Sorry for taking so long to get this chapter up. Hope you did not mind the cliffy I left :) I am now working on the next chapter and hope to have it up in the next few days. Please take the time to review. It would be grat to know what you are thinking. Good or bad I can take it! ;) Enjoy! ~~T~~

***Stephenie Meyers owns the characters . I only own this particular story.***

Chapter 4

Connections

EPOV

I pushed myself away from the bar and gave my cousin a quick pat on the back kind of hug.

"Hey Em! Glad you could make it. It's been too long!" I grinned at him.

"Yeah it has been. How's work going? Bring any new lives into the world lately?"

"Work's work. It sure is strange working with my dad though. I have a couple of new patients but none are due soon. How's the real estate business? Any new houses on the market that I might be interested in?"

"Well, are you not happy with the rental I set you up in? It is a nice building. I have a friend in that building. They are prime rentals man!"

"Hey no, I love it but just looking for something more permanent you know. What friend lives there too?" I asked the last bit due to my curiosity. Any friend of my cousin would surely be a good friend to have.

"Oh she is a friend of all of ours; you know the group I hang with. She moved to town a quite few years back. Nice girl. Going through a bit of stuff right now but she is a really good person."

"Oh. Too bad about the stuff. But I'm sure you and your friends can help her through it."

"Yeah Bella has all our support."

Bella? Same apartment building? Stuff? Certainly he did not mean the same Bella that I had seen in my office earlier today. The gorgeous brunette with the chocolate brown eyes that reached into your soul?

"Bella? Bella Swan?" I asked quietly.

"Ummm yeah, how do you know her, Edward?" he asked surprised.

"Well she was in my office today...."

"Oohhh, yeah that makes sense. Uncle Carlisle would refer her to you. How was she? Oh you probably can't talk about it eh? Doc confidentiality and all."

"Yeah, sorry. But to tell you the truth she has intrigued me. I have been seeing her around a lot lately, in different places. I can't get her out of my mind. I have never felt this way about a female before."

"Oh wow Ed. You finally feel something for a girl and there is a whole situation that comes along with her. Wow. Have you said anything to her?"

"Em, she is now my patient. It's a little different now." I said sternly.

"What? She is not going to be forever. Unless the thought of a baby in the mix scares you away. Bell is the best, if I had not found Rose I probably would have asked her out. Mind you Jake probably would have beaten my ass for even thinking about it back then."

"No, a baby does not scare me. I love kids. It is just unprofessional right now to think of dating a patient. Yeah, what is up with this Jake? He came with her today and he seems really possessive of her. Actually in the past couple of days I have always seen her with him. I thought at first he was her boyfriend."

"Jake? Her boyfriend?" He chuckled. "Nah they are best friends. Well next to her and Alice. He looks out for her. He's a great guy. One of the best. Only wants the best for her. He kind of promised her dad to look out for her."

"That's good she has that I guess." I said. Although I would not tell him but I thought it was a little strange to be that possessive of just a friend.

"Hey you really should meet all the gang. Well you remember Jazz and Rosie right? We should all get together some night."

"All right. Maybe some night soon."

For the rest of the night we chatted about little things, family stuff and drank a few more beers.

It was great seeing Emmet. What a strange coincidence that my own cousin is friends with the person I find myself so attracted to!

I eventually say goodnight to Emmet and find my way home. As I am walking up to the building I find myself thinking once again about Bella. She seemed so sad when talking about the father to her baby. I could not help but wonder about the situation that lead up to her becoming pregnant. I wanted to ask Em about it, I almost did but I felt that was invading Bella privacy. I was so engrossed in my thoughts I barely realized I was already in front of my door and automatically looking for my key in my pocket. I looked up and down my hall, which brought me to think about where exactly Bella lives. She was exactly two floors below me in apt 542. Was she alone tonight? Would she even consider being interest in me? Probably not. I am just her doctor. I was getting ready for bed when I started wondering exactly when I would see her again, and what would I say? Maybe I could get Em to help set up a meeting with the entire group that is. No harm in that right? At least I would get to see her again outside my office.

