S. Meyer owns the characters, I'm just playing...leave me some love, please!


Out of desperation, I hide in Edward's room while he is sleeping to avoid Penny who insists that I help with her patient since I have only one patient myself. I quietly close the door, knowing that Penny would never guess to check this room for me. I justify being in Edward's room by checking his IV and chart again before I take a seat in the corner to peruse my social media. The moment I sit, the weight of the night falls upon me. I sigh deeply, forgetting where I am. I nervously look at the bed to find a pair of emerald eyes staring at me.

"Sorry, I forgot where I was for a moment. I didn't mean to wake you."

He continues to curiously look at me before he speaks.

"Well, well, if it isn't the good girl, finally come to beg for me?" he suggestively asks while wiggling his eyebrows. I scowl back at him as I begin playing with the tubes of his catheter. He quickly sobers, all flirting gone as he clears his throat.

"Not a problem, all I do is sleep in here. Why are you hiding out in here of all places?"

"Penny's not happy that you are my only patient and is insistent that I help with her patient that has explosive diarrhea. I figured she would never think to look for me in here. I can leave though, I have other hiding places."

A wide smile graces his face as he laughs at my expense. I instantly feel defensive, thinking of ways to lash out at him.

"You know what? Just forget it, I'm leaving."

Edward begins to shake his head as his laughter quiets down.

"No, don't do that. I just thought it was funny that you of all people are avoiding helping someone. That's like, your motto, right? Help everyone no matter what? That is what everyone says about you. They seek you out because they know you won't tell them no. The perfect Pollyanna."

I look down at my phone, surprised that people actually talk about me and for that matter, even know who I am.

"People actually talk about me? I thought I kept a low profile. What else do they say?" I ask, looking from my screen to him, thoroughly intrigued.

Edward sits up further in the bed as I scoot my chair closer to him, wanting to hear everything he has to say.

"Well, they say that you're a nice person but stay to yourself. You don't go out with everyone after work, you don't curse or say anything negative," I nod, encouraging him to continue.

He looks toward the door then leans closer to me. "They also say that you should go on a date with me when I get released." He sits back as he wiggles his eyebrows at me. I huff loudly while rolling my eyes.

"You are such a turd, you know that right? Do you think that you could stop with the come-ons? I'm exhausted because I'm the only one on the night shift that can work with you. I just want to rest for just a moment, can you let me do that please?"

"You must really be tired or else you would have thrown something at my head by now. I tell you what, you can hide out in here if you will get me a burger and fries. I can't handle this stuff they call food anymore. What do you say, Pollyanna? Food in exchange for a hideout?"

"Something must be seriously wrong for me to even be considering this. I'll agree to all of this only if you stop with the innuendos and the Pollyanna junk. The second you say something inappropriate or insinuate anything the deal is over. You got me, Cullen?" I demand as I point my finger at him. He chuckles again as he gives me a salute.

"Scouts honor Bella. Now go get me some food, please! I can't eat this slop," he tells me as he lifts the lid on his tray. I grimace as I look at his plate.

"You know, your food looks just like what Penny wanted to clean up from her patient. He was actually sitting in it as he ate this exact food," I tell him quite proudly for having caused the putrid look that he is now sporting.

"Bella, come on! I thought we were friends. That was just cruel and nauseating. Take this with you when you leave to get my burger please!" he pleads as he blindly hands me his tray.

"Oh, we aren't friends. I'm just using you to get out of work. I'll return with food," I laugh as I leave.


"I will never underappreciate decent food ever again! Bella, I could marry you. You saved me, I guess more than once today," Edward tells me as he inhales the final bite of his burger.

"Don't talk about marriage and me in the same breath, and stop talking with food in your mouth.'

"Sorry. I didn't realize you were Miss Manners too," he says clearly put off by my demand. "What's so wrong with me that the mention of marriage is so vulgar to you?"

I look up from my phone and give him my best-disgusted look. "You cannot be serious right now! Your question is not even worthy of my response. Now be quiet so I can enjoy my hiding spot," I spit at him.

"No, I want to talk. I haven't had anyone to talk with. So, how old are you and where are you from?" Edward asked as it is clear that he isn't going to leave me alone.

