Hello! Welcome to my newest foray into the world of fanfiction. Firstly, thank you for clicking on my little story, it means a lot, I hope I don't disappoint! Second, please leave a review. I don't mind whether it's a simple thumbs up/down or a novella critiquing this work. I want to hear what you think. Plus, I'm needy, so praise is most welcome. Anyhoo, best get on with the story. I'm not sure what my schedule will be for updates yet, I have assignments due every couple of days for the next two months so this is my escape from the hell that is honours year! I hope you stick with me, I'll try my best to get the chapters written up quickly so it's just a case of uploading to the website.

Disclaimer 1: I do not own Twilight, the characters associated or the plotline. Stephanie Meyer hit that jackpot.
Disclaimer 2: I do not, have not, and probably will not live in Seattle. Therefore I have no idea of the geography, have very few facts about the landmarks and hospitals mentioned in this story. It's fiction, work with me here people.
Disclaimer 3: I do, in fact, volunteer in a children's hospital in bonny Scotland, so I do have limited knowledge and some experience of the goings on of a children's hospital. That said, none of the patient stories are a reflection of real people I have encountered. This is entirely made up. Again, see *fiction*.

I walked through the doors of Seattle Children's Hospital and greeted the receptionist as I signed in. Clipping my ID badge to my pale pink shirt, I hopped in an elevator and let it carry me up to the second floor.

Exiting, I pumped antibacterial wash into my hands and used my elbow to hit the call button at the door as I massaged the disinfecting lotion into my hands. Smiling at Jessica, the nurse who had come to let me through, I made a beeline for bed six.

I heard the signature "pew pew" noises that always accompanied some new video game bed six's occupant was always playing and sighed in content.

I had been walking home one night, it was pretty late because I had been on the late shift at the mom and pop diner I worked at; Abby's. As I passed the hospital, I heard the distressed sobs of a very young girl crying for her momma. It pulled at my heartstrings so hard that the next morning I was searching online for volunteering opportunities. I hate crying kids, it's my kryptonite. I had never been able to handle it when I used to babysit on weekends back home in Forks. The sight of watery doe eyes and a small quivering lip had me crumbling faster than an Oreo cookie in a glass of milk.

I had been given a tour and offered an interview by the volunteer manager, Shelley Cope. Ms Cope, who always insisted I call her Shell – a fact I conveniently forgot often- was a short woman with grey, curly hair that she always pinned up and reading glasses that hung around her neck on a gold chain when they weren't sitting a the end of her slim nose. She was a woman with kind eyes and a warm heart and had been impressed with my reasoning for wanting to lend a hand. Her words still echoed in my head:

"It's going to be tough. There will be sick kids, kids who get better and kids who will never leave this place. Some of them will be born here and never leave the four walls of their ward except to go to surgery or a scan. But that's why they need you. They need you to keep a smile on their face and their minds off their situation. However, it's not just the kids. You're going to become a best friend, confidant and reliable shoulder to cry on for those kids' parents. They are the ones who have to put on a brave face for their child, all the while feeling totally helpless and lost because nothing they can do will stop the pain and suffering of their baby. So be prepared for tantrums and tears, especially from the parents. You will be invaluable to them. Make them smile, and you have done your job."

I smiled at her welcome speech and signed the dotted line, officially commencing my jaunt at Seattle Children's.

It hadn't been easy. There were days where it took every ounce of power in me to hold myself together in front of a child or their family, only to fall to pieces as soon as my own front door closed behind me. Angela, my flat mate and best friend, had learned to keep a tub of Ben and Jerry's phish food in the freezer at all times, next to a bottle of vodka. But it was so rewarding. I mean, how could I not feel proud that when it was time for little Alex's sixth injection and he refused to sit still for it because he "felt like a pin cushion" (an expression he'd overheard his mom use days before), I had distracted him by starting up a debate as to who would win in a fight- Darth Vader or a Dalek. Darth Vader won, by the way. Alex is a huge Star Wars fan. We got along great. So well in fact that, when he was discharged for a final time, he gave me a massive hug and slipped his deck of Star Wars playing cards into my jeans pocket. The kid had me smiling for days.

An excited voice pulled me from my thoughts.

"Miss Bella! Guess what, guess what!"

Riley, the occupant of bed six, and the most amazing little guy in the world, was bouncing up and down slightly on his bed – as much as he could without tearing the various tubes and needles from his body. I grinned at the kid, taking in his sickly pale complexion but focussing on his sparkling green eyes.

"What Master Riley? Did you finally complete level 56 on your game?"

"No," he pouted, "I'm still stuck on level 55. But this news is way more exciting than that, guess!"

"Hmm…I don't know; you'll have to tell me."

"I peed today!"

I gasped in surprise and a grin spread across my face so quickly my cheeks hurt.

"Oh Riley, that is the best news I've had all week! I'm so proud of you buddy. What did your grandma say?"

