Happy Sunday everyone! I hope everyone had a great week!

Chapter Ten

I was dragging my feet by the end of my shift. I had poured myself a bit more coffee to help me power through to the end. Seeing Bella had been a nice pick-me-up. And I got to meet her son. Well, not really meet him, but see him.

He was a handsome little boy. But now it had me wondering about his father. Was he still in the picture? Did he pass away? I wasn't sure if now was the time to ask about it. Maybe on our second date I could hint about his father.

Once my last patient was on her way, I gathered my things from my office and headed to my car. I had sucked down my last bit of coffee so I could make it home without dying in a fiery car crash.

My mom was at my house tonight. She always spent the night when I had to work at nights. Of course, now that Rose was older, she insisted she was old enough to stay home alone. I trashed that idea the minute she said it.

I quietly made my way up to my room, careful not to disturb Rose or my mom. Mom slept in the guest bedroom. I guess it was unofficially her bedroom now. I didn't work to many nights, but she always slept in that room when I did have to work nights.

I stripped down to my underwear and crawled into my bed. I didn't have to work tomorrow, and mom would drive Rose to school for me so I could sleep in.

I yawned and pulled the covers over my head and closed my eyes, letting sweet sleep consume me.

Bella's POV

It was three in the morning when I was awoken to loud gaging sounds. I looked over; Jake was still asleep. I got out of bed, but fell back down, my head spinning slightly.

Shit. Now I was getting it.

I walked to the hall bathroom, "Dad?"

"Yeah," He said softly, "I'm okay."

"Do you want me to get you anything?" I whispered.

"No, I'm good. Go back to bed."

"Okay," I walked back into my bedroom, but didn't crawl into my bed. Instead, I made a beeline for my bathroom.

I barely made it to the toilet when I vomited. I gripped the edges of the toilet as everything in my stomach evacuated.

Once I was done, I stayed by the toilet a little bit longer, my stomach still uneasy. Damn it. I was hoping I hadn't caught the bug. Now I was going to be down for 24 hours.

I flushed the toilet then walked back to my bed. I grabbed the thermometer and checked Jake's temperature. It was 101. Good, it was going down.

I checked my own temperature. 102. Awesome. I snuggled into the bed but couldn't really get to sleep. My stomach and my head were doing uncomfortable flips all night.

Edward's POV

I yawned loudly and stretched. My phone was lightly beeping. It was mom, waking me up to make sure I was up and ready to go pick Rosie up. I had about three more hours before I had to leave to pick her up.

I got out of bed and walked into the kitchen. I really liked not having to wear clothes around the house. I couldn't do that with Rose here.

I grabbed a bowl and made myself some cereal. After finishing my cereal, I moved into my study and opened my laptop to find some good restaurants. I knew Bella liked salads, but maybe I could coax her into eating something else. Something a little more adventurous.

Maybe a sushi place. I wasn't sure if they had salads, but one of those cook in front of you places. I liked sushi. I wondered if she liked sushi.

I picked up my cellphone and called her. It went straight to voicemail. She was probably tending to her sick son.

"Hey, Bella. It's Edward. I was just calling to see if you liked sushi. I've been reading some reviews on this great place in the city. If you would still like to go out with me that is." I chuckled awkwardly, "So yeah, um give me a call."

I placed my cell back onto my desk. I needed to get ready to go get Rose.

Bella's POV

I felt like I had been in one of those carnival rides that spin you around a hundred times. The norovirus was a kick in the pants. I couldn't believe poor Jake had been sick with this. And now, both my dad and me had it.

"Jake honey, drink this," I said as I held up a cup full of kid's electrolytes. Even though I felt like I was dying, I still had to tend to Jake. A mother's job never ends.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It's some Gatorade," I wasn't in the mood for explaining what this stuff was.

"Okay," He said as he took it, "It doesn't smell like Gatorade."

"It is baby, please drink it. Momma doesn't feel good."

"Okay," He did drink it and made a face, "Ew, that was gross."

"I'm sorry hon, but I promise it'll make you feel better," I laid back on my side of the bed, "Now, I'm going to sleep okay, baby?"

"Okay, momma, goodnight."

