"This has to be a joke," I said staring at my hand, wide awake, the pounding headache completely forgotten.

"I don't think so, Baby Girl," he said

"Why not?" I asked.

"This is the real deal. Platinum and diamonds. It must have cost a pretty penny!" he said.

Jake knew jewelery, I was screwed.

"Here," he said, motioning his hand to me. "Let me see."

"At least two carats," he muttered, "the cut... I think this is a Tiffany ring!"

"What?" I asked.

"Take it off for a minute," he said. I quickly slipped the well fitting ring off my finger, as well as the matching wedding band. Neither were plain bands, both had diamonds inlaid in them. I could feel myself beginning to hyperventilate.

"Not only did you bag yourself a husband, but you bagged yourself a rich one," Jake said. "This set is easily worth forty thousand."

"What???" I asked, feeling sick again.

He handed them back to me and without thought or care, I slipped them back on my ring finger.

"Have you checked your clutch?" Jake asked. "Maybe you will find something in there."

I had him grab his carry-on and he handed me the clutch. First, I saw the little clue Tiffany box, then I saw the condoms... we hadn't used any.

"Oh God!" I said, putting my head in my hands.

"What?" Jake asked.

"We never used protection," I said.

"Well, at least Charlie won't kill him for knocking you up out of wedlock," he said happily.

"No," I replied. "He'll just kill me for getting married without even knowing my husband's last name!!"

Jake started to laugh wholeheartedly. "You just became a country song, Baby Girl," he laughed.

"What?" I asked.

Jake grinned at me wickedly. I had just asked him to sing. He loved to sing, though he was terrible at it! Especially when he sang with a funny accent. This was a disaster waiting to happen!

"I don't even know my last name.

My momma would be so ashamed.

It started off, "Hey cutie, where are you from?"

And then it turned into, "Oh no, what have I done?"

And I don't even know my last name," he crooned rather loudly in his best female country singer's voice.

It wasn't good and people around us began to stare or shush him. So embarrassed!!

I buried my head in my hands again and the tears began to fall.

"I am a country song," I sniffled.

"Well, just sorta," Jake said. "She married a guy with a pinto. You married a guy with a limo and a ring from Tiffany's."

"What do I do?" I asked him.

"Well," he said soothingly. "You get yourself some sleep. Nothing can happen until we reach Seattle, then we'll call Tiffany's. They have to know who bought the expensive engagement and wedding set last night and the we can look him up from there."

"How did you get so smart?" I asked him.

"I had a good teacher," he said kissing the side of my head as I leaned on is shoulder. "Although..."

"Although what?" I asked.

"Although I lost the title of 'Wild One'. That's all you now, Baby Girl," he said with a wink.

"Uh," I groaned, knowing that no matter how long I lived and how this all turned out I would NEVER live this down.

I don't know what came over me at that moment but I started to cry. Poor Jake, that was one thing he didn't know how to deal with, tears.

"What am I supposed to do?" I cried.

"Leave it to me, Baby Girl," Jake soothed, nervously. "I'll make this all better."

Somehow, I knew he would.

"So did you have a good trip?" I asked once I had calmed down.

"Yeah," he snickered. "I invited him to come up and visit."

"What you're open for a repeat performance?" I asked.

Jake was a man-whore to the extreme. He seldom saw anybody twice.

"That I am," he said. "We both may have come away from this trip with something special."

"I highly doubt that," I said. "Come the light of day, Emmett will probably see that I wasn't worth the trouble."

"Baby Girl, you are most definitely worth the trouble," he said.

The rest of the plane ride was silent, which I must say, after Jake's lovely country song sing-a-long, I was grateful for. The plane landed and Jake dragged me through the airport to his car. Once I was in, he had me Google Tiffany's in Vegas on my iPhone.

"I got a number," I said.

"Well, dial it! Let's find out your husband's name," he said.

"Wait!" I said. "They were only open until midnight... and I have very clear memories until at least two."