The little boy beamed at my glee and happily told me that his "Meemee" hadn't arrived yet so I was the first to find out. This didn't really surprise me; Riley's grandma Esme usually timed her visits with my shifts. She and her husband Carlisle- a surgeon at UW- were often with Riley at the same time I was making my rounds. I had become quite close with the couple. They were very loving grandparents and very difficult not to like. Despite their grandson's situation, they never broke their façade and were always eager to hear about his day, needles and all.

I sat with Riley a while longer before deciding I should probably visit the other patients. There were a few new admissions to the neo-natal ward and I was excited to have some new babies to cuddle. The perks of the job and all that.

Promising Riley I'd be back before I left, I popped in and out of wards, saying hello to various parents and demanding a coffee and catch up with a lovely couple whose daughter was admitted some months ago for cancer treatment. Little Maggie wasn't getting much sleep recently with the latest concoction of drugs making her vomit, so Siobhan and Peter hadn't slept much either and they looked like they were both running on fumes.

I eventually arrived in NICU and watched a stunning couple peer through the glass window, staring at one of the cots.

Sidling up beside them, I peeked through.

"Which of these little heart breakers is yours then?"

The mother, a beautiful woman with long blond hair and a worried look etched on her face looked at me, slightly startled, but quickly responded.

"Annabelle, first row, third from the right. And you're right about heart breaker; she has her daddy's eyes."

"But her mother's looks," her husband replied. He was a tall, meaty man with kind eyes and smile-inducing dimples in his cheeks. "Which is yours?"

I smiled, "None of them, really. I'm a volunteer here. I get to spend my time snuffling these little guys and making sure their parents are getting enough down time. Want me to take over for a while? This window is my happy place. I can stay here and watch your gorgeous girl while the two of you walk around a bit. There's the promise of sunshine, why don't you grab a drink and sit in the sensory garden for a few minutes? I can even go in and tell your Annabelle where you're off to if you want me to?"

The woman looked to her daughter, all hooked up and tiny, then to her husband.

"I would blame the hormones for my tears, but do you know? That's the best news I've had in three days. Em, can we go? I don't know how much more I can take of this glass separating us anyway, but I don't want to wake her. Let me grab my bag from the nurse and we'll go get a drink?"

Her husband nodded and she hurried off.

"Y'know," he said as he watched after her, "she hasn't left this glass in over 50 hours. You are an angel. What's your name?"

"I'm Bella, Bella Swan. And I'm no angel, but if you have to stick around here long enough I could be your new best friend. I have even been known to bring in baking on occasion, so stick with me bud, I'll keep you right." I bumped his shoulder to brighten the mood and noticed his wife coming round the corner.

"Well Bella, we won't be gone long. If she wakes, will you go in and hold her for me? Just her hand or something, she can't really be taken out the incubator because of all the wires, but we like her knowing that she has someone watching over her. We'll be back soon. I'm Emmett, by the way, and my beautiful wife is Rosalie. We'll be back soon."

I nodded in encouragement and turned to watch the little tykes in their cots.

Most of the kids in this ward were preemies, and from the look of little Annabelle, she was very quick to enter the world. I'd have to guess that she was about 34 weeks old, she was tiny. She started wriggling around in her cot so I doused my hands in more antibacterial wash and let myself into the ward.

Standing next to her cot, I took in her small form. Her lungs would definitely still be underdeveloped and the multiple tubes that entered her body suggested that she was suffering from other problems too. She started to make little keening noises, so I stuck my hand through the arm opening and stroked her miniature hand in an attempt to calm her. The other babies seemed to be oblivious to her noises, they were all snuffling away in their dreams.

Annabelle wasn't quite settling, so I decided a little lullaby might help; it always did when I babysat Sam and Emily Uley's kids back home. Embry and Quil were terrors when it came to sleeping, the only way to get them to drift off was to sing and rock them as I sat in the rocking chair their nursery had sat in the corner.

I decided something a little cheery would be suitable, so I settled for a classic.

"When all the world is a hopeless jumble and the raindrops tumble all around, heaven opens a magic lane.
When all the clouds darken up the skyway, there's a rainbow highway to be found leading from your window pane to a place behind the sun, just a step beyond the rainbow."

Tony Bennett, as usual, didn't let me down and soon enough little Annabelle's movements slowed along with her breathing until she stilled completely and the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest signalled that she was fast asleep.

I looked up at that moment to the window and a pair of stormy green eyes gazed back at me. I smiled, somewhat embarrassed, I didn't usually sing in front of the parents, it was something I saved for the children.

The man with the deep green eyes let one edge of his mouth curl up in an awkward smile and he averted his gaze to the crib that held little Annabelle. I removed my hand from her little fingers and let myself out the room.

"Which one of the little angels is yours?"

"None of them, I just like this ward. It's peaceful. They are so innocent, you know? They don't know what's happening to them. It's a blessing really."

