A/N: This one is a bit shorter, but there's a reason for that: transition. It needed to happen this way. At least I think so.

Thank you to everyone who's favourited, followed, or dropped me a review. It makes my days happy and full of sunshine. :)

***Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I'm just doing her laundry.***


"Come on Bella, it's been three days! I always have my photos up right away," Alice whined.

I frowned at her. "Dammit, I've been working late every single day to catch up and I haven't had a good night's sleep since getting home. Give me a break here."

"Yeah, but I wanna see how your trip was!"

"If you're so interested in my photos, then post them yourself!" I snapped and immediately felt bad. Alice was just being Alice and didn't deserve to be the brunt of my foul mood.

"Sorry Ali, I'm just tired."

That was the understatement of the year. Of course I was tired, having barely slept since leaving Edward at LAX. With the exception of my near coma on the flight I'd been tossing and turning every single night, haunted by nightmares. It didn't help that Edward hadn't added me to Facebook yet. Maybe I was being stubborn but I wanted him to initiate contact and as of yet there had been nothing.

"What's really wrong?" She asked me.

I sighed and flopped onto my couch dramatically. "Edward," was my only reply.

"You guys got awful close, huh?"

I nodded. "It's weird. We never went on official dates or kissed or anything, but I feel like I've just had a vacation romance that I never wanted to end. Is that ridiculous?"

Of course it is. You barely know him.

"Not at all. When you have that connection with someone, it's just there. You can't help it. And considering your general lack of interest in dating, he must have been something really special. Am I right?" She said.

"You're always right. I just wish this time you were wrong," I whispered.

"I know. Give it time, things will work out how they're supposed to. Have faith in the universe."

After Alice left my condo for the evening, though not before posting my vacation photos to Facebook, I dragged myself over to my desk to stare at the face that haunted me. Before I could even click on the first picture I had a friend request. When I clicked on the button, it showed Edward Cullen was asking to be my friend. My heart started kickboxing in my chest as I accepted the request. Immediately I clicked on his name.

B: Took you long enough!
E: Yeah I know. Sorry about that
B: Did you get detoured to Timbuktu?
E: That's a real place?
B: Ha ha. Smartass
E: Better than being a dumbass
B: You wanna Skype for a bit? I miss seeing you…
E: I'd love to but it's nearly time for me to go to work. I got a thousand orders while I was gone. Guess who gets to sift through everything and make all the callbacks?
B: Don Cherry?
E: Who?
B: Wow. Just wow.
E: I live in a bubble, remember?
E: Hey I gotta run. Was nice talking. I'll check out the photos when I get home. c ya

That was our first conversation since the emotional parting at LAX. I wasn't sure what I'd expected, but it certainly wasn't that. He sounded cool and detached – not like the Edward who had been my friend, travel companion, and hangover buddy. Was three days enough time to completely forget about what we'd shared?

***Two Weeks Later***

"Sorry, got caught up in real life. There was so much to do when I got back that I haven't had time for anything but sleep and work. It's really stressful," he lamented.

I gave him my best evil glare. Or rather, I gave my webcam the evil glare. "I thought you'd forgotten about me."

He shook his head. "Of course not. I just work crazy hours, and this time difference thing is trickier than I thought. What time is it there?"

I glanced at my computer clock. "6:00AM. You?"

"About 8:00PM. Just got home from work. Somehow we were double booked for today so I had to call in everybody. It was nearly a complete disaster."

"But everything worked out right?" I replied.

He grinned. "Of course, I'm a professional. But how are things going up there in the frozen north?" He said, leaning back in his computer chair.

For a moment I debated what to say. I was upset that we hadn't connected in so long, but at the same time I believed him that it wasn't his fault. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Same old. It's getting warmer out now, which is nice. I hate the winter."

He burst out laughing. "I thought Canadians were hearty and tough? Don't you play hockey and build igloos in the snow?"

I mock frowned at him. "Hardly. Most of us learn to deal with it, but by the time the ground thaws we're really sick of being frozen all the time. Winter is hard work – there's shoveling snow, wearing fifty layers to keep warm, salt stains on all your pants, and bad drivers. It gets really brutal sometimes," I retorted.

"I see," he said. "What about work? How's that?"

"It's okay. I got a new client this week. He's got severe Asperger's and is convinced he can get through law school. His parents sent him to us to help him plan some more realistic goals. I feel for the kid, ya know? He's smart and friendly, but his disability would definitely hold him back as a lawyer. It's a tough situation for him."

