination room, his eyes closed and a blissful expression gracing his features.

Taken aback, Edward put on his doctor face once more and smiled. "I'm sorry; I hadn't seen you come in. Could I help you with anything?"

The man opened his eyes and Edward was shocked to see they were crimson. "Depends," he said slowly, dragging out the syllables in a voice that seemed permanently set in good humor. "It depends if you will let me help you."

Edward let his act drop and closed the door to the hospital, letting no eyes see the strange meeting of these men. "I don't know who you are, but if you wish to speak to me, I'd prefer if we'd do this in my own home, not where so many people are in jeopardy."

The man chuckled and stayed in his seat. "Calm down Dr. Cullen, these people have no reason to fear me more than what they already do on a regular basis. Now, if you would so kindly listen to me; I have a…proposition of sorts." He waited for Edward to lose his death grip on the door knob, which actually molded the cold metal into what the inside of his clenched hand looked like, and sit across from him in the other chair before he continued speaking. "If you could have anything in the world, what would it be? Perhaps that charming Bella girl, hmm?"

Edward shot out of his seat, sending it clattering to the floor, and stared at the man with murder in his eyes. "Don't you dare think of harming her-" And that's when he realized something was wrong; he couldn't hear this man's mind. Finding another like Bella was more than he had bargained for and he was in no proper state of mind to handle it. "What the Hell…?"

The man's smile widened as he said, "What the Hell, indeed. You see Edward, I'm the devil." The fact that he said this with a straight face made Edward rather impressed.

Edward smiled at what he believed was a joke and picked up his fallen chair, pulling it across from the man and sitting down. "Excuse the surprise you may feel," he announced sarcastically, "but I'm afraid that I just don't believe you."

"Would you like me to prove it to you, Dr. Cullen?" he asked with the up most politeness, never wavering in his serene mood.

"Oh, yes very much," Edward challenged, leaning forward and wondering where this man had escaped from.

"I remember the days when people would take the other's word seriously," the man huffed. "Fine, I'll show you I speak the truth." He slouched down in the chair further, tapping his fingers on the wooden arms and looking up at the ceiling as if he were bored. "Dr. Edward Anthony Mason Cullen, you are not who you say you are," he began in an ominous voice of faux solemnity. "You claim to be twenty-one, but in fact are seventeen, and have been that way for quite some time. Ninety years to be precise. Not to mention your little…secret. Need I continue?" He quirked an eyebrow and smiled like a movie star.

Edward wasn't really impressed. If he couldn't read this man's mind, then he must assume that he is a very powerful, if very eccentric, vampire, probably able to get information like that without so much as blinking. "Tell me then, O Prince of Darkness, are you a vampire as well?"

"Of course not!" He gave a shudder and inspected his appearance in the mirror; smoothing back his dark hair and adjusting the suit he was wearing. "I only appear this way because this is how you think the devil ought to look; a cold and unforgiving killer of people with the gall to try and make himself seem like a normal, functioning human. As you once did, I believe," he eyed Edward through the mirror with a pitying look, but waved his hand dismissively. "Usually I'm stuck as a red, behooved creature with a pitchfork, so this is rather refreshing. Tell me, though, why do you resent your kind so much? Is it merely self hatred, or something more?"

Somehow Edward couldn't help but answer this strange man; the probing red eyes and the feeling that he already knew everything drove him to sincerity. "I believe that we are demons."

"A common misconception," he shook his head as if he correcting a misunderstanding child with that smile still on his face, sitting once more across from him. "For, I can assure you, you are none of mine. You vampires, I swear, you either think you are monsters or gods. There are only a few, a very few, who look beyond the self serving deeds that you wish to accomplish and actually do good. Your adopted father, Carlisle, is an excellent example. He will continue on to do great and honorable things, including revolutionize medicine, surrounded by the ones he loves. You, though… your future is less certain. You believe yourself to be a beast, Godless, ruined, but when will you learn that you are essentially human?"

Edward shook his head and spoke earnestly, "But we are lost in the eyes of God; forever damned to walk the earth cold and alone with only the searing heat of Hell to look forward to."

"Do you love God so as to believe that you are unworthy of His good graces?" inquired the man, and, if even for a second, Edward found himself believing this stranger and his outrageous announcement. He had been raised to believe wholeheartedly in the church, and had heard of the devil's beguiling ways. Edward realized he would have to keep a wary eye for any unjust temptation if this was indeed the devil.