"So he must be a real big shot if they opened up after hours for him," Jake said.

"I hope you're right," I said.

I dialed the number and was connected to a live person, moments later. As soon as I heard the voice on the other end of the phone I froze and practically threw my phone at Jake. Jake took it, and shook his head.

"Hi," Jake said. "I was hoping you could tell me about a couple of customers you had last night, well, this morning, after hours," Jake said. "I understand completely, but the young lady in question was a little inebriated and she would like some help remembering a few details."

He was quiet for a little bit, and then he let out a few uh-huhs and finally a brief thank you. I could tell from the look on his face that he hadn't got the information we wanted.

"All is not lost," he said.

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, I was right about your ring set! 2.5 carat round stone with a channel- set. The wedding band has an additional carat of diamonds in it," he said with a smile. "And it's a fifty thousand dollar set."

"What?" I asked, stunned. "That's more than my student loans!"

I was a small town girl. Born and raised in a town named for a piece of cutlery, for crying out loud. Hell, the ring was probably worth more than the house I grew up in!

Oh," Jake said with a smile, as I was still trying to wrap my head around the price of the ring. "You bought him a ring too."

"What?" I asked. "With my credit card?"

"Yup," he said.

"Oh God!" I said, digging into my clutch once more. I was cursing the damn American Express Card with the ten thousand dollar limit. I probably maxed it! If I am wearing a fifty thousand dollar ring, I was certain the ring he chose would be equally as flashy.

"I found it!" I said, pulling out a crumpled receipt. Apparently my husband had rather inexpensive tastes as his ring was significantly less expensive than I expected.

"So how long are you going to be paying it off?" Jake asked.

"It's not bad," I said with a sigh. "As long as I don't double my student loan payment this month, I'll be able to cover it."

"Now, since they wouldn't tell me a name, we have to try to do this another way," Jake said. "Tell me everything you can about your hunk of a husband." He gave his eyebrows a little twitch, insinuating...

"Not going there, Jake," I said. I did not kiss and tell, no matter what the situation.

"How can you think like that?" he gasped and pretended to be wounded. Then he laughed, "Okay, I did mean it like that somewhat. But I want any details that you can provide that will help us locate this man."

"He was at the hotel for his brother's stag," I said.

"Did you catch his brother's name?" Jake asked hopefully.

"Edward. And all I know about Edward is that he has copper hair and can't hold his alcohol. Oh!" I said remembering something else. He is marrying someone named Rose!" I said.

"So Rose and Edward are getting married soon. Not very common names. That should help," he said.

"Face it Jake!" I said, giving up hope. "It's going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Hey," he said. "I got you into this mess. I'm gonna get you out."

"You didn't force me to marry some stranger in Vegas," I said with a frown. "That was all me."

"True," he said. "But I did drag you to Vegas and force you into that delicious dress."

"You can have ten percent," I said.

"I think I get fifty at least," Jake said.

"No, Emmett gets fifty, I'll take forty and you get ten," I said.

There is no way you get forty and I get ten. I don't even think I'll give Emmett fifty. The man would have had to be dead to not want to tie you to him when you looked that good!" he said.

We debated percentages of blame the entire drive back to my house. Finally coming up with something we could both live with as we pulled up in front of my building.

"Okay, Emmett gets thirty two and a half, you get thirty two and a half and I get thirty five," Jake said.

"Fine," I agreed. "You can have the lion's share of the blame since you hauled my ass to Vegas and made me wear that dress."

"And you can't forget those heels," Jake said.

"That cinches it," I said, causing him to grin.

"Love you, Baby Girl," he said.

"I lobe you too, Jakey," I said. "But..."

"But what?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

"You need to share your thirty five with Edward. He was the reason that Emmett was in Vegas at all," I said, then closed the door and ran in to the building before Jake could get another word in. It wasn't often that you get the last word in where Jake is concerned.

I got into my apartment and closed the door. Food, shower, then bed, I decided.

