A/N: Thanks so much to FicSisters for their kind review on their blog, The International House of Fanfic. I'm beyond flattered to be included with the other fantastic stories listed there.

Well, you knew this was coming. Let's get it over with…

Chapter 10

January 21-February 15, 2008

Edward and I continued in our idyllic, little routine. We were both extremely busy, but I, at least, treasured our few moments together on the evenings we had. We managed to grab dinner at Star Pizza with Sam and Emily the weekend following the baseball party and enjoyed a few drinks at Kay's, a dive bar, not far away afterwards. The next weekend, Alice dragged Edward, Jasper, and I to the trendy bars downtown. Edward was just as delicious dressed up for a night out clubbing as he was in a tuxedo. And many girls in skimpier dresses with prettier faces than mine noticed. But he was with me.

Trey never let up. In fact, he seemed to redouble his efforts to break me before the looming end of the rotation. Dr. Cullen was undeniably impressed with me. I felt a great deal of pride in that knowledge, although I had earned the praise fair and square due to my hard work. It was nice to see it pay off.

The last Monday of the rotation we were back in the OR. Dr. Cullen was allowing me to hold the scope and maneuver it through a knee joint. Trey was complaining about my clumsiness loudly, while the scrub tech cringed next to us. Thank goodness the patient had requested general anesthesia due to extreme nervousness and wasn't aware of our conversation.

"Carlisle, you're going to get us sued, if you keep letting her do that. You may be at a dead end, but I have a bright future ahead of me in my career," he griped. "Her hands are too small, and she's not strong enough to have the finesse needed."

"Trey, we were all beginners at one time. She's not doing any harm. She's just orienting herself. She doesn't even have an instrument in there. There's no danger, and you know that very well." Dr. Cullen sounded harsher than I'd ever heard him with Trey, and I stopped what I was doing and looked up in surprise.

"Go on, Bella, you're doing fine. When we're done, you can close the wounds again. You've done such a nice job with that so far," he encouraged. Trey exploded. I saw the anesthesiologist wince behind the curtain.

"How dare you speak to me that way, Carlisle?" he shouted. "I'm far more valuable to this department than you are, and you know it. I'm not even sure why they have me working with you; you can't teach me anything." Dr. Cullen blinked slowly, obviously stunned by this new outburst. Trey often implied things, but he'd never come right out with an attack of this nature. But Dr. Cullen didn't say anything yet.

"You're such a pussy," Trey muttered and shook his head. And that did it, for me at least. I handed the surgical instruments back to Dr. Cullen. I looked right at Trey, even though he was looking at Dr. Cullen.

"Dr. Cullen," I said firmly. Dr. Cullen looked at me with a question on his face.

"Yes?" he said when I didn't go on. I shook my head.

"I'm not talking to you, Sir. I'm talking to Trey," I was glad my voice sounded steady because my heart was pounding. I wasn't sure what I was doing. Trey turned his narrowed eyes on me.

"What the fuck are you blabbing about, Swan?" he asked with an ominous undertone.

"It's Dr. Cullen to you, Trey. Since you're a resident, and he's an attending. You shouldn't call him by his first name," I corrected with steely determination. Trey stared at me with his mouth slightly open in disbelief. He took a menacing step forward toward me but stopped when a throat cleared from the direction of the door.

"Sorry, to interrupt," a voice said, and all three of our eyes whipped in that direction. The confrontation had been so tense that none of us had heard anyone enter. I gasped when I recognized Dr. Volturi standing there. I could only see his eyes since he was wearing a sterile mask, but they looked stormy. He'd heard everything. He addressed the entire room.

"I needed to touch base with Dr. Cullen regarding one of our research projects, but it seems more pressing now that I have a word with Dr. Hunter," he said mildly. "Trey, why don't you come with me?" he sounded casual, but I could hear the steel behind his request. Trey shot a murderous look at Dr. Cullen and I but had no choice but to follow Dr. Volturi out of the room. You could have heard a pin drop. No one said a word.

Then, Dr. Cullen was in motion. He removed the scope and instruments from the patient's knee. The scrub tech had the needle driver, suture, and forceps ready for me, and Dr. Cullen nodded that I should proceed as planned. I made quick work of the three puncture wounds (I'd been practicing a lot), and as I cut the knot on the final one, I heard a slapping sound.

I looked up in surprise to see the anesthesiologist, the scrub tech, and the circulating nurse all clapping and looking at me. I looked to Dr. Cullen in confusion, and he had already removed his mask and was smiling broadly. He joined in the clapping. He stepped close to me so our words would be private.