I nodded, not looking at him, but at the sleeping forms in their cots. Something about this man was familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on it. Before I could ask him which ward his child was in, he excused himself and rushed away. It wasn't that uncommon an occurrence. The parents of the sick children all reacted in different ways. Some loved to talk about their worries, others preferred to talk about anything but the hospital. And then there were those who just didn't want to talk at all. I tried not to push; I could never imagine their pain, so I just tried to understand it.

I was shaken from that thought by the return of Rosalie and Emmett.

"Little Annabelle is sound asleep. We had a little wriggle and a sob earlier, but Tony Bennett soon had her back in the land of nod. Are you feeling any better?"

Rosalie smiled; it was small but appreciative, and nodded.

"It was so…freeing to just get away for a little while. Thank you so much. Can I ask why you are here?"

I smiled and explained my role in the hospital and made them promise that they would seek me or one of the other volunteers out if they needed a chat.

Looking at the clock and realising it was later than I had anticipated, I made a tentative coffee date with Rosalie for my next shift which was two days away on Thursday and bid them both farewell.

Back in Riley's ward, he was debating the pros and cons of cookies with Francesca, the girl in the bed next to his. Esme and Carlisle were watching on from Riley's bedside so I quietly greeted them so as not to disturb the heated discussion between the children.

Esme took my hand in hers and squeezed it, her eyes shining with delight.

"Did he tell you? About this morning? Oh Bella, he is so proud of himself. I could burst!"

I giggled at Esme's enthusiasm over the production of bodily fluid, but I understood her glee. This day had been a long time coming. It was partly why I was so close to this little boy. He had been admitted during my first ever shift two months ago, so we had learned the ropes of the hospital together. He'd been in and out. Mostly in. It was tough for his family, but they were so strong as a unit. I had never met his parents but from his chatter and Carlisle's first coffee break, I'd learned that his father was a doctor Gramps and his shifts at the hospital were erratic at best. His mother didn't live with them, I assumed they were divorced, and it sounded like it wasn't an amicable split. It all boiled down to an affair and her inability to cope with her son's condition. It was sad but too often the case that a prolonged illness as severe as Riley's could really crack a relationship. From Esme's mutterings though, it would appear her departure was neither completely surprising nor unwelcome.

Carlisle winked at me and it was the first time I think I'd truly seen him smile. He was a handsome man, his blond hair graying at the temples. The smile he gave his wife made me sigh; the love this couple shared was incredible. A force so strong, it was impossible not to notice it.

"Miss Bella, you're back! I forgot to ask earlier, did you bake me anything? This talk of cookies has gotted me hungry. And my daddy was here, but you missed him again. He had to go though, his beeper went again. Meemee and Gramps need to invite you to my birthday party too. You will come right? I want to show you off to my cousin Robert, he doesn't believe I have a best friend who's old. He says that's not possible, but he's wrong isn't he Miss Bella? Because you and me, we're best friends, right?"

I smiled at the excited little boy and nodded enthusiastically.

"Robert doesn't know what he's talking about. You're the coolest guy ever, how could I not want to be your best friend? And I didn't bake anything, but since you're having a party, maybe I could bake something for you then?"

I looked to Esme who nodded slightly. My mind was already racing with ideas. This boy had three loves: Star Wars, soccer and the beach. I thought I could make a large Star Wars themed birthday cake and soccer ball cupcakes. It would be tricky, but so worth it to see Riley's face.

"Oh Miss Bella, you are the best!" Riley exclaimed, nodding his head furiously.

Us adults laughed then and I made a mental note to add the date of the party, three weeks from now, to my diary.

I sat with Brianna and Francesca for a while, giving their parents a couple of hours to run home, shower, change and bring back comforts for their daughters. While I was with them, I braided Francesca's jet black hair and then sang to Brianna while she lay with her head in my lap and I stroked her head softly. Five year old Brianna was recovering from a kidney transplant and her sutures kept her from sleeping sometimes, so any sleep she got was golden.

Eventually, it was time for me to clock out and head home. I had a literature paper due in a week and I wanted it finished before the weekend so I could catch up on some reading and television shows. So with some hugs and promises of baked goods next time I was in, I left the hospital and made the twenty minute walk back to my apartment.

Angela was in the kitchen preparing dinner when I got in. I knew this because pots were banging together and there was a slight burning smell lingering in the air. I greeted her as I pulled OJ from the fridge and we chatted about her day.

After a plate of singed salmon and vegetables, I sat at my desk and drafted my 3,000 word paper. Then at eleven o'clock I performed my night time ritual of peppermint tea, bathroom activities and jumped into my double bed, bone tired and ready for sleep, which overtook me quickly and soundly.

There you have it: the first installment of The Best Medicine. I'm not too sure how long this story will be, I haven't thought that far ahead yet. But now it's time for me to start my day, I hope some of you will make it a great one by leaving me a wee review. I hear the teapot calling me, until next time.

xoxo