A/N: Thanks for the wait, kiddos. Life is in a bit of an upheaval at the moment. Trying to keep my mojo going.

~Then~

Edward had no idea why he couldn't get Bella out of his head.

Well, no. That was a damn lie. She was beautiful, which seemed to be enough reason for most guys to obsess over a woman, but it was more than that. She was smart, and, well, she intrigued him.

Besides, it wasn't like he was following her on purpose. They were classmates with a similar class schedule, and Bella wasn't shy about speaking in class. She was a hell of a lot more insightful than the majority of their classmates, and he liked to challenge her. He liked that she rose to the challenge every time

It took a few weeks after he learned she was married to figure out he didn't have to date her. Maybe they could be friends. He was intrigued; there was no getting around that, but that didn't mean he had to seduce her.

Those first few months, he found himself watching her. She didn't, as far as he could see, have friends. She walked everywhere like a woman on a mission. When he saw her around campus, she was typically surrounded by books and always alone. So, maybe friends was out.

He wondered why she had no friends. If she was so anti-social, how had she gotten a husband so young? Or was it because she'd been married so young that she didn't seem to have a social life? Maybe her husband was a controlling bastard.

Summer came and went. When classes resumed, Edward found himself thrown together with Bella again. More than sharing a class, they ended up sharing a body. Literally. The class would spend the semester exploring and dissecting a human cadaver. They were put in groups of two or three by the professor. When he called out their names, Edward glanced over and saw Bella's eyes were wide. She blinked a few times before she set her mouth in a line with a nod. That amused him too. He was a challenge to her.

After their initial greeting to each other, Edward didn't try to make small talk. It was fairly obvious when, as they stepped up to the table, Bella talked first and loudly, effectively setting the tone. The tone, apparently, was all business.

Edward was more than willing to play along. Besides, he was more than a little apprehensive about the dead body on the table in front of him. And, for once, he was watching Bella because he wasn't up to looking at the dead man just yet.

Well, what? It was jarring. Sure, he was studying to be a doctor. Sure, he was going to be inside bodies as a surgeon. Sure, he was going to have to deal with dead people, probably frequently.

Hell, one day, people would die under his hands. That was a chilling thought; one of the few that kept him up some nights. He'd been raised knowing that he was going to be a doctor someday. Likely a surgeon, just like his father. Just like his grandfather. Though he'd met so many people his father had helped, had seen the awards and accolades Carlisle had achieved, he'd also been there through a few of the hardest days. When his father came home, defeated and destroyed over a particularly difficult loss.

It was easy to think of the good and glory of his intended profession. He'd help people. He'd save people. So, it was somewhat jarring that his first encounter with the insides of a human body would be with a dead person.

Bella, apparently braver than him, did peek. He took some comfort in the fact she was green around the gills and looked about as apprehensive as he felt. Then, she furrowed her brow looking…

Impressed?

Too curious, Edward turned around. He followed her line of sight and realized she was looking at the cadaver's package. He laughed, and when her head snapped up, she looked so guilty that he laughed even harder.

"You find something funny about cadavers, Mr. Cullen?" the professor asked, looking unamused.

"I'm sorry, sir." Edward patted the cadaver's arm. "I was thinking I should explain to Bella about the effects of formaldehyde on the male member."

The class tittered with nervous laughter, and Bella turned bright red. Edward thought he saw the professor fight a smirk. "Thank you for that distinction, Mr. Cullen. Yes, don't be so impressed, everyone. Your male cadavers wouldn't be so well endowed when it was only blood running through them."

When Edward turned back to his work, again he looked to Bella first. She had her mouth set in a thin line. Her cheeks were still bright pink.

Whoops. Right. He had kind of embarrassed her in front of the whole class. He hadn't meant to. Well, this was the opposite direction he wanted to go.

He leaned forward over the cadaver. "Hey, that was a shot in the dark. I was just jealous."

Her lip twitched. Her eyes flitted up to his, and a lightning bolt went down his spine. There was just something about the glint in the caramel brown of her eyes.

