Disclaimer: None of this is mine!

Chapter 1: When Edward met Bella

BPOV

Ugh, I hate moving. Why am I doing this again? Oh yea, I missed home, Forks. I graduated from University of Washington with a bachelors degree in English and a masters degree in education. I've been working at a high school in Seattle teaching freshman English all day long. The school is so large with so many students, there are at least two teachers dedicated to each subject. I really wanted to teach Brit Lit but instead I'm demonstrating the use of a pronoun. When I heard my old high school in Forks was looking to add another English teacher, specifically a literature teacher, I jumped at the chance. As soon as I got the position, I submitted my two weeks notice and thankfully since it was summer break, I wasn't given a hard time about it.

I was so excited to be moving back. My best friend, Alice Cullen moved back here after she finished her masters of business and opened her own bridal boutique in Port Angeles. I met her when I moved to Forks when I was 17. My parents divorced when I was an infant and I was living in Phoenix with my mother when she suddenly up and married a baseball player and decided to travel with him. Alice and I became best friends immediately and went to college together and shared an apartment. Her boyfriend, Jasper Whitlock, lived in Seattle already and was a couple of years ahead of us at UW. He was a history teacher at Forks High and I couldn't wait to work with him. I had really missed those two and was so excited to be near them again.

I had just finished packing up my apartment and loaded the boxes in the back of my dad's truck. When I was in high school it was my truck, but I didn't think the big red beast would be able to handle the countless drives back to Forks when I visited home so I bought myself a black Subaru Impreza. I really wanted the Subaru WRX but it was a little out of my price range. I was able to get a full scholarship for school and my mom offered to pay for my apartment so I picked up a part time job at a bookstore to pay for my car.

My dad's truck and my car were full of boxes and I had sold all of my furniture. I turned my keys into the landlord and met dad in the parking lot. I offered to follow him so he could set the speed. The Beast couldn't go over 55 mph but I also didn't want to get caught speeding by good ole dad, the police chief. I don't excessively speed but I do like to go at least 5 mph over the limit. Around noon, we got into our vehicles and started the three hour trip which would actually take about four. I made sure my iPod was charged and hit shuffle.

We finally got to Forks about five hours later. I had forgotten the Beast needed her tank filled several times during the trip. I was never so relieved to see dad's two story white house in my life. I was going to stay with him until I found a place to stay. There weren't too many apartments in Forks but there were a few houses. Hopefully I could find a small two bedroom house to either rent or if I have to buy. Alice promised to help me look in the next few days.

Dad ordered a pizza and we unloaded all of the boxes. Most of them were going to stay in the garage until I found a house but a couple of them I was going to unpack in my old room. I don't know why I bothered with my clothes; Alice was going to drag me shopping sooner or later. Every year in high school and college, she would throw out all of my clothes and buy me a whole new wardrobe. Alice had received a large inheritance from her grandparents so she had the money to buy anything she wanted and she did. I always protested so finally she just started doing it behind my back. I'd go to class with my old clothes in my closet and come home with all new ones.

When I was finally done unpacking, I took and deep breath and fell onto my bed. The last thing I remember was thinking how good it felt to be home.

The next morning I woke up groggy and confused. I was still in my jeans and t-shirt I wore yesterday. I must have passed out from all of that unpacking. I got up and showered and dressed for a day with Alice. Since it was Sunday, we were just going to drive around and see if we find any "For Rent" signs. We would probably also go shopping. I have to go into the school tomorrow for paperwork but don't actually start teaching until the fall. I was grateful for that, since I have to find a house and it gives me time to really look rather than rush to get everything done.

Dad was gone fishing when I went downstairs. I checked the cabinets but there wasn't any food, of course. Dad couldn't cook to save his life and always ate pizza or diner food. I decided to go food shopping today and stock up. Even when I get my own place, I'll probably still come over and cook him dinner. Since there wasn't anything for breakfast, I decided to call Alice and see if she wanted to go out.