I turned off my phone, rolling my eyes again at him. "Are we really doing this? Fine. I'm twenty-four and from Gainesville, Florida. Where are you from and how old are you?"

"Do you have a nervous tic or something?" he questions.

"What are you talking about?" I ask him, confused.

"You keep rolling your eyes whenever I talk. I assume it is some sort of disorder. But back to me, I'm thirty-one and from St. Louis, Missouri. How did you get to Oklahoma?"

"I do not have a disorder. If you want to label yourself as an annoyance, then yes, I have a disorder. It's called being intolerant of annoying people," I tell him as he grins, clearly amused by our bantering.

"I went to school at Midwestern in Norman and got tricked into working at this hospital so that they would forgive my student loans. I have one year left on this floor, thank goodness. I have not decided if I'm going to stay here or move back home when my contract is up. There really isn't anything keeping me here," I answer honestly.

Edward clutches at his hospital gown, showing distress. Alarmed, I jump to my feet to check his vitals, thinking he is having another anxiety attack. "You wound my heart, Bella! You could always stay for me," he laughs. I slap his shoulder, which really sets off his laughter.

"You turd! Do not do that to me! Remember where you are and that I have access to very large needles. Stop being a doof! Now, tell me how you got here from Missouri."

"Fine, fine! Truce, all right? I will be good, I promise. I went to school at Midwestern also. It was the first school with the pharmacy program to accept me. After I said yes, the other offers came rolling in but they were too late."

"Did you always want to be a pharmacist?"

"Yeah, I mean I wanted to be a doctor but wasn't committed to being in school for that many years. I graduated at twenty-four able to make a good salary and still be in the medical field. Why did you want to be a nurse?"

"I like to help people and care for them. My dad was sick as I was growing up, so being a nurse just made sense. Did you actually want to be a doctor?"

Edward looks at me with a questioning expression. "What was wrong with your dad?"

I shake my head at him, upset that I let that slip as I was talking to him. I'm just finding it so easy to talk with him at the moment and I became too comfortable. "I don't like to talk about it, but I did ask you a question," quickly deflecting his question.

"So you did, but don't think that I'll forget about your dad. Well, my parents are doctors so it kind of runs in the family. My dad is a neurologist and mom is a pediatrician. My older brother is making them proud, however, he is finishing his neurology residency in New York. I'm the embarrassment, or the black sheep of the family, whichever way you want to look at it," he says with a hostile tone.

"Why would being a pharmacist be an embarrassment? You make a good living, right? You got accepted into a competitive program and passed. That's reason enough to be proud," I tell him, surprising myself with being irritated with his parents.

"In the Cullen household, if you aren't a doctor you are a nobody. I've always been an outsider with my family from as early as I can remember. My parents were not home enough to even know me. My brother is two years older than me and we have nothing in common, we never did really. He was studious and level-headed. I was always seeking adventure and fun. He is definitely my parents favorite, I'm just tolerated. As soon as I graduated high school, I packed my bags and came here. I like the distance from my family here and I know they will never visit because they never have. They didn't even show up for my graduation from Midwestern. So, you know a lot about me now, tell me more about you."

"Edward, I'm sorry about your parents. My parents are far too involved in my life. Moving out of easy distance was logical. I knew that if I stayed near Florida that they would constantly pop in or follow me around. Fortunately, they don't like Oklahoma. They come to visit a few times a year, and I go back home at least once a year. My older sister still lives in Gainesville, two blocks from them. She and her husband just had their first baby, so my parents will probably skip coming up this year. Enough about me, let's start asking corny questions like favorite color and movie. You go first," I plead, desperate not to talk about my family anymore.

"Well Auntie, my favorite color is yellow, and I like too many movies to narrow it down to just one," he smiles. As I open my mouth to speak again, the overhead page goes off.

"Bella Swan, please report to the fourth-floor nurse's station. Thank you," a shrill voice announces overhead.

"Well, I guess my break is over. Thanks for helping me pass the time turd," I smile at him.

"Anytime Auntie Polly," he quickly responds while grinning.

I leave his room, my mind full of questioning thoughts about the man that is lying in the bed. Could I have misjudged him? Maybe he isn't as shallow and callous as I have thought. I decide that only time will tell, but I'm not about to let my guard down with him.