Hey everyone. As a heads up on this story's posting schedule … most of you that are familiar with my writing and posting style, I generally post once a week. My RL is kicking my ass, so I must drop this back to every two weeks. Sorry, but I have a lot on my plate and once I get some of it cleaned up, I will revert back to once a week.

Thanks to all of you that pre-ordered I'll Be Seeing You (aka In Plain Sight). I hope you enjoy it. Stay tuned for I See You.

Chapter 3

The day of his appointment with Dr. Swan, Mrs. Cope digs the red shop rag from his laundry and makes him vow never to do his own laundry again. Handing him his favorite white shirt that is now pink, he blushes the same color in embarrassment. She can't help but smile as he hangs his head in remorse and walks out the door for his appointment.

After making his way across town to Bella's private practice, he's greeted by the short dark haired gremlin that Jasper is smitten with.

"Good morning, Edward. My name is Alice. Alice Black," she says, holding out her hand in introduction.

Taking a good look at her, he can see why Jasper has fallen for her. She's very pretty.

"Morning," he says with a nod, looking around the waiting room for a seat after releasing her hand.

"Come with me. Dr. Swan is all set up and ready to remove those stitches. Twenty-seven of them, right?" she asks, nearly skipping down the hallway.

"I didn't count" he replies with a shrug, his hand instinctively covering the bandage.

Patting the end of the table, she instructs him to sit there while she takes his vitals.

"Take off your shirt and lay back," she says as she pulls two purple rubber gloves out of a box, slipping them on as she gives her instructions.

"I'm going to remove your bandage and clean the wound area, then the doctor will be in to remove your stitches, all right?" she asks.

"I'll do that, Alice," Bella says, slipping into the room. Edward slowly inhales as she passes by. He really likes her fragrance.

"Are you sure? I always —"

"I'll take care of it," Bella reiterates with a smile. Alice shrugs and removes her gloves, tossing them in the trash as she leaves the room.

"Hello, Mr. Cullen," Bella says pulling two gloves from the box.

"Doctor," he replies in return, checking out her ass while she reviews his file that's spread out on the counter.

Edward folds his arms under his head using them as a pillow while he watches her. Wiping the area with an iodine substance, she begins to remove the first staple.

"Would you place your left arm by your side, Edward? You're stretching the skin around the staples."

As he lowers his arm, his hand lightly grazes her breast.

Looking up at her, he can see a full blush on her face. Not just on her cheeks, but all the way down under her blouse. He wonders if her breasts turn pink as well. He'd like to find out.

"Sorry," he says, the corner of his mouth turning upward.

"It happens all the time," she says dismissing the action, trying to remain professional.

His head whips in her direction, a look of pure surprise on his face. "It does?"

She nods. "Occupational hazard."

"Pardon me?" she asks when she hears him mumble under his breath.

"Nothing. Are you done?" he asks, his eyes focused on the water-stained ceiling tiles.

"I haven't even started yet," she says, pulling out the first staple.

Edward closes his eyes at feeling the slight pinch, but other than that, it doesn't hurt. He counts as she pulls on each stitch and when he reaches twenty-seven, he hears her drop the metal tool onto the metal tray. Just as he's ready to sit up, she pushes him down again.

"Don't be in such a hurry. I need to examine the scar and redress it."

"Shit," he curses under his breath. "I don't want another bandage. Can't you just put a big Band-Aid on it?" he grumbles.

Bella takes another close look at the long scar, inwardly liking how it fits in so well with the tattoos that riddle his upper body. She also determines that it needs another dressing.

"It needs to be kept clean for a few days at least," she says, admiring her handy work as she pulls off her rubber gloves. "I tell you what, when it starts to itch, you can remove the bandage, all right?" she says, smiling down at him.

The instinct to raise his hand to touch the soft skin of her face is intense. So intense that he fists his hands to avoid touching her. Bella, on the other hand, uses this opportunity to touch him freely simply because she can.

Shaking her head, she ends the examination and tells him he can sit up and put his shirt back on.

After he jumps off the table, Edward reaches for his shirt, slipping it over his head. She can't help but sneak another peek while he's not looking.

"Thanks, Doc," he says, running his fingers through his unkempt hair, attempting to give it some semblance of order.

"You're welcome."

"See ya around then," he says.