It was just a moment, and then she looked back down to the man on the table. Her eyes swept over him, her expression gone serious and sad. "I'm making the first cut," she said succinctly.

~0~

Whatever she felt about him, Edward and Bella worked well together. She was always professional when they were working. Never brash or rude. She was quick on her feet and good with her hands.

Yeah. Whatever this thing was he felt for her, working with her was only making it worse.

And fuck if he couldn't stop himself from poking the bear a little bit. Though, in his defense, she made it easy sometimes. He shot out test questions, and she identified the pieces of the body they were talking about along with the litany of things that could go wrong with that particular piece. Between questions, he shot out, "So, how long have you been married?"

Caught up in the rapid-fire back and forth, Bella started to answer. "Fi— Wait. That's none of your business."

He flashed her a grin. "Just curious."

She shook her head, standing back from the cadaver and taking her gloves off. "We're twenty-four, you know. We're not surprisingly young to be married."

"You didn't get married at twenty-four." Edward put his gloves on, irrationally pleased that she didn't sound defensive.

"Twenty."

His head snapped up. "Really?"

She quirked an eyebrow.

"You've been married for four years?" he asked.

"Look at you. Math genius."

Edward whistled. "Four years."

"Again with the counting."

~0~

"So, I have a question."

Bella looked up. There was definitely a smile playing at her lips. "I gather it's not about the inner workings of the leg, right? You know we have to finish this today. They're going to take the legs." She looked down at the cadaver. "Poor guy. Poor Dick."

Edward fought a grin. Bella had been very annoyed when he suggested they name their cadaver Dick after his first impression of her. She'd given in, apparently.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Edward said.

She pursed her lips, studying him. "If you don't want me to take something the wrong way, the best thing to do is not pitch it to me the wrong way."

"Fair point." He considered. "Look, I've never seen you hanging out with anyone."

"I have a husband, as you well know. I go home at the end of the day."

"I'm not talking about that. And before you tell me, I'm well aware this isn't any of my business. It's conversation." And despite her frequently dry remarks, she never did tell him to fuck off.

Bella waved a hand, indicating that he should continue.

"I'm saying I never see you hanging out with anyone on campus. I've personally seen you brush off people who are trying to chat with you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you trying to say I have no friends?"

"I'm sure you have friends."

She shrugged, looking back to Dick. "I really don't." Her eyes flicked up. "Are you satisfied?"

He furrowed his brow. "Why would I be satisfied at that?"

Another shrug as she began their latest incision. "I know you're trying to be friendly, but you're never going to convince me you're not competitive as all hell."

"I am competitive as all hell, and I have every confidence I'm going to kick your ass as a surgeon."

She looked up again, her eyes narrowed. She opened her mouth, but he cut her off—

"So, wait. You think I'm being friendly in the name of competition? To like, what, disarm you or something? Like I'm waiting to disarm you and when you're defenses are down, then I strike? To do what?"

Her eyes darted back down again, her cheeks tinged pink.

"Bella, we can be competitive and still be friends. That's all I want."

"To be my friend."

He had no idea why she looked so incredulous. "Yes."

"And you think it's a good idea for us to be friends?"

He laughed. "For you? It's a very good idea to be my friend."

She glared at him. "Excuse me?"

Edward grimaced. "That came out wrong."

"But what did you mean?" she demanded.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Okay. Again, I'd like to make it clear I was being glib, not serious."

She stared. He grumbled, shifting his feet. "Do you know who the Chief-of-Medicine is at General?"

"Of course. Dr. Carlisle…" Her eyes went wide. "You're his son." She cocked her head. "So you're suggesting that being your friend would be in my best interest because your father is a big name on the medical scene of this city."

"Again, in my defense, I was mostly kidding."

She pursed her lips again, looking him up and down. "You really are a piece of work," she said, but her tone was more teasing than not.

"I stuck my foot in my mouth."

"You think?" Then, she smiled. A full, genuine smile. "You're kind of an asshole, Edward Cullen."

"I have heard that before."