BPOV

I could not believe that Edward Cullen, my OB-GYN was the Adonis that I was panting over for the last couple of days! What a small world. Boy, Jake was not impressed. I could tell. In many ways he was the reason I never had a serious boyfriend before. He never let them stick around. Who could blame them? I would be scared of the 6 foot self appointed bodyguard myself, if he wasn't my best friend and a secret softy!

I took out the picture of my baby and just stared at it. It was amazing. I smiled remembering the reaction of my friends when they saw it. Well, all of them except for Emmet. He had other plans tonight to meet up with a relative. Alice was so excited to see it; Rosalie looked at it with an awed look on her face. Jasper just smiled and said it looked weird. Alice smacked him for saying that. Jake couldn't stop looking at it. He seemed mesmerized with it. Leah met up with us after the appointment and offered her help in any way to me. She looked at the picture and saw the cd when we got back to my place. She smiled and whispered something that sounded like "what a miracle". It was nice to share this with my friends.

But I knew I had one more person I had to tell. My dad, Charlie. I really was not looking forward to this. It was going to be hard. I was his little girl, he still thought of me in this way. I talked about how I should tell him with Alice and Jake for a bit tonight. Both of them offered to come with me to Forks to talk to him. We settled on Saturday. That gave me 4 days to figure out exactly what to say. Being a Police Chief he was going to have a lot of questions and not doubt demand answers about the father. How was I going to tell him I did not know who it was? Again I wished my mother was here still. She would help me smooth things out with Charlie.

The more I thought about what to say to him the more I could not sleep. I decided that I would get up and go for a small walk to clear my head and hopefully it would help me sleep.

I got dressed in some sweats, slipped on some shoes, grabbed my keys and stuffed my small change purse in my pocket then headed out of my apartment. I got into the elevator and was once again lost in my thoughts. All of a sudden I heard a small cough. I jumped as I looked over to where the sound came from. That's when I saw him.

"Sorry I scared you Bella." Edward said as he made a small step towards me.

"OH Edward, it's you!" I said surprised. I gave him a small shy smile.

"So where are you headed at this time of night?" He asked. I really was not aware of the time.

"Umm out for a small walk, I could not sleep."

"Bella, it's almost midnight, you really should not be out alone." He said in what I would guess was his concerned Doctor voice.

"Oh I will be ok. I did not realize the time, but it will only be a small walk, just to clear my head. I've had a lot on my mind as you can imagine." I said as I felt that familiar heat spreading up my face.

"Well actually I was going for a little drive to do the same thing. I could walk with you if you'd like?"

I smiled. Edward wanted to walk with me, my heart fluttered a bit at the thought of spending time with him. I couldn't refuse!

"Sure I'd like that." I said as the elevator doors opened and we both walked out into the foyer of the building. Not saying anything while we walked towards the front doors.

When we were outside on the sidewalk, Edward turned to me and said "Ok so which way?"

I turned to the right and gestured for him to follow. "So what did you need to clear your head about?" I asked.

He seemed to hesitate before answering "Oh just work stuff and a conversation I had with my cousin tonight. Actually you know him." He looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"Oh really? Who is he?" I asked intrigued.

"Emmet McCarthy"

"Oh my god Em is your cousin? Wow! Small world! Yeah, he one of my closest friends! I was supposed to show him my ultrasound pics tonight but he had to meet with.... OH that was you! He was meeting up with a relative tonight and seemed rather excited about it!"

I was looking at him and he gave me one of his crooked smiles. "Yep, I guess that is me. Sorry I took him away from you."

"No that's ok, he can see anytime. I was just showing it to everyone tonight. They all came over to my place to see the pics and CD. Alice, do you know Alice? She was so excited. She can't wait to hear what I am having so she can go shopping." I said rolling my eyes and giving a small laugh.

"I have heard of Alice. I know Jasper and have met Rose once. Em talks highly of them." He said as he gave a small half smile. "So what is playing on your mind so much you cannot sleep? I meant it earlier in my office when I said you could talk to me. I'm a very good listener."