She offers him a small smile, her stomach doing somersaults at the way he looks at her out the corner of his eye. It reminds her of James Dean.

As Edward walks down the hall toward the reception desk, Bella overhears Alice call his name and heads in their direction.

"Oh, hey, Edward," Alice says, calling him over to her. "Listen, the hospital puts on a charity softball game every year to help fund the playroom for our smaller patients. We also have a playground on the property that is completely funded by our charity games, and we want to add a new merry-go-round. A nice one, not a cheap one. Anyway, I've recruited your friends, Dr. McCarty and Jasper to be on our team. We need two more players … are you interested in filling one of the spots?"

"Um …, " he says, beginning to decline. He's not into organized sports. Not since high school anyway.

"It will be Emmett and Jasper, of course, Dr. Swan, me and Rosalie, then we have four other doctors from the night shift and a guy from maintenance. If you joined, I'd only need one more."

"When is it?" he asks. His interest is piqued when he hears Bella's on the team.

"June twelfth."

"Who's the catcher?" he asks.

"We don't have anyone good enough yet. I'm the pitcher because I'm … fast."

"I'll be catcher," he says reluctantly.

"Okay, then. Perfect," she says, bouncing in place as she writes his name on the list.

"Thanks, Edward," she beams.

"Sure. Let me know the practice schedule." His eyebrows shoot up when he sees a look of panic on her face. "You will organize practice won't you?"

"Um … I hadn't gotten that far," she says.

"You want to win don't you?" Alice's head rapidly bobs up and down. "Then you need to practice."

"Okay. Once we get the team put together, I'll send out emails to let everyone know when and where, all right?"

Edward nods and just as he turns to leave, he notices movement down the hall. Looking over his shoulder, he sees Bella scurrying toward her office. He grins knowing the quiet Dr. Swan was eavesdropping.

~.~

"Finally," he says when he sees the delivery truck from the local nursery pull into the driveway.

Edward wanted to honor his parents in some way, so when Mrs. Cope suggested a memorial tree, he thought that would be perfect. After a long search, he decides on a Globe Willow thinking it's beautiful and graceful like his mother, and strong and lasting like his father.

After choosing a space in the large front yard, he gathers the tools he needs, dropping them next to the tree. Going into the house, he removes his shirt and pulls a couple bottles of water from the refrigerator then returns to begin.

Picking up the shovel, he spears the lawn, making the first cut. Digging a hole large and deep enough to support the tree, he unwraps the roots and covers it with the loose dirt. Standing back, he observes his handy work. Satisfied, he retrieves the garden hose, and waters it. Completing his task, he picks up the tools and heads for the house for a much needed shower.

Bella does a double take when she sees an attractive man with a bare torso digging a hole in his front yard. With each thrust, muscles ripple down his back and arms. His arms are covered with tattoos and it doesn't take her long to recognize the patterns of them.

"Edward?" she whispers out loud as she removes her foot from the gas pedal to slow down. When his body twists to dump the dirt on his shovel into the dirt pile, he turns to repeat the action, sweat gleaming off his body. When he stops to wipe his brow with his arm, she nearly salivates.

"Good grief, Bella," she admonishes herself, then continues on her way to Rosalie's.

"What's wrong with you?" Rosalie asks, seeing an odd change in Bella's demeanor.

"Oh, nothing. I just found out where that Edward Cullen guy lives. He lives about two blocks from you. Did you know that?"

"No, but from what I understand, he's only been here a few weeks. He lives in his parents' house now, right?" Rose asks, pouring iced tea for them.

"I don't know, probably," Bella confirms. "Did I tell you he came into the ER with a huge gash in his chest?"

"No! What happened?" Rosalie asks, her eyes wide with surprise.

"He was actually working on my dad's boat motor and was lifting it to place it on a workbench and it slipped out of his grip. He tried to save it from hitting the ground when the propeller sliced into his pectoral muscle. It was pretty deep too," Bella explains, taking a minute to sip her iced tea and pop a piece of cheese into her mouth.

"So you had your hands on that sexy being?" Rosalie jests.

"Rose, you should see this man without a shirt. Holy shit. Talk about bad boy with all those muscles covered in tattoos, and that hair!"

Rosalie sits back, folding her arms over her chest and listens as her friend goes on about Edward Cullen. It doesn't take her long to figure out that she has something for the guy.

"You like him," she says matter of factly. Bella's head snaps in Rose's direction and her brow furrows at her.