I walked into my small kitchen and put a pot of water on the and set about making a marinara sauce. Homemade was so much better than anything you can buy in a can, and it really didn't take that much longer. Before long the pasta was cooked o perfection and the sauce was bubbling happily in the pot.

I made myself a plate for now, and put a second serving in a container for work, and put it in the fridge. I didn't work again until the graveyard shift Sunday night, so I was thrilled that Jake had arranged for us to fly home on Saturday.

Just as I finished my meal, the phone rang.

"Hello," I said.

"Isabella Marie Swan!" my father's voice came on the line. "When were you going to tell me?"

"I didn't have a chance... I just got back!" I said.

"Why did I have to hear the news from Jake?" he asked.

"Because Jake has a big mouth!" I seethed. "I am so going to kick his ass!"

"Well, at least he told me!" Charlie said. "Otherwise, I might have missed it completely."

Now I was confused!

"Dad?" I asked.

"Come on!" he said. "It's not every day that your little girl becomes a full fledged doctor!"

I am so going to kill you, Jake!!!

"It's not a big deal, Dad," I said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"It is," he said. "I am so proud of you, baby."

"Thanks, Dad," I said.

We spoke for a few more minutes about nothing and everything, then I begged off and ended the call. As soon as I was done I called Jake.

"You think you're so funny!" I said to him.

"I know I am!" he said, laughing.

"I just about had a heart attack," I told him.

"Well," Jake said. "It was about time you said goodbye to your straight laced ways."

"I guess I did that," I said. "With gusto!"

"Baby Girl, I told you I was going to fix this," Jake said. "And I will."

"I applied to the state of Nevada to get a copy of your marriage license. It can take up to six weeks depending on when the chapel you got married at files it. So just relax," he said.

"So then we'll at least have a name, right?" I said.

"Right, then we can find your hubby and figure things out. Are you getting a divorce?" he asked.

"Yes! Well, maybe. Hell, I don't know," I said, causing Jake to laugh.

"There had to have been something there for you to have married him so quickly. Hold your judgement until you guys are reconnected," he said.

"I'm going to bed, Jake. Seriously!" I said.

"You do that. I'll see you at work bright and early Monday morning," he said.

"Don't expect to see me bright eyed and bushy tailed," I said. "I'll have been working twelve hours already."

"Ah the price you pay when you live the glamorous life of a doctor," he said.

I went into the bathroom and took a hot shower. My muscles were still all stiff and sore from the hot Vegas sexing with my husband.

Gah! Husband!!

I took a shower and reached into my purse to grab my toothbrush which was in there. That's when I saw Emmett's shirt, which had been stuffed in there quickly at the Vegas Airport. I smiled at the memory of him and wondered how I had ended up married to such a God-like creature. I was certain he would want it annulled as soon as I contacted him. I pulled the shirt up to my nose and inhaled.

It smelled like him and I couldn't help but to pull it on and wrap it around me. After I brushed my teeth, I padded down the hall to my bedroom and slipped a pair of panties on. I climbed into my bed after that and looked at the wedding ring on my finger, struggling to remember him placing it there. The emotional drain of the last day and a bit, combined with the severe lack of sleep I had had over the previous few days had me asleep before I knew it.

My dreams were vivid, remembering every bit about my husband, even the trip to the ring store and the chapel where we said our I do's, plus the celebration afterwards. I awoke midmorning with a renewed hope in finding my husband, and what may come afterwards.

I spent the morning cleaning the house and made a special trip in the afternoon to Tiffany's in Seattle. I told them that I was a doctor and would need a nice strong chain to hold my wedding and engagement rings while I was at work. The clerk looked at my rings and smiled., leading me to the more expensive platinum chains. I decided on a nice strong chain and placed my wedding set on it. It hung low enough, that they wouldn't fall out of my shirt easily while at work.

I got home, ate a quick meal, changed into some scrubs and headed for work with the extra pasta I had made the day before. It would make a great lunch for the next day, meaning I wouldn't have to suffer through cafeteria food, the bane of any doctor's existence.