"Thank you, Bella. You just did something I should have done for myself months ago. And if Dr. Volturi hadn't overheard, then it might have gone badly for you. You are very brave, and I owe you one," he said honestly. Then, he smiled a bit mischievously, an expression I hadn't seen on him before. "I think you've earned the right to call me Carlisle. When no one else is around, of course," he added. I giggled and shook the hand he'd extended to me. The clapping trailed off, but I took a mock bow. The anesthesiologist called out.

"Dr. Swan, I hope we'll keep you here at Baylor," he said. I felt a thrill being called that rather than Student Doctor or MS3.

"Me, too," answered Dr. Cullen, I mean Carlisle, giving me a wide smile. And then we all went back to the business of medicine.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

I was pretty amped when I left the OR but came back to reality quickly. I was supposed to work with Trey that night for my last call on the rotation. I still had one skill to complete. I started to panic when I realized it, but my pager went off before I went off the deep end. It was Gianna the department secretary.

"Department of Orthopedic Surgery, this is Gianna speaking," I heard when I returned the call.

"Hi, this is Bella Swan, MS3. I was paged," I said hesitantly.

"Yes, Ms. Swan, I was told to relay a message to you," she replied in her nasal voice. "Tonight instead of following Dr. Hunter on call, you should report to the Cast Room to spend the evening."

"But, I still have to be checked off on shoulder reduction," I argued breathlessly. I heard her hum to herself.

"According to my records, you've already been passed on all your skills," she responded a bit testily.

"Oh," was all I could say in my surprise. "Well, all right, then, I guess," I said lamely.

"Have a nice evening," Gianna told me a bit robotically and hung up. I stared at the PACU phone in shock. Then, I started to smile. And smile and smile and smile.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

As luck would have it, Jake was covering the Cast Room that night. I was glad to see him and knew it would be a good evening, but I still wanted to avoid the connection I had to his younger brother.

"Holy shit, Swan! You are the talk of everything," he exclaimed when he saw me. I grimaced.

"What do you mean?" I asked with trepidation. He threw an arm around my shoulder and shook me, my feet almost rising off the floor.

"You told off Trey! And he's in big trouble now, too," he studied me appraisingly. "How'd you do it, anyway?" he asked.

"You didn't hear the details?" I inquired. He shook his head, eyes still gleaming.

"No, just that you told him off, and Volturi somehow overheard. Trey's on probation now!" he crowed gleefully. I couldn't help but chuckle happily when I heard that news.

"All I said was that he shouldn't call Dr. Cullen by his first name," I said simply with a shrug. "And I guess Dr. Volturi didn't like how Trey responded." Jake grinned at me.

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, Swan, you can just go on home now," he offered. "It's your last call night, anyway. And you've earned it!"

"No," I argued. "I won't take favors. And anyway, I still need to assist on a shoulder reduction." Jake frowned.

"I was told that you were checked off on all your skills," he argued. I shook my head.

"Somehow the record was strangely revised this afternoon," I replied sardonically. He laughed.

"Well, they'd already be reduced by the time they got to me, but I'll keep a listen out for any of that. I'd be proud to have your company for the night, if you're set on staying," he pronounced. I nodded.

"I am set on it," I declared. He put up his palm, and I smacked him a high five.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

I was still riding high from my victory the next evening when I saw Edward again. I wanted desperately to share the experience with him, but I'd kept all my previous interactions with Trey a secret. I thought I'd done it to spare him the worry, but I didn't like what I saw when I stopped to examine my true motivations. So, I kept quiet. The whole thing would soon be behind me for good, and Edward needed to concentrate on the upcoming baseball season.

Edward was focused on Valentine's Day. Even as a V-Day novice, I knew that you couldn't wait until February 12 to plan something big on the 14th, but Edward had been busy. And he was still 21 after all, even if I thought less and less of that fact. He tried to draw opinions out of me but gave up quickly when I wouldn't cooperate. He declared that he would surprise me.

Thursday was my last real day on my rotation. Friday morning would just be the medical student meeting in the conference room and filling out paperwork and surveys. We'd be done by noon, which was convenient because that night was Edward's first game of the season. And as the lead starting pitcher, he'd be the one on the mound when the game began.

As such, Edward would have to be in bed early on Thursday night, which wasn't ideal since I'd be in the VA clinic with Dr. Cullen that day, a clinic that always ran late. It had always been made more unpleasant by Trey's presence, but now I didn't know where he stood. Still, Edward and I wouldn't have much time to play with on the evening of Valentine's Day. I told him we could celebrate later, but he was determined to do something on the actual day.