"Wh … what? Why do you say that? He's a nice guy. I have no reason to dislike him, Rosalie," Bella scoffs, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.

"Did I tell you that Dr. McCarty finally asked me out?" Rosalie asks, changing the subject. "After all that time of him staring at my tits and ass, too."

"Are you serious? Are you going?"

"Hell, yes, I'm going. Have you not seen him?" Rose replies. "He said he's been wanting to ask me for a while but didn't have the balls. His words, not mine."

"He's one of the more handsome doctors on staff. Let me know how the date goes," Bella says, then smacks her hands on her thighs and gets up from her seat. "Let's get this done."

Both girls head for the kitchen where Bella proceeds to lighten the roots of Rose's blonde locks.

"Hey, weren't you the doctor on call when Edward Cullen's parents were in that accident?" Rose asks.

"Yeah. His dad was already gone, but it was his mother that I tried to save."

"The funeral was so sad. I don't know Edward, but by the look on his face, he was truly hurting. My heart bled for him that day," Bella says sadly, running a bead of hair color over the dark roots.

"I heard it was sad. Everyone knew the Cullens. They were really liked in the community. I don't recall hearing about Edward though. Have you?" Rosalie asks, filing her nails while getting her hair done.

"Nope. I think he's lived in L. A. since he got out of high school. Mrs. Cope said he's going to be staying here now and taking over the family business," Bella adds, a weird sense of pleasure coming over her talking so freely about him.

"Perhaps we'll get to know him a little better if things work out with McCarty and me," Rose says lightly.

"Why do you say that," Bella asks, adding more hair color.

"Apparently the two of them are besties. Didn't you see them together at The Shack that night?" Rosalie points out.

"Yeah. I wonder why Edward left without coming over to the table," Bella ponders out loud.

"Dunno."

It's then that Bella's cell phone rings and she jumps at the sound. Rushing to her purse, she looks to find it's the hospital.

"Shit," she barks. "It's the hospital. I have to go. I'm sorry, Rose. Can you finish this yourself?"

"Oh yeah. You got the hard part anyway," Rosalie mumbles, looking at her hair in the mirror.

"Okay. See you tomorrow at the hospital, hon," Bella says rushing out the door.

As Bella drives down the street, she slows as she passes Edward's house and can't resist looking. Seeing him in his garage, he's kneeling looking at something on his motorcycle. As she creeps past his house, she strains her head and neck to keep her eyes on him.

It's the crashing sound that brings Edward to his feet only to find a blue BMW has crashed into his mailbox. He runs across the street to see of the driver is okay and finds Bella hugging the steering wheel laughing hysterically.

"Bella?" he asks, tentatively. He places his hands on the top of her car, bending down to check on her.

She turns her face toward him.

"Yeah," she replies, with a hearty belly laugh.

"What happened?" he asks, opening the door to help her out. Once she's on her feet, he examines the damage to the car and then to the mail box.

"I'll replace it," she says, her laughter down to giggles now.

"How the hell did you do this?" he continues to ask probing questions. Her laughter is back in full force. She's laughing at herself though. If he knew she wrecked her brand new BMW checking him out, she would be mortified.

"You don't want to know," she replies.

Pulling her purse off the front seat, she hands him her business card and tells him to call her with the amount it's going to cost to replace the mailbox.

"I assume it's yours?" she asks, shaking her head in shame at herself. A grown professional woman does not ogle a man plowing her car off the road.

"Yeah, I think my dad built this stand. I'll fix it. Maybe I'll use concrete this time," he says, rubbing it in.

"Probably a good idea," she says in a giggle. "I'm sorry about this, Edward. Really."

"Just as long as you're okay," he replies, looking her over for injuries. "You're okay, right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. My pride is a little injured, but we'll be okay. I guess I need to get this into the shop," she says more to herself as she looks at the small dent and scratch on the bumper.

Edward catches her looking at him again, and after running his hand nervously over his bare chest, and looks in the direction of the garage where he left his shirt lying next to his bike. As if he's had a revelation, he slowly returns his attention to Bella's car, and then back to the garage. It's when his eyes settle on hers, she knows he's figured it out and a rush of heat washes over her.

In a heartbeat, she yanks open the car door and jumps inside, starting the engine.

Edward steps back from the car, locking his hands behind his head in a full show of his muscles.

