Disclaimer: I do own a copy of Twilight; however, I don't own the actual rights to said book … :(

Chapter 6: Italy?

EPOV

My alarm went off at 5 AM on the dot. Usually I hated getting up early, but lately I hadn't minded as much. The earlier I got up, the earlier I could check on Bella. I wasn't sure why, but she intrigued me more then any girl had before. It wasn't just that she couldn't remember her past that was interesting to me. It was that she seemed so much different now then what she supposedly was only a few days ago. What could have sparked that change in her so suddenly? It'd didn't help, of course, that she was beautiful beyond words either.

I am supposed to be professional, I reminded myself in the car on the way to the hospital. It made it hard to keep professional thoughts when I looked into those big brown eyes of hers though.

I walked through the doors and was greeted by a bouncy Alice.

"Don't you ever get tired?" I asked.

"Nope, why waste time being tired when you can be awake enjoying life?" she asked.

"I don't know how you do it," I said, in amazement, "I should do a study on you one day when I have free time."

"Good one Edward, free time." She laughed, "What is that I wonder?"

I laughed too. "I'm going to head over and check on Bella," I told Alice.

"Oh, wait," she said, stopping me, "Your dad wants you to go to his office first, he has something important he wants to talk to you about I think."

"I wonder what," I said, thinking out loud.

"Only one way to find out," Alice said, "Go talk to him, and then tell me!"

"Alright," I said, "I'll talk to you later, Alice."

"Bye," she said and went off to check on a new patient.

I knocked on my fathers door, "Come in," I heard him yell from inside.

I opened the door, "You asked for me?"

"Ah, yes, Edward, come in, come in." he motioned for me to sit down. "I got a call from Dr. Mitri today."

"The Dr. Mitri?" I asked, amazed. He was one of the most well known and respected doctors in the world. He and his team were credited for solving some of the world's worst diseases.

"Yes," Carlisle said, "If you remember correctly, when I was younger I studied under him and his colleagues when first beginning my career." I nodded, and he continued, "It was a great opportunity, and I learned a lot, things I never would have learned under normal circumstances. They taught me things I'd never learn in a classroom, ways to help people that I probably would have never even thought of. Anyway, the purpose of my bringing you here is not to tell you about old memories." He clamped his hands together and placed them on the desk in front of him, "They offered an internship to you, Edward."

I froze, did he just say they offered me an internship? I knew how important that was, now rare, what an honor it was, and yet, I wasn't nearly as excited as I should be. "I'd have to go to Italy?"

"Well, naturally," Carlisle said, "You'd live over there and study under the Volturi's for around a year. So, what do you think?"

Bella, that is what I thought. My first thought after hearing about this great opportunity, one that could advance my career more then I ever thought possible was that I would have to leave Bella, the girl I hardly knew, the girl with the boyfriend, the girl who couldn't be around me without getting so nervous her heart monitored went insane.

"Edward?" my father asked, when I didn't answer.

"I'll have to think about it, Dad." I replied.

He seemed taken aback, "Oh, ok, well this is a great opportunity Edward, don't let it slip away."

I nodded and left his office, bumping into Alice as soon as I stepped out.

"So?" she asked, excitedly.

"You knew," I said, simply, it was the only explanation to why she was acting so excited.

"Of course I know! When are you leaving? I am so jealous," she said.

"I didn't say yes," I told her.

"You didn't say yes?" she asked, incredulously, "You said no?"

"No, I said I have to think about it," I said.

"You have to think about it?" she repeated, "Edward, what in the world – Oh, wait, I know what this is about." She said with a knowing smile.

"What?" I said, looking around nervously.

"That girl, Bella," Alice said, "Yes, it's all coming together. You don't want to leave her."

"That is not the reason," I said stubbornly, "I don't even know her really."

"That doesn't mean you can't like her, which you obviously do. That's why you pay such special attention to her, checking up on her so frequently, making sure she has everything she needs." Alice said as if she just figured out the meaning of life. "No wonder you've never liked any of the girls I've set you up with, they are so much different then her. Why didn't you tell me they weren't your type?"

"I tried, Alice, but you can be a little … stubborn at times," I said, smiling.