Edward nodded. "That's tricky. Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm alright. After a while you learn to try to distance yourself from your clients, not completely of course, but I have to keep reminding myself I'm doing the best I can. This isn't one of my tougher cases. Those would send me home in tears."

He sat up straight in his chair. "Like what? What's a tough case?"

"When I can't do anything to help. Like one girl came in after her father died. He'd left a pile of debts and no assets. She was just barely eighteen, still in high school, and no other living relatives. She didn't qualify for any type of government assistance at all and there was absolutely nothing I could do for her except career counseling, which is ridiculous for her situation. I was tempted to push aside my vow of objectivity and cut her a person cheque," I replied, remembering the look of fear in that girl's eyes.

"I'm so sorry. That must have been really difficult," he said quietly with his best sympathetic tone. I appreciated the sentiment.

We didn't get to chat much longer as I had to start getting ready for work, but I did convince Edward that we should make a regular time to chat every week. I was excited when he conceded and promised to send him my work schedule so he could pick the best time for him.

***Three Weeks Later***

Edward and I sent a bunch of e-mails back and forth trying to sort out our conflicting schedules but nothing seemed to work. His schedule wasn't as regular or predictable as mine, thanks to the random hours of his catering clients, which made it impossible for us to connect in any meaningful way.

I grew increasingly frustrated at the situation. I thought about him all the time, reliving our adventures in Los Angeles and how happy we were together. It was painful to think about but it's all I really had. Sure we conversed through e-mail but it wasn't the same as sitting face to face. Most of his e-mails were short and focused on work while I made the effort to include a little bit about everything. In time I realized my letters sounded more like a personal blog than part of a conversation, which only frustrated me further.

***Two weeks Later***

"That's it. I give up. I know he's busy but he can't even put half an hour aside to chat with me? What the fuck!" I bitched to Alice one night as we sat at our usual table at Woody's. She rubbed comforting circles on my back.

"I know. That sucks a lot," she replied sympathetically.

"What should I do? I mean, we really bonded in LA. I thought there was something… special… about him. But now I feel like he's blowing me off. It's confusing." My mind flickered briefly to Allastair.

Rose snorted. "Men are all the same."

I wasn't in the mood for this. Not now. "Like women are so much better?" I rebuffed.

Rose's eyes went wide for a moment before they narrowed. "Point taken. Man or woman, you need to let them go when they act like spoiled children. You're better than that," she said as she nudged my shoulder with hers.

"But that's the thing, I don't want to let him go. Even if we're only friends, he's become important to me," I whined pathetically.

Rose sighed in frustration. "Look, I'm not gonna sugar coat it. You've been nothing but depressing since you came back from LA. Sure, you have your moments when our little Bella is back, but overall I know you're moping. No matter what the reason, it's not a healthy thing to do. You're acting like some clingy girlfriend."

My eyes opened wide with shock. "I am?" I said as I looked at Alice.

She shrugged. "Maybe a little. But it's understandable," she said quietly.

That revelation really surprised me. I knew Edward wasn't my boyfriend. Hell I wasn't even certain he'd ever felt something more for me other than friendship. I thought about my behaviour over the past few weeks and realized I could easily seem stalkerish. There were countless e-mails and facebook messages begging to chat, attempted video calls on Skype, and way more messages from my end than from his.

I buried my face in my hands. "Oh God! He probably thinks I'm psychotic," I whined.

"I'm sure he doesn't think that. You're a passionate person, which I'm sure he gets," Alice said soothingly.

I shook my head, trying to hold back my tears. "He told me he felt our connection. He fucking told me, right before I got on the plane. How could he put me in this position?" I cried as the tears escaped.

"Shhh, calm down. It'll be okay," Alice cooed in my ear as Rosalie got up from the table.

I cried for a few moments into my hands, not caring about the state of my mascara. How could I be so stupid? I should be put away somewhere without access to facebook or e-mail. I wonder what Edward could possibly think of me.

Rose returned to the table with a tray of shots. Before I could think about it too much, I dove right in and pounded back a few. I ordered some cocktails from the passing waitress and after downing them too got up to dance. I was absolutely determined to let loose for the evening and forget all about sexy Edward Cullen. That nightmare I could face tomorrow.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX

I woke up the next morning with a pounding hangover and my mouth feeling like dirty fuzzy socks. I groaned loudly before sitting up in bed to rub the sleep from my eyes. My hair wasn't cascading into my face which could only mean one thing: it was clinging to the top of my head. I groaned again at the prospect of untangling it.