I didn't see Trey again until Wednesday, the 13th, since I'd left early post-call the day before. He appeared in the Baylor Clinic and behaved in a far more subdued manner than I'd ever witnessed. He not just avoided working with or speaking to me, but avoided eye contact, too. I figured whatever Dr. Volturi had said to him had hit home.

Thursday, the 14th started similarly to the day before. I was working in the VA clinic with Dr. Cullen (Carlisle) and Trey. Trey was quiet again and really didn't speak to either of us. I felt quite vindicated but refrained from smirking openly at him. We worked at a steady pace. It was my last real day on the rotation, and I was pretty sad. The next week I'd be forced to start an OB/Gyn rotation, which was one of the basic requirements, and it would last two whole months! That kind of thing really wasn't my style.

Edward had teased me and woken up early with me to give me a proper send-off. I'd whispered for him to go back to sleep, but at least a part of him was already wide-awake. He'd kissed me deeply, and I'd replied with just as much fervor. His hands had slid almost harshly up my rib cage so that his thumbs could cover my nipples, kneading and teasing. I'd gasped into his mouth with pleasure as his hand dropped lower and then he'd slid into me, driving me to new heights. Once we'd both reached our releases, I had reluctantly left him alone in the warm bed. Edward had grinned up at me proudly from his supine position.

"Now, you're ready for the day," he'd declared smugly. I giggled as I hurried to the bathroom. That's what he did to me; he made me giggle. "I'm going to give you the surprise of your life tonight," he promised as I left him behind to go to work. Thoughts of Edward distracted me from my morose musings about OB/Gyn. I went about the rest of the afternoon with a smile.

We were on our last few patients, well past 4:30 PM when we were supposed to finish, when there was a commotion at the nurse's station. I poked my head out of the charting room to see what was going on. My mouth dropped open in shock. Edward was behind the desk talking to one of the nurses, clutching a dozen red roses in one elbow, and gesticulating wildly with both hands. He didn't look happy. I inserted myself into the situation immediately.

"What are you doing back here?" I demanded. "You can't be back here without an escort," I told him jerking the free elbow in my left hand and pulling him away from the nurses and out of the Ortho clinic into the main lobby of the hospital. We stood facing each other off to the side of the atrium. The nurses had stared after us curiously as we went. Thank goodness that Carlisle and Trey hadn't seen him. I released his elbow and glared at him furiously. I was surprised to see that he was glaring just as furiously back.

"Is this your surprise?" I asked hotly. "Because, I don't think bursting into my place of work and causing a scene is a very nice surprise." He stared at me incredulously, dropping his arm, so the roses were hanging from his fist, flowers toward the floor. Some part of me registered that they were beautiful and didn't like seeing them abused this way.

"Well, Bella," he began with a sarcastic edge to his voice. "I was planning to meet you here in the lobby when you were done, but then I spoke to Sam's brother after practice today." My heart sank. I'd hoped to keep those two separate. I wondered what Jake had said to set him off so. He must have seen the guilt in my expression, and he went on.

"Yeah. There was an open practice today, since it was the last one before the big season opener. Sam's brother made a point to be there. We got to talking. Turns out that he's an Orthopedics resident at Baylor. I mentioned that my girlfriend was doing a rotation as medical student. Can you believe that he recognized your name instantly?" He obviously meant the last question rhetorically. His face was a thundercloud. I'd never seen him so upset. I pursed my lips, not trusting myself to speak and gave an imperceptible shake of my head.

"In fact, it turns out that you are famous in the Orthopedics Department. Did you know that? Apparently, you've been sexually harassed for weeks, and everyone knew about it. But you didn't turn the guy in, and no one did anything to help you. Do you know how it made me feel to tell this guy that I knew nothing about any of this?" He shouted the last question, and I could see his eyes were now red-rimmed. I shook my ahead again afraid to answer. I was fighting tears. Edward threw the flowers to the floor and gripped both of my wrists. He sighed but it wasn't real; it was still part of his angry tirade.

"But I guess you took care of things yourself from what Jake Black tells me. You didn't need me at all for that," he laughed bitterly. Suddenly, the fight went out of him, and he clutched me to him with his large hands wrapped around my upper arms. I could feel my heels leave the floor.

"I came here today to find this Trey Hunter and beat him senseless. But when I saw you, I realized it's not him who deserves my anger. It's you." His green eyes burned like fire into mine. "I've given myself to you. I've told you countless times that I love you, but you've never said it back. Did you think I didn't notice?" He was shouting again, and the tears were now falling freely down his cheeks. I could no longer hold mine back either. I was gulping breaths to keep from sobbing out loud. He released me and stepped back.

"Edward," I tried to croak, but he cut me off.