Edward's POV

I absolutely hated the pickup line at the middle school. It was long and slow as hell. I don't know why Rosalie insisted on being picked up every day. The bus dropped off right in front of our house.

I guess I knew why she wanted to be picked up. I could see her standing there with a group of her cheerleading friends. I sighed; I really wasn't a fan of those girls. They just seemed so… mature.

She ran over to my car and hopped in. Waving goodbye to the girls.

"Rose, who is that girl?" I asked.

"Which one?"

"The one with the belly shirt and the piercing," I said.

"Oh, that's Tanya. She's an eighth grader. She just moved here from Alaska. She's so cool. She's on the cheerleading team now."

"Mm." I said, giving the girl a critical once over. I couldn't believe her father would let her go to school dressed like that. I know I wouldn't let Rosie dress like that.

"She's having a sleepover on Friday. Can I go?" She asked.

"I need to call her mom and make sure it's okay."

"Dad seriously?" Rose said, "I'm not a baby. Tanya's mom already said it was okay. She said she'd pick us up from school. You just have to pick me up Saturday."

"Rosie, I don't feel comfortable with you going over to someone's house I don't know. I'd just feel more comfortable if I called her mother and made sure it was okay."

Rose made a loud, annoyed noise, "Dad please. Tanya's so cool and I want to be her friend."

"Rosalie, you can't be friends with someone just because they're cool. You want to be friends with them because they're nice and treat you well."

She rolled her eyes, "Dad, please don't embarrass me. Just let me do this. I'm twelve, almost thirteen. I'm old enough to make these decisions."

I thought about it for a moment, "Fine Rose. I won't call her mother. But please don't make me regret it."

"I won't dad, I promise," She smiled brightly.

"I guess it does work out if you have a sleepover on Friday. I have a date." I said.

"With who? The same lady?" She asked.

"Yeah, she actually agreed to go on a second date with me," I said, "I was going to take her to that sushi place in town. Remember the one we went to? The one where the chefs cook in front of you."

"Oh yeah, I love that place." Rosalie said.

I nodded, "I thought it would be a cool place to go."

Rosalie nodded but didn't say anything. I was glad that we could start talking about this stuff. It was a start. Rosalie wasn't angry or upset, she was just quiet. And as long as I wasn't upsetting her, then me dating, wasn't a big issue.

Bella's POV

Well, Jake was better. But I felt like I was dying. Dad was still sick to, but he wasn't throwing up anymore. I on the other hand still felt like death.

"Mom when are you cooking dinner?" Jake asked, sitting up in my bed and watching television.

"Oh," I said, trying to sit up, "Um, honey why don't you go find something? I just don't feel good."

"Can I call grammy and ask her to bring me something?"

"Baby, I don't want to bother grammy."

"It won't be a bother."

"Give me my phone, I'll order something from Shane's."

"Yes!" Jake said, pumping his fist in the air, "Can I get onion rings and fries?"

"Yes get whatever you want." I said as I dialed the number and held it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, can I get a number chicken finger basket, with fries and onion rings, please?"

"Sure, that'll be 8.99. Is this for pickup or delivery?"

"Delivery."

"Okay, it'll be about a thirty-minute wait, okay?"

"Yes that's fine."

I sat my phone back onto the end table and thumped my head back down against the pillow. God, this was death.

Edward's POV

I wonder if I should call Bella again. I've already left her a message. I knew she was off work. Maybe she was tending to Jake. He was really sick.

Oh no, what if she got sick? The norovirus was a nasty bug. Maybe I should call her again. See how she's feeling?

But, would that be to desperate? Or would it show that I did care? What would she think if I called her and asked how she was?

"Dad?" Rosalie pulled me from my thoughts.

"Yeah Rose?" I looked up from my cellphone.

"You said you'd help me with my home-science project?"

"Oh yeah," I got up from my desk, "Let's do this. What are we making?"

"Meatloaf," Rose said.

I made a face, "Meatloaf? Why in the world do you want to make meatloaf?"

"It's mom's recipe. Her meatloaf," She said.

"Shit. That's right she did make meatloaf," I chuckled, "I loved her dearly, but honey, she didn't really know how to cook."

"Well I can try to make it," Rose said.

I sighed, "Fine. But you don't remember it like I do."

"Come on," She said as she pulled my sleeve to the kitchen.