With an adorable little laugh, Bella got back to work. "I don't have many friends," she said after a quiet moment. "I moved around a lot with my mother. I finally ended up in one place for my last year and a half of high school. It was a tiny town. Jake, my husband, was my best friend. We ran away from that town together for college.

"Unlike some people I know"—she glanced up at him with a look— "there was a lot about school that didn't come easily to me. I had scholarships to keep, so I worked my ass off and didn't socialize much."

"Except with your husband."

"Yeah. So, anyway. Medical school is about a million times harder than regular school, and more expensive. I don't have a social life."

"Uh huh." That made Edward a little sad, but he wasn't going to tell her that. "So, maybe we can have dinner later this week."

She gave him a sharp look, and he put his hands up in a placating gesture. "Bring the husband. I like you." Her eyes narrowed, and he laughed. "I do. Don't ask me why. Let's all hang out. I'm sure I'll like him too."

~0~

Edward did not like Jacob Black.

The feeling was mutual. From the first alpha male handshake of death, almost everything Jacob did or said was passive aggressively rude. Edward didn't think much about jealous assholes. Though, it came to his attention that Jacob Black had hated him long before he ever met him for one simple reason: Bella had talked about him.

That was interesting.

The other interesting part of the evening was watching Bella interact with her husband. He understood that some people weren't touchy-feely, but they were something else. They were close; that much was clear. They were friendly. Friendly, not loving. In fact, about the tenth time Jacob tried to put his arm around her, she made a face and smacked his hand away.

"Why are you so damn grabby tonight?" she hissed under her breath.

So, obviously, that kind of affectionate touch wasn't typical for them.

Here was another thing Edward noticed the second time they all hung out: they didn't have a lot in common. Whenever one of them would get going on a topic they were passionate about, the other's eyes would glaze over. It was almost like they were used to smiling and nodding at each other. Bella was much more animated when she was talking to Edward about things that clearly went over Jacob's head.

It was all very interesting. He just wished he could stop thinking about it.

~0~

When it came time to crack Dick's chest cavity, Edward was at the helm. His textbooks had warned him it was a tough nut to crack. Boy, they weren't kidding. This was exactly why cadavers were a valuable teaching tool. What a relief that he didn't have to do this for the first time on a live patient.

On the other hand, poor Dick. Bella made a small noise in reaction to something stupid he'd done, and Edward spared a glance at her, fully expecting to see her judging him. She hated giving up the scalpel to him. She wasn't even looking at him. Instead, she was looking down at Dick, her face etched with such concern and sympathy, Edward's heart gave a little twist.

Then, he noticed she was holding Dick's hand, patting it consolingly. Edward gave a huff of laugh, drawing her attention. "He is dead, you know," he said quietly.

This time, her smile came readily. "Get back to work."

He smirked. "Yes, ma'am."

~0~

It was the custom of the med students to throw a sort of funeral for the brave souls who'd donated their bodies to science in order to make them all better doctors. It was a nice service. Poems and prayers were read. Eulogies were delivered. Though no one knew anything personal about their cadavers, there was something so personal—and a little disturbing—about having been cutting into them all semester long. They were colleagues if not friends.

After the words of solemnity and appreciation, they partied. In Edward's experience, no one partied quite like semi-exhausted med students.

Hubby Jake was out of town, and so Bella attended the festivities alone. It was, Edward found himself thinking, really nice to see her here among her peers. He had to wonder if Jacob could ever really appreciate her like this, could know how brilliant she was.

And he knew. He knewhe should stop thinking like that. But in between snippets of conversation and the two times he'd been able to see her socially, Edward felt like he knew something about Bella.

She dropped down onto the couch next to him, making an oof sound as she did. Her smile was brilliant, and her eyes sparkling as she looked over at him. Damn, she was beautiful.

"What are you doing over here being a wallflower?" she asked. He could smell the alcohol on her breath. She was tipsy, which would explain why she was sitting so close to him, kind of rocking up against him every now and again.

Hell, he was tipsy too. Maybe a little more than tipsy. Which would explain why he let his arm fall from the back of the couch to settle over her shoulders. "Technically, I'm being a couch flower."

"You got roots growing out of your butt?"