My shift started off slow, and I found my mind wondering all night to the handsome man that I had married. I wish I knew what he remembered, or what he felt... Was he as mixed up by all this as I was?

At 6:40 am, I was paged and informed that all staff were required to come to the staff room for a meeting in 10 minutes. Nurses who were still on shift, and supposed to be off at 7:00 would remain on the floor. Those just coming on were requested to join in on the meeting.

As I walked down to the conference room I greeted a few fellow doctors and lots of the nurses I had worked with during my time at the hospital, finally catching up with Jake just outside the conference room.

"So, Mr. I-know-Everything," I said to Jake. "What's the big pow-wow about?"

"No clue," he said. "They're springing this on me."

"Wow!! Jake's in the dark! Curiouser and curiouser!!!" I said as I ducked into the meeting.

"What's this with thinking you can get the last word all the time?" he asked, then added in a whisper. "I think it's this married stuff!"

"I'll wear the Uggs! All the time!!" I warned.

He crossed his arms and looked away.

"Dr. Swan," Dr. Volturi said as I walked in. "Will you please join me up here."

"Yes, Sir," I said. Dr Volturi is the chief of staff at the hospital. Everyone has guesses as to how old he is, but even Jake hasn't been able to figure it out. The average guess is about ninety.

As soon as I was by his side he proceeded to completely ignore me as the rest of the staff filed in.

"Attention everyone," he called as soon as the room was mostly full.

I went to move away to take a seat, figuring he had forgotten he even called me up, but he moved his hand and grabbed my bare arm, effectively holding me in place.

"I've called you all here for a couple of reasons," Dr. Volturi said as I stared at Jake. "First, as you all may or may not know, Dr. Swan completed her residency here last week and is now working on staff."

Everyone clapped and I blushed. I hated being the center of attention!

"Do you want to say a few words, Dr. Swan?" he asked.

"I look forward to working with everybody here some more," I said, shooting from the hip, as I knew Dr. Volturi's question was more of a demand. "I really enjoyed the last two years and I look forward to many more."

There was more polite applause.

"Now we have a new doctor joining the staff in a couple of weeks. He graduated the same year as Dr. Swan, but instead of being valedictorian at Stanford as she was, he was valedictorian at Dartmouth. He completed his residency in New York but has decided to return to Seattle to be with friends and family. Dr. Cullen will be in a little later to tour the facility and get the hang of things so please make sure to give him a warm welcome. He'll actually be starting work in three weeks, after his wedding and honeymoon," he said.

Everyone gave polite cheers. I know what all doctors fear. Usually the valedictorian is a snob. That was something I vowed never to become and I hoped that Dr. Cullen was the same.

"Thank you all for your time," Dr. Volturi said. "Now get out there and save some lives."

I would have, but unfortunately the man still had a grip on my arm.

Jake looked at me and shrugged his shoulders before mouthing that he would see me on the floor.

As soon as the room had cleared, Dr. Volturi said, "Dr. Swan, I am putting you in charge of Dr. Cullen this week. You will work side by side until he is comfortable with our set up."

"Yes, Sir," I said, praying again that Dr. Cullen was not a pompous jerk.

"I will bring him up to your floor as soon as he arrives," he said. "Good day."

I was dismissed and I knew better than to argue with the man. I made my way to my floor and waved to Jake as I walked by the nurse's station. There was no sense trying to talk to him now as the nurses were filling each other in on any changes that had occurred during the previous shift and any orders they needed to be aware of for the day. I decided to take the time to catch up on my charts in the back office.

"So," Jake said, some undetermined amount of time later, as I was finishing my last chart. "What did the old man want?"

"He told me that I get the honor of working with Dr. Cullen until he is comfortable with how things work," I said, trying to smile.

"Hope he isn't a pompous ivy league prick like Watson," Jake said rolling his eyes.

"Me too," I said.

I handed Jake all the charts so he could return them to the desk as I stood up and stretched.