"Oh my God Bella, I can't believe you're finally home!" Yup, she was excited.

"Yea, I'm home Al. Do you want to go to the diner for breakfast before we house hunt? Dad's cabinets are bare."

"That's cool with me. Do you mind if Rose comes with us? It shouldn't take too long to house hunt then we can shop!" Rose, was Rosalie Cullen, Alice's sister-in-law. She married Emmett, Alice's older brother, years ago. Rose was a bombshell, all legs, curves and blonde hair and her beauty was intimidating but she was a sweetheart. She and Emmett were perfect for each other, mainly because she was the only person who could keep him in line.

"Sounds good, I haven't seen her in weeks. Is she still modeling for you?" Rose was Alice's main wedding dress model when she wasn't at the shop. She and Emmett owned a custom auto shop, where they did really cool custom work on any car.

"Of course she is. I would be lost without her. I am looking for some new models though because she and Emmett are trying to have a baby but I'm thinking of doing a small maternity line she would model."

"That sounds cool. Do you want to meet at the diner, in about 15 minutes?"

"Why don't I just pick you up? I'm on my way now." She hung up and then there was a knock at the door. I just laughed and grabbed my keys.

I hugged Alice and then we headed out to the car. Rose was waiting for us in her cherry red BMW. Her car had more back seat space than Alice's Porsche. We headed to the diner and enjoyed our breakfast while we caught up with each other.

After breakfast, we drove around Forks looking for places to rent. There wasn't much at all. Alice recommended I at least talk to a realtor and look at houses to buy. She reminded me that I don't have to actually buy anything, just look. She and Rose both used the same realtor and gave me her contact information. She was also going to talk to her mom, Esme, and see if she has seen anything on the market. Esme used to be an interior decorator and would be very helpful in finding exactly what I wanted. I used to love going to Alice's house just to spend time with Esme. She became a mother to me since my mom was so far away. I had an entirely different relationship with her than my mother. My mom was more of a best friend than a mother. When I was old enough I began doing the cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping and bill paying. My relationship with Esme was actually more mom and daughter. When I got dumped by my first boyfriend she was the one who held me when I cried and promised I would find someone better.

After house hunting, we went to Port Angeles. The normal 45 minute drive ended up being 25 minutes with Rose driving. We went to the mall and at each store I just went to the dressing room and waited for Alice to bring the clothes. I knew the drill. We finally left when the stores closed at 6 pm and went home. I was so exhausted; I decided to do the grocery shopping tomorrow after I went to the school. When I got home, dad had ordered another pizza. I crashed again that night.

The next morning was actually sunny in Forks. It was going to be a beautiful day but I was too rushed to care. I had overslept so I threw on one of the outfits Alice bought me yesterday and ran out the door. The cruiser was gone so I knew dad had already left. I sped down the streets to the school and made it just in time for my appointment. I met with the principal and was shown my room. I was given a tentative schedule that would be more concrete closer to fall. I was to teach all of the advanced placement classes which included Composition, World Literature, and Brit Lit. There were five class periods during the day and I taught four periods with one break period. It looked good and I was really excited. After I talked with the principal, I sat down with the secretary and filled out all of the paperwork. It took about two hours but I was finally done and didn't have to come back until about two weeks before the start of school.

I left the school and jumped in my car to go to the grocery store. I was so glad I remembered to make a shopping list last night and didn't have to go home. As I was driving up to the one stop light in town, it was red so I started to slow. As I started to break, it changed to green and I thought this must be my lucky day. It may be the only light but it took forever to change. I had just entered the intersection when I heard a loud horn. I looked to my left just in time to see a green car hit me on the driver's side. My airbag exploded but since I was hit on the side it didn't really help. My head hit the window and I blacked out for a second. When my car stopped moving, I looked around. I was in shock so nothing hurt too badly but from the damage to my car, something had to be broken. I felt something warm on my cheek and raised my hand to it. When I pulled my hand back I saw the blood and immediately the world went black.