I looked over at him as we continued to walk down the sidewalk. I realized we were close to my favourite all night diner Beth's Cafe. It gave me an idea. "Umm Edward would you like to go sit and talk? We can go to Beth's Cafe." I looked shyly over at him again, half thinking he might refuse. After all why would he want to go into a public place with person as plain and boring as me? I mean just look at him! He is beautiful. He looks like he just walked out of a fashion magazine. A male model with the brains to match his handsome looks.

To my amazement he said "I'd love to Bella." I also received one of those crooked smiles. It made my heart skip a beat.

We were quiet for the next half a block it took us to get to the diner. Edward opened the door for me and we made our way to a table. The waitress came over and handed us some menus and asked what we would like to drink. I said a Chai tea and Edward asked for a coffee. I never looked at the menu; I just placed my clasped hands over top of it and watched him as he looked his. His head was down. I took this opportunity to ogle him a bit. His grey shirt was form fitted, it showed off his muscles perfectly. His hair had a messy look to it but it looked good on him. He must have noticed me staring at him because he glanced up from his reading, cocking one eyebrow and saying "What?"

I blushed bright red I was betting and just shrugged my shoulders. We seemed locked in our gaze at each other. I wanted to look away but I just could not break away. Finally he broke it while he shook his head and looked at the menu again. It surprised me that I felt sad at the sudden loss of his eyes on me. I liked looking into those amazing emerald coloured eyes. Maybe a little too much. I gripped my hands tighter as I had the overwhelming want to touch his face.

He startled me for the second time tonight by clearing his throat bringing me out of my thoughts. I looked at him through my eyelashes. He was looking at me with a strange look in his eyes that I could not understand. He then said "Do you know what you want?" and nodded towards the waitress that apparently was waiting for our order.

"Oh, yeah. I'll have the Fruit plate and a scrambled egg with mushrooms in it please." I answered.

Edward ordered the soup of the day, which was homemade chicken and an order of onion rings. The waitress walked away and that's when I noticed our drinks were on the table. I took a sip of my tea. Then took a deep breath and said "Ok so you wanted to know what has me sleepless in Seattle..."

"Yes, for a start." Edward said chuckling and then gesturing for me to go on.

I was amazed at how easy it seemed for me to want to tell him. It was as if I had known him for years. I felt strangely at ease with him. "Well I was lying in bed thinking about everything that happened today. The ultrasound was so shocking but wonderful to see. Well, you know, you were there." I blushed at that part and he smiled and nodded. "It made it so much more real for me. It's been kind of strange to think that there is a little person developing inside me. That also brought me to the realisation that I have to tell my father soon. That is going to be hard."

Edward looked at me with the same look of compassion he had in his office. "I'm sure he will not be too mad at you. After all you are an adult. What about your mom?"

"Oh, she died 12 years ago." I sad sadly.

"Sorry." He said and I could tell he meant it.

"That's ok. You didn't know. It is just me and my dad now. I'm all he has and I don't want to disappoint him."

"I don't think you could ever disappoint anyone Bella..." he almost whispered.

I smiled at that. "Well there is the fact that I have no idea about the father of baby. He is not going to take too kindly to that."

"You don't have to answer this... How did you not know?"

I sat there trying to figure out what to say. I really did want to tell him. I wanted him to know I was not the kind of person that slept around. I was just about to say something when the waitress came back with our food. As she left I picked at the fruit plate picking up a strawberry and holding it in front of me. I could feel Edward's eyes on me.

I took a bite of the berry and carefully chewed as I struggled to find the right words to say. "It's kind of embarrassing for me." I said quietly.

"I'm not going to judge you Bella. I'm just interested in getting to know more about you and the baby is obviously going to be a big part of your life now. You seem troubled about the conception and I can't help but want to help you sort it out."

His words had a calming effect. He made me truly believe he was not going to think badly of me. Although I did start talking fast. Probably to just get the explanation over with. "Well a couple of months ago there was a party, we all went to it. I guess I got a little more drunk than I thought I did because I ummm woke up..... Ummm in a room with my dress on the floor..... I was alone. I had no idea what happened but I was scared. Jake, Jazz and Alice found me. I guess I kind of went into denial about anything happening. Ummm you see I ummm up until the other day in your dad's office I did not know I was not a ummm, you know..... Virgin anymore. I thought I had the flu or something. I could not even fathom the idea of being pregnant. " I knew I was bright red from blushing. It must have been quite a sight. Edward was just quietly picking at his onion rings the whole time I was talking. I was nervous about what he would say.