"So you admit it!" she exclaimed.

"What?" I asked.

"You just admitted that you liked Bella," she smiled.

"What? No I didn't," I said, backtracking, trying to remember what I had just said.

"Yes, you did. Maybe not in so many words, but you did admit she was your type, therefore implying that you do like her," she smiled even wider, "and the look in your eyes confirms it."

"Alice," I said, and then shook my head and pulled her into the closest closet. "Fine, I might have a little kindergarten crush on her, but you can not tell anyone! Not Jasper, certainly not Bella, and definitely, under no circumstances, my father."

"Your secret is safe with me," she promised, "Well, I should be getting back to work, and you should go check on Bella." She opened the door and walked out, me following. Just as she was about to turn the corner she said "Oh, Edward?"

"Yes?" I asked.

"You'd make a really cute couple," she said and then walked away.

I smiled at that and walked into Bella's room.

To my surprise she was awake, "Hello Edward," she said, smiling up at me.

"Hello Bella," I said formally, "You are awake early."

"Yea, couldn't fall back to sleep." She shrugged.

I panicked, "Are you feeling nauseous? Light headed? Do you have a headache?"

Her soft laugh filled the air, "Edward, calm down, I'm feeling fine. I am just not tired anymore."

"Ok," I said taking a deep breath, "You'd tell me if you weren't feeling well, right?"

"Of course," she nodded, "You'd be the first I'd tell."

"Good," I smiled at her, "So how is the memory today?"

She sighed, "I'm trying to remember stuff, but it's just not working. It's so frustrating, it's like I have a mental block or something."

"You'll remember, just give it time," I told her reassuringly.

"Hopefully, I am kind of worried once I do remember though." She said, quietly.

"Why?" I asked, interested.

"I don't think I was very happy before, before all this happened." She said solemnly.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

She simply held out her wrist, showing me the scars of old cuts. "Why would I cut myself if I was happy?"

I didn't know what to say. Bella looked up at me, wrist still held up, worriedly. I knew I should say something reassuring, but I couldn't think of what.

She put her hand down and hid it under the covers, and broke eye contact.

"Bella," I moved towards her, "Just because you will remember things doesn't mean you will be unhappy again."

"How do you know?" she asked.

Truth be told, I didn't know that, but I said, "I just know" and smiled at her.

She smiled a small smile back at me, "You'll help me, right? If I start going back to what I used to be, what I've been told I used to be that is, you'll stop me?"

"Of course I will, Bella," I replied, "I won't let anyone hurt you, especially yourself."

She sighed contently, "You have no idea how much better that makes me feel, Edward."

"Well, that is my job, making people feel better." I said, and instantly regretted it when I saw her frown. That made it sound like I was only helping her because it was my job, not because I wanted to, which was just about as far away as you could get from the truth. "I didn't mean it like that." I said quickly.

"No, it's okay," Bella said, shifting slightly.

"No really, I want to help you Bella, honestly. Even once you leave this hospital I am going to check up on you daily. You are going to be begging me to leave you alone," I joked.

She said something under her breath I couldn't distinguish.

"What was that?" I asked.

"I said, we'll see about that," she said, nervously, playing with her hair, and then she sighed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"My hair is such a mess, I need a bath." She said embarrassed.

"Well, we can't let you actually shower, but I can give you a sponge bath if you'd like? Not quite the same as a real bath, but at least you'll get clean." I said, casually.

She turned bright red, "You-You'd give me a sponge bath?" she asked, eyes wide.

My eyes turned equally wide, had I seriously just offered to give her a sponge bath? "Well, I mean, I could get someone to give you one. One of the nurses, Alice, could give you one. If you'd like," I added, awkwardly.

"Yea," she said slowly, "I'd like that. Thanks."

I nodded and walked out of the room, shaking my head only to find a giggling Alice standing down the hall a little bit. "Do you have nothing better to do then to follow me around all day Alice?" I asked.

"Um, nope," she said, "I can't believe you asked her if you could give her a sponge bath! McDreamy is stepping up his game." She laughed even harder.