"I'm going to run a brush through my hair and brush my teeth before Dr. Cullen arrives," I said.

"Don't try to hard. The guy is engaged and you, my dear, are married," he said, sticking out his tongue.

"Jake," I growled as he giggled his way out of the room. I was really going to have to kill him.

I made my way to the locker room and cleaned up a bit. Just because I'd been on-call for fifteen hours already was not a reason to have to look like it. I slipped into some clean scrubs and put my white coat on. I liked to look professional for rounds as that was when we did most of our patient and family conversations.

As I stepped out onto the floor, I saw the elevator open and Dr. Volturi stepped off. I was about to step forward to introduce myself to Dr. Cullen when I saw him. My eyes nearly popped right out of my head as I realized who he was. Dr. Cullen, Dr. Edward Cullen!! Edward... marrying Rose and brother to Emmett, my husband. I slammed myself against the wall so I wouldn't be seen as Dr. Volturi and Dr. Cullen headed towards the nurse's station.

I sent Jake an urgent text.

I met Dr. Cullen in Vegas – he's my brother in law.

I took a few deep breaths, knowing I didn't have long to stall and made my way to the floor. Dr. Volturi was talking to some of the nursing staff as Dr. Cullen stood off to the side, smiling kindly.

Jake looked at me and gave me the thumbs up signal. Here goes nothing!

"You must be Dr. Cullen," I said as I walked up to join the group.

"Dr. Swan," Dr. Volturi said, smiling at me. "Please show the young man around."

Without any further comment to anyone, Dr. Volturi swept off towards the elevator, leaving a very stunned Dr. Cullen in his wake.

"Hi," I said to him again. "I'm Isabella."

"Edward," he said smiling at me. "Pardon me for saying this, but you're awfully pretty to be a doctor."

"Thank you," I said.

He doesn't recognize me! That you God... and whatever Edward was drinking in Vegas.

"Tell him," Jake mouthed to me.

I shook my head no.

"So, where do we start Dr. Swan?" he asked.

"Why don't we start with rounds," I said, knowing that would keep us busy for an hour or two.

Jake rolled his eyes at me. The next thing I knew I felt my phone vibrate, I knew Jake was texting me.

"Excuse me," I said as I turned to read Jake's text.

Tell him or I'll get involved... and you won't like it much if I get involved.

Well crap!! Las Vegas needs a new slogan!

"Which nurse is charting for rounds today?" I asked, knowing Jake hated that more than anything else.

"I will," Jake answered, grinning at me, then at Dr. Cullen.

"Careful, Edward," I said. "He bites!"

Edward looked at me and then laughed.

"Don't mind her," Jake said, joining us with all the charts in his arms. "She's just jealous that I don't bite her!"

"Whatever, Jakey," I said.

I started giving the spiel about hospital protocol and then made my way to the first patient's room.

"Jessica Stanley has been here for seven weeks," I said. "She was in a car accident that has left her with multiple injuries, most severe of which is the brain injury. She will talk to you and ask questions like she understands everything that is going on, then five minutes later, nothing."

"So the accident affected her frontal lobe?" Dr. Cullen asked.

"Sorta like alcohol," Jake said. "You forget things that you should remember."

"I guess," Dr. Cullen said with a nervous laugh. "I wouldn't know, I don't drink often."

"Really?" Jake asked. "When was the last time you've been drunk?"

"This weekend, actually," he said with a nervous chuckle. "My brother and my friends took me to Vegas for my stag."

"Sounds fun," Jake said, smiling wickedly as I pointed to my feet behind Edward's back. "I took Bella to Vegas this weekend. She had a GREAT time."

"On that note," I said. "Time to see, Miss Stanley. Oh, and Edward, watch out for her, she's a bit of a flirt."

"And her gaydar is completely broken," Jake added. "Don't bend over anywhere near her. My tush still hasn't recovered from her last assault."

Edward blanched considerably as we walked into Jessica Stanley's room.