"Be careful next time, Bella," he teases. Her fiercely flushed cheeks have now paled at his truthful insinuation.

As she pulls away, Bella looks at him in her rear view mirror and is mortified to see him laughing as he crosses the street toward his house.

~.~

"Okay boys and girls, if you're good there will be Kool-aid and cookies after practice," Alice teases. When she sees Emmett's eyes brighten, she adds, "No, not really, Emmett."

"Since some of you have been on our team for the past several years, you will hold the same positions as you always have. Edward is our catcher, so the remaining positions that need to be filled will be assigned after today's practice. I've arranged for another team to practice with us today, so are you all ready?"

After the first five innings, everyone has a nice flow going with the positions that are assigned and all the members play a hard and serious game. Edward likes that. He is in it to win it.

Bella's on second and when Emmett hits a grounder to the outfield, she takes off running, heading to third bas. When the ball is thrown to Royce, catches it and touches Bella with his glove. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he tackles her to the ground, spreading her out under him.

He's no longer playing ball.

"What are you doing, Royce?" Bella screams, struggling to get free of him.

"Now this position I can play all day," he says, nuzzling her neck. "Yeah, keep doing that," he adds as she continues to squirm out from under him.

"Get off of me," she demands, but when she bucks her body to get away, he grinds harder into her allowing her to feel his full erection.

Abruptly she feels the weight lift from her and jumps up immediately. Edward has Royce in a head lock, facing her. She stomps up to him and smacks him. Twice.

"Don't you ever pull anything like that again, do you hear me?" she growls, mere inches from his face.

His sneer only pisses her off more but she wants to get away from him as soon as possible.

Edward on the other hand has other plans. Releasing Royce's head, he spins him around so that they are face to face.

"If you lay one finger on her again, you and I will settle this. Trust me, it won't be with a smack to your face," Edward seethes.

"Oh, really? You want a piece of that, too? I've been trying to get inside her panties for too long," he says, mocking Edward. "I will have her before you can get her phone number."

"I already have her phone number, dumbass, and I said you will not lay one finger on her," he growls, and in a blink of an eye, slams his fist into Royce's face.

"You son-of-a-bitch," Royce screams, blood gushing around his teeth.

"You scream like a girl," Emmett says from behind Edward. "And if I see you manhandle Dr. Swan like that again, I will make sure you won't be pushing a mop anywhere near this town."

Edward looks at Emmett questionably. "He's a fucking janitor?" When Emmett nods, they both burst out laughing.

Later that night, Edward can't rest and takes advantage of the business card Bella gave him and phones her.

"Dr. Swan," she answers curtly.

"It's Edward … Edward Cullen."

"Oh, hey, Edward. You aren't quitting the team, are you?" she asks worried that he might after today's drama.

"No," he replies. "I was just calling to see if you're okay."

"That's kind of you," she says, surprise evident in her voice. "I'm good, but that scared me. I should have known he would try something. He always does, but he's never been this brazen before."

"I don't think he'll be bothering you anymore," Edward says, wishing he could have done more to shut Royce up.

"I heard," Bella says through a sigh. "Rosalie said that his lip is so big, he slurps his coffee only to have it drizzle down his chin."

Edward smirks at the mental image he has, then says, "Okay, well, I was just checking. See you next week." Edward hangs up the phone before she can say goodbye which leaves her staring at the receiver.

At practice the following Saturday, Edward is surprised to see Royce show his face, fat lip and all. Throughout the afternoon, he can't help but notice how Royce's eyes follow Bella's every move and keeps a closer eye on him.

After practice, everyone gathers around and Alice makes her announcement.

"Okay, kids. In two weeks is our game against Grand Hospital. The more tickets you sell, the more we have to put toward the new equipment. I'd like to see those stands full of visitors supporting our hospital, all right?" she shouts, doing her best to pump up the team.

By game day, Edward had sold all his tickets … with the assistance of Mrs. Cope of course. Even he was surprised to see the stands filled with supporters of the game.

"Wow, Edward's a great catcher, isn't he?" Rosalie says to anyone that's listening.

"Yeah, he was really good in high school. He even made his college team until he dropped out. He could've gone pro they say," Emmett explains. "I think E is in his element right now. That, and when he's on his bike."

"You're OUT!" the umpire yells as Alice and Edward team up for another round of strike outs.