He had a look of understanding; again compassion was in it too. "Bella I'm sorry you had to go through that. You never found out anything about that night then?"

"No, as I said I think I went into a denial. I think Jake and everyone figured out what might have happened but they never spoke to me about it. I shut that night out of my mind. The last thing I remember from then was dancing and then what I just told you. I'm not sure I even want to figure out what happened or who the guy is. "

Edward slowly brought his hand to cover mine that was resting on the table. He gave it a slight squeeze very gently. I felt that tingling that started where he touched me and seemed to spread through me. The only way I can describe it was electrifying. Like tiny electrical shocks bursting on my skin. It did not hurt but felt rather pleasant.

"Coming from a Doctor's perspective, it may be beneficial to know who the biological father is eventually. For a health history reason. Although I can understand you not wanting to know." He said as he then started to eat more of the food in front of him.

I looked down at the plate of scrambled eggs in front of me and started to eat while I thought of what he just said. Yes, it did make sense in that way but the thought of knowing who would take advantage of me was slightly bothersome to me. We finished eating in silence.

I was sitting there with my tea in front of me when I decided to ask him a question that I was mulling around in my mind while I had been eating. "So what was bothering you when you were with Emmet? You said earlier a conversation you had with him was part of the cause your late night outing."

He looked at me with that weird expression on his face again. The one I could not understand. Then sighed and hesitantly started "Well, I'm not sure I should tell you. It is not really something I should be thinking about I suppose."

That had me curious. "Please tell me, I promise I won't judge you." I said repeating words he told me.

He took a deep breath and his velvet like voice was very quiet "Bella, we were talking about you."

I was shocked. Did I hear him right? Me? What would they have to say about me? Did he already know about my situation before I told him? Or was he asking about me? No probably not. "Umm what did Em say about me?" I questioned, not sure if I should be mad that he was talking about me without my knowledge.

His bright green eyes seemed to look guilty, his hand played with the rim of his coffee cup as he spoke his next words. "Em did not say anything bad Bella. He just said he had a friend going through a hard time right now but all your friends were there to support you." He looked at me like he was hoping that would help me relax. "He then mentioned your first name and I put two and two together and asked if you were the same Bella Swan I saw in my office."

"Ok." I replied still not sure where this was going. "So why would that have you so bothered?"

"Well that is not what has me bothered Bella."

He was now looking nervous. I could not figure out why though. I knew why I was suddenly nervous. The thought of something about me bothering him did that. I hardly knew this man but I did know that what he thought would mean a great deal to me. Sitting across from him right now it was easy to forget that he was my new doctor for the remainder of my pregnancy. All I could think about was the fact that I was really interested in him, more interested than I had ever been with any male. "What was it?" I asked as quietly as he had a few minutes before.

Before he could answer the waitress came over asking if there was anything else she could get us. Edward told her we just wanted the bill. She handed it to him. We had a quick argument over who would pay. He won. Soon after we were headed out the door. Edward had his hand on the small of my back as we walk out the door and quickly dropped it when we were out on the sidewalk. I was surprised to find I missed the contact.

Edward kept looking at me shyly from the corner of his eyes as we walked back the way we had come before. "Bella, I'm not sure I should tell you this. After all I am your doctor and it just seems wrong in a way. But I can't seem to not tell you." He had his hands now in his jean pockets and seemed to be fiddling with something in one pocket. He took a deep breath and gently grabbed my arm that was closest to him making me stop. I turn slightly to look at him. He was nervous again.

"I told him I am interested in you. I want to get to know you better."

Please review, I want to know how I'm doing ;) Ofcourse Emmet would be his cousin right? So tell me what things do you think should happen? other than finding out who is the father. I am still kicking around my ideas for that one.