"Shut up, and let me talk," he said harshly. "I'm sick of you explaining everything away, rationalizing everything. I've shared every bit of my insecurity about the upcoming season, all my worries about my ability to handle the future. I thought you were listening, that you cared."

"Edward," I tried again, a little bit louder, but he didn't acknowledge that I'd spoken.

"This guy was torturing you for weeks. This was a major theme in your life, and you kept it from me. I had to hear about it from Jake Black, who by the way thinks you're pretty wonderful. Maybe you should date him," Edward spat at me. His face changed and hardened. There were no more tears.

"You never saw me as more than a distraction and a good lay. I guess I probably deserved that after the way I acted before I met you," he chuckled darkly. "Not much incentive for me to continue being the "mature" one, now is there? I should have listened to…" he trailed off. "Well, don't worry about it because now I'm done."

And with that, he turned on his heel and stalked out the automatic doors at the front entrance of the lobby. I was sobbing wildly now and unable to call after him. I sank to my knees and gathered the roses to my chest, ignoring the thorns that tore at my clothing. The short white coat of the medical student protected my skin.

"Edward, Edward," I gasped, but I knew he couldn't hear me. He was gone. I looked around the lobby and saw several people stock still, staring at me with pity. I reached deep and forced myself to my feet. I willed the tears to stop and quickly made my way to the nearest garbage can. With great regret, the beautiful flowers went in. Next, I retrieved some tissues from the box that rested on the main information desk in the middle of the atrium and wiped my face as best as I could. People began to move and talk again; my little drama was forgotten as quickly as it was witnessed.

I hastened back to the clinic, but it seemed only minutes had passed since my entire world had crumbled. The nurses eyed me but didn't say anything. Carlisle hadn't noticed that I'd even been gone. Trey did, though.

"Slacking off on your last afternoon, huh, Swan?" he needled me, but with much less gusto than in the past, when I entered the charting room to find him alone. "I guess now that you're the big department star, you think you can get away with that. But don't think I won't be watching you, even when you're off service. I've got a score to settle with you, young lady." He snickered and went back to charting. Carlisle entered the room just then.

"Well, that's the last of them," he declared. "Thank you, Bella Swan, for a great rotation. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of you in the future." Trey chuckled evilly behind him. Carlisle turned to glare at him, but Trey continued to type innocently, face blank.

"Thanks, Dr. Cullen," I said but my voice broke. He looked at me closely.

"Are you all right?" he asked with concern. "Your face is red." I wanted to deck him for his tactlessness. I could see now why he wasn't married. "There was a disturbance before. What happened?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," I assured him. He and Trey both looked at me appraisingly. Carlisle finally sighed, nodded, and moved on. Trey spoke again after he left.

"It figures I'd try and make you cry the entire rotation and when you finally did, I had nothing to do with it." And I think that was the closest to admiration, I'd ever hear from Trey Hunter.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

I tried to call Edward every hour on the hour that night. He didn't answer. I went to my morning session at the Department Office and filled out all the paperwork that was required. I sat like a zombie and nodded when Dr. Volturi told me what a great job I'd done and how he looked forward to seeing me on more advanced rotations in the future. I broke down and cried in the restroom twice and again when I got home to my apartment at lunchtime. All of Edward's things were gone. I didn't know what to do about the game, so I called Alice.

"Bella, you've really messed up," she said when she answered without a greeting.

"What should I do?" I asked, breaking down in tears again. I hadn't cried this much since my father died. I heard her sigh with at least some sympathy.

"I don't know," she finally answered. "He asked Jasper to make sure you weren't at the game. He doesn't want to see you." This news stunned me silent and dried the tears. He must really mean it. I'd always wondered why Edward would want to be with me, and now he didn't.

"Okay," I said meekly.

"Maybe he just needs some time," Alice offered. "Try and get in touch with him once he's had a chance to calm down." But I knew I wouldn't do that. In the lobby, Edward had been about to say that he should have listened to his mother. I thought about the conversation I'd overheard between the two of them on New Year's morning. I'd known she was right, too, all the way back then.

I wasn't going to fight for Edward because he was absolutely correct. He would be better off without me.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

A/N: Well, we all knew this was coming, right? Does that take the edge off just a little bit? Next chapter will be back to present day. Lots of new readers. Please leave a review!

I wish that things turned about between the real Trey and me as depicted in this chapter but that's not so. In actuality, our relationship was never this antagonistic, and we actually got along somewhat by the end. He (and the other residents—it wasn't just him involved in that ban) never did let me into the call room, though, even when I was trapped at Ben Taub for 60 straight hours in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Allison.