When the team hears that last strike, they shout and high-five one another in comradery at having won the game.

After the trophy ceremony, everyone is gathering their equipment when Alice pulls her friends to the side to suggest they meet later on for drinks at The Shack.

Edward and Bella's eyes meet as he turns to walk away.

"Yo, E, you comin'?" Emmett calls out to him.

Edward continues to walk toward the parking lot, raising a thumbs up, indicating he'll be there.

"He doesn't talk much, does he?" Bella asks, watching his swagger. She jumps when she hears herself moan in appreciation.

"Not until he gets to know you. Once he feels comfortable around you, he'll talk more," Emmett says. "But you Bells, he's especially quiet around you."

"Maybe he doesn't like me," she says with dejected undertones.

"Oh, I'm certain that's not the problem," Emmett says through a devilish grin. "Come Miss Hale. Let's get you showered so I can dirty you up again."

"Emmett McCarty!" Rose admonishes, giggling.

Emmett loses his dimpled grin when he sees Royce approach their small group. He drops his arm from around Rosalie and takes a step toward Bella.

"Is that another one of your body guards, Dr. Swan?" he asks sarcastically.

"What do you want Royce," Emmett asks, puffing his chest out, ready to go gorilla on him.

"It's none of your concern, Dr. McCarty," he says turning to Bella. "Bella, can I ask if you would go out to dinner with me as an apology for my rude behavior last week?" Royce asks, quietly.

"No, you may not," Alice and Rosalie say in unison. "We have plans. Come on, Bella. Let's go get ready."

"Thanks anyway, Royce, but dinner would be impossible. With my schedule at the hospital, I'm rarely free these days," Bella over-explains turning to hurry toward her car.

"Bella, you don't owe him an explanation. Quit being so nice to him. It only encourages it," Rosalie says, admonishing her friend.

Emmett takes a few concerned glances over his shoulder to see Royce rooted in place, staring after her. This is something he should probably discuss with Edward considering he believes his friend has formed an attachment to Bella.

Later that evening, everyone is sitting at the largest table in the bar with a noticeable empty chair.

"Maybe he's not coming," Jasper wonders out loud. As soon as he says the last word, the unmistakable rumble of a Harley is heard. Bella's heart does double time.

Trying to remain aloof, she keeps her eyes on Alice, pretending to be in deep conversation as Edward saunters through the door. Standing at the table, he begins to remove his jacket.

"Hey," he says to the group. His eyes fall on Bella and he lifts the corner of his mouth in a sexy smirk and jerks his chin up at her. She smiles at him in acknowledgment.

"Rogan," Edward shouts, "Shots with wheels."

In a matter of minutes, Rogan carries a tray over filled with Tequila shots, limes and salt.

"Here's to our win today," Alice says. Everyone joins their small glasses at the center and drinks down the wicked liquid. Only the girls suck on the limes and salt, however.

"I'm happy to announce we more than exceeded our goal needed to purchase the merry-go-round for the playground, so, with that said, come on Jazz, let's dance." Alice pulls Jasper onto the floor and he seeks the aid of his fellow man-friends to bail him out of this precarious situation.

Edward laughs, shakes his head while holding up his hands in mock surrender, allowing Jasper to fumble through on his own.

Bella on the other hand gazes up at Edward in total awe of the wonderful sound he makes when he laughs. She wants to hear that again.

After two more rounds of shots, Bella's feeling pretty darned good about now and her inhibitions are virtually on their way out the front door. Standing, she announces she has to go to the little boy's room.

Jasper is shocked and says, "You mean the ladies' room, right?"

Bella drunk-giggles and says, "Nope." Popping the 'p'.

After Bella turns the corner toward the restrooms, Edward gets up to follow her and everyone looks at him.

"What?" he asks shocked. "She's wasted. I just want to make sure she doesn't actually try the little boy's room."

He finds her standing in line behind two other women, leaning against the wall. When he approaches her, she pinches his t-shirt, pulling him closer to her. This causes him to lose his balance, stumbling a step closer. He braces himself by placing his hands on each side of her head.

"I had a dream 'bout you last night," she whispers forcefully.

"Yeah?" he replies. She nods dramatically, her chin hitting her chest.

"Did I have my shirt on?" he teases her recalling her plowing into his mailbox.

"Nope. You didn't have your pants on either."