Aside from the sound of my key unlocking my door to the apartment, the building was extremely quiet, almost eerie. Walking into the third floor apartment I shared with my wife, I took a deep breath in and was comforted by the familiar smell. It was home. But, the feeling was short lived as the haunting memories of the day flashed through my mind. Today had been one of the worst nights I had experienced in the years I had been working as a doctor. I wanted nothing more but to hold my Bella and to hear her whispered words of comfort in my ear.

Isabella Marie Swan, and I had met in our junior year of high school. She had just moved to Forks, Washington and had been my biology partner. Soon after that first day, we began to fall in love with one another. She is my best friend, my partner, and my soul mate. She is the most important thing to me and I honestly don't know what I would do without her. Now, five years later, we are all grown up and our love has never been stronger. I even plan on making her my wife soon.

I am an intern at my father's hospital. I have aspirations to become a successful surgeon; just like Carlisle. Bella is a student teacher at a public elementary school. She has dreams of becoming an English Literature teacher.

I walked into our bedroom and dropped my bag on the floor, careful to make as little noise as possible; I could see Bella was asleep in our bed. Part of me had hoped she was awake, as I needed her reassurance and love to talk me down from the ledge my mind was perched upon. But, I knew she must have been exhausted, so I shed my clothing quickly, not caring if it was all over the floor, and stripped down to my boxer briefs.

Crawling into the bed, I pulled the covers over me and curled myself around her fragile, sleeping form and held her close, my mouth by her ear. I kissed the soft skin of the back of her cheek before wrapping my arm around her waist, my hand placed on her hip. I melted into her warmth. I inhaled her sweet scent and sighed into her thick, mahogany hair. Her body heat combined with her deep breaths signaled the existence of life next to me, and I nuzzled my face into the crook of her neck. The feeling of her pulse underneath my lips as I brushed them over her neck was so relaxing. Her light snores were music to my ears. I was to strung out from my day to sleep, so I began to whisper in her ear about my day.

"Isabella…" I sighed.

I stroked her flushed cheek with the back of my hand. "You are so beautiful when you are asleep," I murmured.

"I really need to talk to you. Today was so hard. It was a very painful day. I wish you were awake right now so I could stare into your insightful eyes. But, you are in need of a goodnight sleep. You work so hard; I admire you so much for it. Just feeling you close and in my arms is enough to make me feel better."

I kissed in between her shoulder blades, over her spine; lingering there because of how nice her warmth felt on my lips.

"Three drunk driving accidents, 4 hit and runs, 1 heart attack, and a rape victim came into the ER today. The drivers who were under the influence killed innocent people. One ran over a mother and daughter crossing the street. A little boy was walking home from school when someone hit him with their car and drove off."

Anger shot through my system as I thought about the horrible people that cause all of this damage and pain. My body stiffened and I pulled Bella a closer to me. When I had calmed down after a few seconds, I continued my story.

"A man with a heart attack lost his life today and left his wife and 3 children behind." I swallowed hard; trying to smother the pain.

"The young woman who had been violated…they left her bleeding in an alley. When she was found, her heart was barely beating. She died hours after from extreme blood loss…" I paused, and attempted to rein in my emotions as I placed several kisses on her shoulder.

"When I saw what she looked like, battered and broken, all I could see was you. Bella, I wouldn't know what I would do if I lost you. I couldn't stand it if you were taken from me like that. You don't even realize how much I rely on you. I love you, Bella."

Suddenly, Bella turned on her back with her head facing me. I could feel her warm breath caress my skin as she mumbled something incoherently. I chuckled and hugged her sleeping form. Even when she was unconscious, she still made me feel better.

I then let out a huge yawn and felt how exhausted I was. I leaned back and lay my head on the pillow, closing my eyes.

"Mmm…. Edward." She mumbled lazily.

"Goodnight, Bella." I whispered.

Thank you. I though to whatever God had given me this precious gift lying beside me.