A/N: sorry it took me so long to update everyone! i kept gettign annoying little error messages on my computer, so i couldnt... and my brother is singing very badly in my ear, so i'm getting a bit destracted... anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 10

Work

"Gooood morning, Jacksonville! The time is 6:47 on April 14, and it's a beautiful and sunny 78 degrees right now, with a high of 84, and a low of 72. Traffic reports to come after some tunes, followed by a few messages from our providers…"

I smacked the reset button on my alarm clock as I realized that I had slept late… again. Jumping out of bed, I rushed to the bathroom and into the shower, making it quick. I scrambled into my work clothes, having to start over once I realized my shirt was on backwards. Then I headed into the kitchen for breakfast. As I nearly inhaled my bowl of cereal, I paced around the house, and reached the line of pictures above my mantle. An old picture of Charlie, fresh out of the academy with his badge pinned to his puffed out chest; a shot of Jacob and Anna on their wedding, followed by another of their little baby, my godchild, Jackie; a picture of Renee and Phil on their wedding, and finally one of Alice Cullen that she had sent me just after I left. "I don't want you to ever forget me, you're one and only true shopping accomplice," she had written in her letter. That had been the last time that I heard from any of the Cullens. I loved looking at these pictures, but this morning, I had no time.

The drive to work took forever; traffic was a nightmare because the authorities were still cleaning up the road from a drunk-driving accident that had occurred earlier in the morning. Leave it to Renee to want to live in the 'fun' part of town… "Oh Renee…" I sighed to myself. An hour later, I finally pulled into the parking garage. Now all that was left was the long walk to my station in the NICU. Walking through the hospital and seeing injuries of all sizes, I wondered yet again when my intolerance of blood had vanished. It was obviously before nursing school, otherwise I never would have enrolled. The first time I noticed it was on the plane from Washington, when the guy sitting next to me got a massive paper cut on his finger that was bleeding like crazy. I got a bandage from the flight attendant and helped him wrap it around his finger when he couldn't get it himself.

I reached my station and clocked in, 45 minutes late for my 8-to-8 shift. The night nurse, in a crotchety mood for making her stay longer, told me about the babies that were currently under my care, and their progress throughout the night. After she left, I checked each of the heart monitors, and greeted my little companions.

"Good morning Jack! Looks like you've gained a few ounces over the past few days, good for you!" I said with a smile. I moved on, "And hello Rebecca! You need to follow Jack's example over there and gain some weight, sweetie. You're still only 4 pounds, 7 ounces," I scolded. "Caiti, how has the earth been treating you in your first 48 hours, huh? You did well overnight, I see."

And my work day continued, taking care of these adorable little things, talking with their parents, and enjoying the job that was never the same…

Completely exhausted, I pulled into the driveway at 8:45. I trudged inside and went straight to the kitchen for dinner. I preheated the oven, took out some leftover chicken parmesan from the fridge, and once the oven was hot, I stuck the chicken in to reheat. While I was waiting, I went back to my mantle to look at my pictures again. An old picture of Charlie, fresh out of the academy with his badge pinned to his puffed out chest; I had found this one while digging through some old boxes in the hall closet at Charlie's one summer when I was back from college. I thought it was a great picture of Charlie. He looked so trim and tough, and the look of pride on his face was priceless. Now at 59, he had a bit of a gut, and wrinkles traced his proud countenance.

The shot of Jacob and Anna on their wedding was received two years after I left. They were married in Forks, in an outdoors ceremony during the 'dry' season. Those two had been lucky that day, for the sky was perfectly clear and it was sunny. The picture of little Jackie was sent to me about 6 months ago; it was taken on her 6th birthday.

I looked at the picture of Renee and Phil on their wedding and paused to think on this one a bit longer. Looking at Renee's face flushed with happiness made my eyes well up with tears. The memories of staying up all night with her in the hospital were still vivid, regardless of the fact that it was 7 years ago. Three weeks before her death at the young age of 57, Renee had developed a terrible hacking cough, a high fever, and had trouble breathing. The doctors never could find out exactly what had been wrong with her, and she died in the early morning with me sitting at her side, holding her hand. Her funeral had been both beautiful yet horrible at the very same time. Phil really suffered without fun-loving Renee at his side, so a month after her death, he moved to Detroit.

The sound of a car door slamming pulled me out of my reminiscing, and I snapped to attention immediately. I listened to footsteps walking up the path, and heard a key unlock my front door. It swung wide open. What on earth?