I managed to force myself out of bed and into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. I then got into the shower and allowed the hot water to wash away the last of my brain fog. Once I was out and dressed, I popped a couple of aspirin and headed back to the kitchen for a huge cup of morning java. As I sat down on the living room couch, I noticed my laptop was powered on and left open on the coffee table.

What the hell did I do last night?

I reached over and moved my finger over the track pad to get it out of hibernation and wished I never had. There in front of me was a very long chat window open between myself and Edward-freaking-Cullen. My face flushed with embarrassment as I contemplated what I could possibly have said – I couldn't remember a thing. I took a very long draw from my cup of coffee and pulled my laptop closer so I could read what I'd written.

B: EDWARRRRRRRRR wher re u?
B: Ecqard Cuilenm! cime out an play!
B: U hafv to talk 2 meee
E: Hey Bella, what's up?
B: Ther u r! Hi sexxy!
E: LOL had a good night did we?
B: Wud hav been grrrrreat but fuck
E: Did something bad happen? Are you okay?
B: Just spilt wster!

I looked down at the floor and saw a glass lying on its side. Okay, that explains that.

E: Oh, well, that's not a big deal. At least it's not juice.
B: U woodnt carr if it was!
E: Um, okay? What are you talking about?
B: YPOU! U lied! Yu sed weed talk all thw time but noqw u avpoid me!~~!~!
E: Bella…
B: NO. I wanted u soooooooop basd
E: We should talk about this when you're sober…
B: NO I fucvkin hsate u!
E: Bella, listen to me. Go to bed. I will be online at 5PM your time, and we'll hash this out, okay?
B: finne.

I glanced at my wall clock and saw I still had two hours. That's 120 minutes to get my red face back to its normal pale skin tone, stop crying hysterically, and figure out how the hell to apologize without conceding defeat. I had no idea where to begin. I was completely overwhelmed.

What the hell was wrong with me? I met a man named Edward Cullen. Yes he was sexy and smart and kind, but he was just a man. I'd never lost my head over anyone before. Even when Amun was forced back to Egypt I managed to keep my cool. It was painful but not life altering. How was it possible that this man, Edward Cullen, had me wrapped around his finger so tightly?

If you don't let up he's going to show you exactly which finger.

I was so disgusted with myself. As I waited for him to come online, I re-read our correspondence over the past two months. He hadn't once discussed our time together. He was busy with work, looking forward to the cooler Australian winter, and asked me a lot of questions about what I was doing. He never made me any promises or relayed sweet endearments. If I didn't know we had a strong connection I would think we were barely acquaintances.

But isn't that the truth? You hardly know him. Have I mentioned I hate my inner monologue?

My computer beeping brought me out of my reverie. It was Edward calling me on Skype. I took a deep breath and accepted the call.

Time for the big girl panties.

"Hey," he said nonchalantly as soon as our call connected.

"Hi," I replied, trying not to blush.

"How are you feeling today?"

Mission do-not-blush: failure. "I was pretty rough earlier but I'm better now. Coffee helps," I replied as I held up my now empty mug to the camera.

"I bet. You were pretty bad."

I sighed and rubbed my face. "About that… I'm really sorry for what I said. I was completely smashed. If it helps I didn't even remember we'd talked until I saw our conversation when I woke up," I offered.

He laughed boisterously. "Yeah that happens sometimes. It's allowed, I just hope you're okay."

It's now or never…

"Actually I'm not…" I said hesitantly.

He ran his hands through his hair nervously. "I know."

"You know why I had that psychotic episode last night?" I asked.

He leaned forward and rested his head on the desk. "Yes." Edward took a deep breath and sat up straight. "I owe you an apology. This has been very difficult for me too. I'm not good at this sort of thing, Bella."

I nodded in understanding, letting his words sink in. Though he wasn't saying anything substantial I heard the meaning of what he didn't say. He missed me too.

"I just need some time to wrap my head around all this. I wasn't expecting you," he practically whispered.

"I know exactly what you mean," I replied, my voice trembling with unshed tears.

"Let's just take this one day at a time for now. I've got a lot of crap coming up for work so it's likely I won't be available very often. But I'll do my best to send you a note whenever I get a free minute," he said with a small smile.

"Okay," I replied enthusiastically. It was all I could really ask at this point in time, and I was ecstatic he wasn't cutting me off for acting like a lunatic.

Being Edward Cullen's long distance pen pal was better than nothing at all, right?