"Not love, no. I fear Him…and His judgment." And there it was; the assumption that had been trailing his mind ever since he was changed. This was the reason he had doubted Carlisle so vehemently, trust that should be there between man and creator had only turned to dread.

The man stared at him with his all-knowing red eyes, completely aware that this was the first time Edward had ever said this aloud, and completely unsurprised because he had, somehow, known this before Edward could even put the feeling into words. He sat up, stretching his arms, and stated, "Let's not talk of politics anymore, Edward. We have business to attend to," before walking out the door.

Edward chased after his quick pace until he was by his side and corrected, "You mean religion, not politics."

The man glanced at Edward with another one of those looks, like he was mentor with the heavy task of teaching a slow pupil. "It may be religion to you, but to me, it is merely everyday politics." He led his way through the halls of the hospital as if he had worked there for years, never wavering or hesitating in his path until they arrived at Edward's office, where he let himself in without a second thought and sat in Edward's plush leather chair.

Edward sat down in the small, unassuming chair, unused to being on this side of the desk. "I've been thinking," he started. "How can you block my power? Are you-?"

"Am I like her?" he guessed. At Edward's nod, he shook his head with a smile and said, "No, of course not. She was born like that; I just do it to piss you off."

Edward ignored the last part and continued thinking with a look of frustration on his face. "Then with Alice; did you block her as well?"

The man's smile grew larger in his shamelessness. "Well, I couldn't have her spoiling the surprise now, could I?"

Edward appraised the man more thoroughly; noticing how he didn't act like any other vampire he had ever met. He wasn't in the slightest jumpy when there was a bank of human blood several rooms down and a few patients with open wounds. He didn't move like a vampire, with fast hand gestures and quick speech. As Sherlock Holmes had said, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." And though this was highly improbable, Edward found himself believing it more and more.

Which is why he asked this simple question, "What should I call you? I do think that Lucifer would be a tad too noticeable." Both realized it was a clear sign of Edward surrendering; this was his final truce to the battle against accepting what the man said was true. He was giving into the temptation, no matter how much his mind said not to.

The man looked down at himself, to his elegantly cut suit, to the Italian shoes, to the dark, slicked back hair, to the normal face of no consequence. He thought for a moment before his grin returned with full force. "I think that this man looks like a James, don't you?" He got out of the chair and turned to the window, which hadn't been the least reflective before and now it showed him as clearly as a mirror. "Yes," he said, scrutinizing his features, "James will be my name to you now."

He returned to his seat and put on a business like expression. "Let's get down to business." The man now known as James pulled open the top drawer to Edward's desk and took out a large piece of paper Edward had never remembered seeing in there before. "I could give you seven wishes of any kind, Edward, all for the small price of your soul."

"M-my soul?" This came as an unexpected surprise to Edward. He had, for the past ninety years been living, or existing, with the concept that he had no soul.

"Yes," he gave that Grammy-winning smirk. "And, since you don't quite believe you have one," Edward started in his seat at the blatant observation on his thoughts (for perhaps he could read them, or didn't need to read them if he knew everything already), "I'm sure you wouldn't mind giving it away for such a generous and helpful exchange."

The wheels were turning in Edward's head as he thought of the possibilities of anything with a certain brunette in his mind. His hand automatically reached across the table and retrieved the paper, reading the contract through quickly. "You," he said slowly, "can give me what ever I wish for, no matter how ludicrous?" Mainly Bella, his own forbidden fruit.

James nodded.

Edward's heart lifted at the potential that entailed; a life he had never fully been able to have. Everything but the contract, the pen in his hand, and the devil himself was blocked from his mind; especially his cell phone, which lay ringing in his pocket, the name Alice flashing on the screen over and over and over.

Edward, blinded by the thought of having his angel, opened Pandora's box as he let the pen scratch across the paper, giving the devil his soul. When he was done, he took an unneeded breath, stared James in his too-red eyes, and said:

"I wish I were human."

The devil snapped his fingers, and everything around Edward started to fade before he was left in the blackness of nothing.

Okay, a few points to clear up: I made up the book Edward gave Alice, Alice doesn't know that she was, in fact, a loony because Bella didn't have that whole thing with James and get the tape, and all my information on hospitals and religion is scarily scant. I get everything medical from re-runs of Scrubs and personal experience, and everything religious from movies and Wikipedia, so please don't be insulted if I screw things up.

I hoped you like it and will tell me what you think.