He chuckled. "Now that's a terrifying thought."

"So what's your excuse?"

"Pure laziness." He was twirling a strand of her hair around his finger, itching to let his fingers tangle in her hair.

"You are a lazy bastard," she said, still grinning. "And sloppy too. Not so smooth with a scalpel." She tilted her head, her expression teasing. "Maybe you should reconsider this surgeon thing. You're still a real doctor if you're only wielding a stethoscope."

"Uh huh." He turned his head, wondering exactly when they'd gotten this close. "I know you're jealous of my skills, Bella, but lying isn't the route to go. It's unbecoming."

Her eyes lit up. "Unbecoming, huh?" She reached up, booping his nose with the tip of her finger. "Someone's been watching too many old English shows. Unbecoming of a lady to lie, is it?" She laughed.

"You're trying to distract me because it's the truth. It's okay to admit you're not the best. You're still good."

She hummed and booped his nose again. "And you're still delusional."

He grabbed her hand to still her finger, bringing it down between them. Then, without really thinking about what he was doing, he tilted his head and caught her lips with his.

She gasped, the little moan of surprise vibrating against his mouth. He paused, pulling back the barest millimeter. Oh, but he was dizzy. His head was spinning, and he'd gone from tipsy to full out intoxicated. That one taste of her had been so potent. He needed to kiss her again.

He did, though it occurred to him she remained frozen. He told himself to stop. It didn't matter that her shuddering breath was hot on his skin. It didn't matter that she felt good in his arms. He needed to stop, though he couldn't remember exactly why that was at this particular moment.

Her hand came up, cupping the back of his neck as she inhaled with a gust. The next second, she was kissing him. It was a hard kiss, a hungry one.

And just as quickly as she began, Bella was gone. She was on her feet, a hand clapped over her mouth. She looked around, her eyes wild, glanced at him, and then turned on her heel, walking away quickly.

He hauled himself to his feet and darted after her, calling her name. Down a relatively quiet hallway, he finally caught up to her. He reached out to take her arm.

She whirled on him. "Do nottouch me." She glared at him, and he put his hands up in a placating gesture. She spun on her heel again and continued on.

"Bella." Edward followed her as she powered out a door into the cool air of the evening. "Bella, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"

"No, you shouldn't have." She shook her head, running a hand through her hair. "I knew this would happen. I knew you were full of shit."

That took him aback. "What?"

"Your whole thing about how you wanted to be friends. It was such bullshit, and I knew it. This was always your endgame. You—"

"Stop." He didn't like the feeling that was climbing in him. He was guilty—of course, he'd always wanted to be more than friends with her—but he was a lot of other things too. "Yeah, I like you. I reallylike you."

"That's not my problem, Edward. I'm married. You know my husband. For fuck's sake."

But again, she hadn't said she didn't like him. There was always something in what she didn't say. She was pacing now, a few steps forward and back, running her hand through her hair in agitation and then over her mouth as though to cover the scene of the crime.

Because he was drunk, because he ached with want, because he was young and arrogant and stupid, he said the words he'd been thinking for too long now. "He's not good enough for you."

Bella stopped short and stared at him. "What?"

He should have backed down. He should have backed down immediately. "Your husband. He's not good enough for you. He's not as smart as you are. He's not as quick. Not as...fucking anything."

She was staring at him, eyes wide and incredulous. And, oh yeah, he should back down, but…. "Look, I get it. I do. You guys are friends. You're really good friends, and that's comfortable. That's easy. That's nice when you're as busy as you are. It must be nice to go home to a man who won't demand anything from you. Who won't challenge you."

Her mouth snapped closed, and he knew just by looking at her that he'd made a fatal mistake. When she spoke, her voice was calm and cold. "You know, I don't condone violence by anyone. I really hate those shows and movies where the woman hauls off and slaps the guy, and everyone is okay with that because, hey! She's just a girl. But right now, I'm really reconsidering, you arrogant prick."

With that, she spun away from him again, disappearing into the night. This time, he didn't follow her.

A/N: A glimpse at the past….

So. How's everyone?