EPOV

Another day, another dollar. Even though I don't need the money I still work. I'm an ER doctor at Forks General. I've always had a dream of working at Johns Hopkins but every time I apply, I'm rejected. The main reason is due to the lack of experience. I guess it's my own fault though; I keep applying for higher positions than entry level. I just completed my residency at a hospital in New York. I could have stayed on there but if I can't work at Johns Hopkins then I'd rather work at home. My dad, Carlisle Cullen, is the Chief of Surgery here so he was able to get me a position fairly quickly. I'm happy to be home but I'm still hoping I get a call about the latest position I applied for.

I'm still living at home, which is kind of embarrassing but there is nothing to rent here and I don't want to buy anything and have to sell it. I don't have a girlfriend and don't have time for one so I don't have to worry about that. Besides, nothing beats mom's cooking.

I've been working since 6 am and won't get off until 6 pm tonight, if I'm lucky. It's normal for me to work 70 to 80 hours a week. Even though Forks is pretty quiet, we still get accidents and the occasional flu bug.

I was in the break room catching up on charts when my beeper went off. I went down to the emergency room and found the nurse who paged me. Ugh, it was Nurse Stanley, God I can't stand her.

"What do we have?" I asked her in the coldest voice I could muster.

She still batted her eyes at me and shoved her nasty fake chest out. "MVA, arrival in 5 minutes."

I just nodded and went to scrub up and put on my gloves and gown. I had just finished when the doors opened. I looked to the paramedic for stats.

"55 year old male, small laceration on forehead, BP and heart rate normal." I looked him over and he was conscious and looked fine other than the small cut on his head.

"What is your name, sir?" I asked him while using my penlight to check his eyes.

"Lawrence Brown. My brakes went out and I couldn't stop. Oh God, I hope she's okay." He must be talking about another victim.

"Was anyone in the car with you?" I was still checking him over and no one else had been brought in yet.

"No, not with me. There was a girl in the other car. Please tell me she's okay." As he was speaking, I noticed the smell of alcohol on his breath.

"I've haven't seen anyone else but when she comes in I'll check her, don't worry. You just have a small cut on your head. I'm going to have to stitch it up but first I want to do a scan. A nurse will come get you when they're ready. I also want to do some blood work so we'll do that first." He needed a tox screen done so I ordered that to be done first, then head x-rays.

When I finished the paperwork, the doors opened again and I noticed this patient was far worse. I put on clean gloves and a gown and went to the paramedic.

"25 year old female, severe laceration on left side of the head, left broken ankle, BP and heart rate low." She must have been t-boned on the driver's side.

I started working on her and checked her head wound first. She lost a lot of blood but not too much. It was a shallow wound but head injuries tend to bleed a lot. She definitely needed stitches. I checked her ankle and it looked like it was broken. I ordered a CAT scan and x-ray for her to be done stat. When I was done accessing her injuries, I noticed she was absolutely beautiful. She was small but had the perfect amount of curves. Her hair was long and dark and I felt the urge to kiss her until she woke. I started to feel strangely connected to her and couldn't leave her side. I went with her to get her scans done and just kept praying she would wake up.

Her scans came back and looked good. Her ankle was broke but it was clean and wouldn't require surgery and her head scans looked fine. I was wondering why she wasn't waking up when my dad passed by and stopped all of a sudden. I looked at him but he was looking at my patient. I noted her name but it didn't ring a bell so I wondered how he knew her.

"Dad?"

"Is that Isabella Swan?" He asked but walked up to her and took her hand.

"Yea, do you know her?" This was kind of weird.

"She's Alice's best friend and just moved back here. What happened?" He looked up and started studying the scans.

"MVA, looks like a drunk driver t-boned her. Her ankle is broken and she has a laceration on her head. Her scans look fine but she still hasn't regained consciousness." I was hoping he could shed some light on this.

"What she bleeding when she came in?" I nodded. "She has an… aversion to blood. If she sees it, she usually passes out. She's been getting better with it, but I'm guessing she was in shock to start with and when she saw it she passed out. She'll wake up in a couple of hours. Let me know when Chief Swan gets here and when she wakes up."