"Good morning, Miss Stanley," I said to Jessica, then I noticed her father was visiting. "Nice to see you again, Colonel."

"Thank you, Dr. Swan," he said.

"I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Edward Cullen," I said, motioning towards Edward.

Nice to meet you, Sir," he said to her father. "And you too, Miss Stanley."

Ten points are awarded to the doctor with good bedside manner, for not forgetting the patient!

We spent the next few minutes with the Stanleys before I made the recommendation that I knew would be hard to take.

"Jessica, Colonel," I started. "Since the main injuries are healed, we feel it would be best to start looking for a rehab facility, where Jessica can recuperate for a few more months.

"Is that really necessary?" Colonel Stanley asked.

"No, Sir," Edward said, stepping in. "But it really offers Jessica the best chance at a full recovery. They have excellent physio and occupational therapy in those places and it would be an excellent way to further her healing."

"Well," Jessica said. "I really want to get home and see Fluffy."

"Fluffy died, Jess," her father said softly. "He's been gone a long time. I think we need to look into this some more. Thank you for your recommendations."

"No problem," I said. "Nurse Black will be in later with some pamphlets of places we recommend. Make sure you contact your lawyers, as I'm sure you could have the more expensive private clinics funded since the accident was not her fault."

"Thank you," Colonel Stanley said as Jessica sobbed again for a cat that had died when she was eight.

We walked out of the room and Jake said, "That went well."

"Yes, thank you, Edward," I said. "He needed to hear that it was the best option and you were able to get that across without coming out and saying that she really did need it."

"I could see the father getting defensive so I thought..." he said.

"You make such a good team," Jake said. "It's almost like you two are brother and sister. Do you have any siblings, Edward?"

"A brother and a sister," Edward said.

"Are they married?" Jake asked.

"Apparently," Edward said, rolling his eyes.

"What..." Jake started, when I broke in and interrupted him with details on the next patient.

I kept Edward talking and Jake silent for most of the next hour and almost escaped when I got an urgent page over the intercom. Jake made a halo symbol over his head.

"Excuse me," I said, moving towards the phone on the wall. It was an urgent call about a patient who had just been moved from our ward into a step down unit and was having issues with some meds. By the time I finished it was Jake was standing leaned against the wall and Edward had moved down the hall and was talking on his cell.

"Fiancee," Jake said.

"Bring the charts to the office and I'll deal with you later. I feel my credit card charging a few new pairs of Uggs." I threatened.

"You'll thank me some day," Jake sing-songed as he walked away.

"Sorry," Edward said as he rejoined me.

"No problem," I said.

We chatted some more and I showed him the rest of the floor, then around more of the hospital. He was interested and interesting. I told him that I had some home-made pasta that we could share for lunch if we added some salads from the cafeteria.

"My treat," he said. "Since you are providing the main course."

"Fine," I agreed.

We chatted as we ate and I found myself genuine liking this man who happened to be my brother-in-law. Shortly after we finished eating, I told him that we generally saw outpatients for a couple of hours in the afternoon and he agreed to sit in.

"Look, Edward," I said, before we went into the clinic, that was directly across from the elevators. "I have really enjoyed getting to know you and I feel like I need to tell you something."

"You can tell me anything, Bella," he said, looking into my eyes.

"I've met you before," I said.

"What? I'm sure I would have remembered you," he said looking confused.

"You weren't in very good shape at the time," I said.

"Bella?" he asked looking completely confused.

"Look, I don't know how to explain. In fact, I'm still not sure that I've digested it myself," I said.

"Tell me, please!" Edward said.

I took a deep breath and blew it out. Here goes nothing... and everything.

"I..." I started to say when I was aware of movement behind me.

"Hello, Dr. Cullen," the voice said. It was a voice I would know anywhere.

"Emmett," Edward said, smiling at his brother, while I stood completely frozen.

"I wasn't talking to you, Ed," Emmett said. "I was talking to my WIFE!"