I glared, "You will not speak of this," I said, in what I tried to make an intimidating tone, "Now please go assist Miss Swan by giving her a sponge bath."

"Aye, aye captain," Alice said saluting me and skipping off into Bella's room.

I rolled my eyes, as much as I wanted to hate Alice sometimes, it was simply impossible.
I decided while Alice was giving Bella a sponge bath I would go check on my other patient, Mr. Anderson.

"Mr. Anderson, how are you today?" I asked, walking into his room.

"Fine, Dr. Cullen, thanks for asking." He said, "They say I am getting out of here tomorrow. Is that true?"

I glanced down at his charts which indeed did state that he was leaving tomorrow, "Seems like it," I said smiling, "That is if you take your medicine."

He groaned, "I'll take it, but only because in a day I get out of here and I don't feel like arguing today."

I handed him the medicine and he quickly took it, wincing as it went down. "I'll tell you this much, I'll miss the warm blankets, and I'll miss the pretty young nurses, but one thing I will not miss is this medicine."

I nodded, thinking about how much I had grown to like Mr. Anderson during his stay and how strange it would be not to have to check up on him daily. Then I began to think about when Bella would leave and frowned. I had told her that I would check on her daily, but that would only be for a very limited time. I wouldn't be able to just to go over to her house just to talk to her, or check up on her whenever I felt like it, not without seeming weird or creepy.

"What's wrong, boy?" Mr. Anderson asked.

"Nothing," I said, breaking out of my thoughts and focusing on the now.

"That face didn't say 'nothing', it said something was bothering you," he said.

"It's just this girl problem," I said.

"Ah, of course, I should have seen the clues earlier. The bright face, the happier mood, the random daydreaming, you're in love." He said, knowingly.

"Love?" I asked, "I don't think so, but I do like her, only she's leaving."

"She's leaving? As in moving?" he asked.

"No, not quite, she's actually in the hospital, she's a patient," I began and then realized I shouldn't be talking about this, especially to another patient. "Never mind."

"No, no," he said, "Go on, please, I wont tell anyone and it looks like you need some advice."

I smiled, yet another reason why I liked him so much, he was persistent, "Well, as I was saying she is a patient here, and she's beautiful. More beautiful then any girl I've ever seen before, and she's incredibly sensitive, and although she has a troubled past, I can't help but feel that she is going to be an amazing person when she gets older, the kind that changes the world. That's one of the problems though, she is younger then me, she is still in high school." I frowned.

"How old are we talking?" Mr. Anderson asked.

"18," I replied instantly. I'd studied her chart so much; all statistics on her were automatic.

"So she's legal and plus you are talking like you are as old as me, you're what? 20? 21?" he asked.

"I'm 20," I replied, "I know it's not a big age difference, it just seems like a lot for some reason."

"That's reasonable, after all you've already completed high school and college and medical school while she is just graduating high school; it's natural to feel a lot older." He said.

I nodded, "But she's also a patient, and she has a boyfriend."

"Being a patient isn't a big deal; she is leaving soon, right?" I nodded sadly, "Well, then she wont be a patient anymore. As for the boyfriend, time will tell if they really belong together."

"I have this gut feeling that they don't," I said, "I don't know what it is, but something makes me not want to trust him."

Mr. Anderson nodded, "Trust your gut feeling always. Back in the army, we had to rely on our instincts daily, and mine saved my life numerous times. We didn't use any of that fancy technology that is used today, we didn't need it; we knew in our hearts what was right." He said, patting his chest where his heart was.

"Thanks for the advice," I told him "I should be getting back to work though."

"Anytime," the old man said, "I hope things work out for you."

"Thanks, I do to," I said.

A/N: So my tests are complete! YAY! And I think I did fairly well on them, or at least I hope I did! So, technically speaking I should be able to update a lot more frequently! Key word: technically! Ha Anyways, guess what I bought yesterday … the Host! So I'm going to start reading that soon, I'm so excited! Has anyone started it yet? Or finished it? I'll definitely let you know what I think of it once I'm done, although I'm sure it will be great, it is Stephenie Meyer after all! ANYWAY … please review! I'll be your bestest friend ever if you do! –smiles- :-D