"Chief Swan?" I know the guy will probably be arrested but why would the chief come all the way out here.

"He's her father. I almost feel bad for the driver. Charlie is going to rip him a new one." Dad chuckled and I joined in.

All of a sudden, we heard the chief down the hall. "WHERE IS SHE?"

Dad stepped out of the room and waved to Chief Swan and he came running. When he entered the room and saw his daughter he rushed to her side and held her hand just like my dad did. I realized she must be a very special girl to garner that type of reaction from them.

"What happened? Is she okay?"

I decided to speak up then, "Chief Swan, I'm Dr. Edward Cullen and I treated Isabella when she came in. She has a large laceration to the left side of her head but it just needed a few stitches. She lost some blood from it but nothing too dramatic to need a transfusion. We did a CT scan of her head and it came back clean. Her left ankle is broken but it's a clean enough break that it won't need surgery. Once the swelling goes down a little more, I'll put it in a cast. She was not conscious when she was brought in and has not woken yet. I was just speaking with my father and he informed me of her aversion to blood and that seems to be why she hasn't woken."

Chief Swan chuckled a little when I told him about the blood issue. "Thank you for taking care of my baby girl. Do you know what happened? I sent my deputies to the scene of the accident and I came straight here."

"From I've seen, she was hit on her driver's side and t-boned. When the driver came in, I noticed alcohol on his breath and had a tox screen done. I'll send the results to the station once they come in." When I said the word "alcohol" his face became murderous. I agreed with dad, I almost felt bad for the guy. Almost.

It was then that I remembered I still had to check his scans and stitch him up. I didn't want to leave Isabella though. I felt so protective of her and just wanted to sit by her until she opened her eyes. I wanted to be the first thing she saw when she woke up.

I finished the last stitch and let the deputies question him about the accident. His lab results came back and his blood alcohol level was .09, just above the legal limit. I finished the paperwork as quickly as possible and hoped to check on Isabella when I heard my sister's voice.

"Edward? Did Bella come in?" Who the hell was Bella?

"No Alice, there was no Bella that came in. Why?"

"What about Isabella Swan?" Oh yea, I forgot dad said she was Alice's best friend. So her name is Bella. It suits her perfectly.

"Oh yea, she came in but she's fine. Dad and Chief Swan are with her now. She still hasn't woken up and she had to get stitches in her head and she has a broken ankle but she's fine."

Alice breathed out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God. I was so worried when Jazz called and said he heard Bella was hit. I closed the shop and rushed here. Can I see her?"

Wow, they must be really close for her to close her shop. I wondered why I never met her before. I led Alice down to her room and she joined Dad and Chief Swan. I wanted to stay but couldn't find an excuse. I went back to the ER and finished up my day.

When it was time for me to leave, I went by her room but Chief Swan and Alice were still there so I just passed by. I so desperately wanted to see it and knew I wouldn't get to. I didn't work tomorrow and couldn't come up with a good excuse to come in.

I drove home and went straight to bed even though it was early. I put on music and hoped it would help me think of anything other than the beautiful girl I couldn't get off of my mind. The music helped to lull me to sleep where I dreamt of the beautiful Bella Swan.

APOV

I sat the rest of the day with Charlie waiting for Bella to wake up. Charlie was such a good man and I loved him like I do my own dad. Speaking of dad, he stopped by a couple of times to check on Bella. She and I truly were like sisters and our parents as always treated us as their own. Maybe one day she will actually be my sister. That day is closer than I thought.

I noticed Edward walk by several times during the day. I'm not even sure if he knew he was doing it. She wasn't his patient anymore since she was admitted and I know he rarely checks on his patients like he's doing with Bella. From the first day I met her, I knew she and Edward would be perfect for each other. I wanted them to meet so badly but I knew the timing wasn't right. He was off on the east coast with school and then his residency and wasn't ready to devote himself to a relationship. She was also not ready for a relationship while she was in school. She was extremely intelligent but still had to work hard for her scholarship.

Even now, I know Edward will try to fight his feelings because he's trying to get into Johns Hopkins but I really hope he'll see that he belongs here. This might be harder than I thought. I'm going to need reinforcements.

Soon after I saw Edward walk by when his shift was done, dad came in and checked Bella again.

"Alright Alice, I know you want to stay but visiting hours are over and you need to go home and get some sleep. Bella's going to be fine and should be released tomorrow once she wakes up." I wish I could stay with her but I understood. Besides I had to talk to mom and Rose.

"I'm on my way out too so I'll walk you out. Charlie, you really should go home and rest but I told the nurses you could stay if you wanted." He was worried about Charlie's health but knew what it's like to see your child injured. It was taking everything in dad to leave Bella. Charlie nodded and we knew he wasn't leaving. We said good-bye and we went out to the parking lot.

"Alice I know that look in your eye. What are you up to?" My dad knew me well.

"I'm just going to help some things along that have already been set in motion." Dad just smiled at me and opened my door for me.

"I think I know what you're planning and while I don't think you should meddle, I have to agree with you." I was shocked. Dad hates my scheming. I smiled widely and told him goodnight.

Once I was home, I called Rose and explained the situation. We agreed to arrange a meeting between Edward and Bella but it had to be innocent or they will think something's up. When she and I got off the phone I called mom.

"Hi mom, how are you?"

"I'm good sweetheart. How is Bella? Your father said she was fine but I'm just so worried about her." Oh mom, she is about to be great.

"Well physically she is doing fine but she needs help with one aspect of her life and I would like your assistance."

"What are you up to?" My parents really know me well.

"While I was with Bella at the hospital, I noticed a certain copper haired doctor paying special attention to her. I was thinking we should arrange a meeting, so she can thank him properly and they can be formally introduced." I heard mom gasp when she realized it was Edward.

"Mary Alice tell me everything." Ha, I knew mom would be interested.

"Well even though she was all bloodied and injured when he first saw her, he kept walking by her room all day. She was admitted so she wasn't his patient anymore but you could tell he was dying to make up an excuse to see her. Charlie and I were with her the entire day so he never came in. I don't even think he knew he was doing it. When I first saw him and asked about her, he had a smile on his face I've never seen before. I've always thought they would make a cute couple but I really think they're soul mates, mom."

"I noticed him smiling when he came home. He seemed happy and yet frustrated at the same time. I agree we need to arrange a meeting. Why don't we have dinner here in a couple of weeks? I want to give her time to heal." I knew mom would help!

"I think that's a great idea! Plus it will give him time to miss her like crazy and maybe I can talk to him and get a better idea about how he feels. I know he is going to fight this, with Johns Hopkins being a possibility but I really don't think he'll be happy there. He belongs here and I think she'll show him that." I was really worried about him. I know he went away for college but moving there permanently is a completely different story.

"You took the words from my mouth. I want him to follow his dream but he was never that happy when he was in college and during his residency. He lost that light in his eyes when he went away and today was the first time I've seen it since he was in high school. I know they'll be good for each other. I'm so happy she's finally home too. I know she'll love the high school."

Mom and I talked a little longer and started to make plans. We decided to make it a "Welcome Home" party for both Edward and Bella since they both just moved back. They can't avoid their own parties, although I know she'll throw a fit.

I went to bed feeling pretty good. Jazz knew I was conniving and like the smart man he is, he gave me space to make my plans. He finally decided to bring in up once we were cuddled in bed.

"Did I hear right that you want to fix up Edward and Bella?" My back was to his chest so I couldn't see his face.

"Yes, you did. Are you going to help?"

He started laughing, "Sugar, you're going to need all the help you can get. Those two are the most stubborn people I've ever met."

I couldn't agree with him more. "Is that a yes?"

"Yea, I guess it is. Now go to sleep. Goodnight my love." He kissed my head and we drifted off into our dreams.