Thanks for the reviews! I always get comments on how much people like Keisha in DG, so I brought her back. She's so much fun to write. I just think of what my friend Kendra would say in the situation ;)
Lemonade ahead...
Chapter 11
Edward
It took every ounce of willpower I had in order to walk away from Bella and Claire and get back to Mexico and finish the last week and a half out with Carlisle and Esme. Whatever was going on with Bella seemed to have worked itself out. She was still sad to see me go, but she didn't break down in tears like she did at the airport...thank God. If she did, I may have just cancelled the rest of the trip and stayed with her.
And even though I missed them like hell, I was happy that I'd come back and worked with Carlisle in the clinic. I got back to doing what I loved. I examined patient after patient, and even had a man come in with his son who'd fallen off a tire swing and broken both his radius and his ulna. Besides charting, there wasn't a fucking paper in sight that needed to be filled out, filed, faxed, or mailed.
It was great.
Which made me realize, I could do clinical work and still be happy. It wouldn't be nearly as exciting as working the ER; never knowing what the day would bring and feeling that rush of adrenaline as you assessed a patient and then worked as quickly as possible to repair the damage and stabilize them and getting the euphoric high knowing you saved their life, but it made me hopeful that I could find a good balance somewhere.
I just hoped that place was in the Olympic Peninsula.
After a quick goodbye to my parents, I caught my flight back to Seattle and was met by Seth at the airport. I got home and as soon as I walked in the door, I headed straight for the bedroom and crawled in the bed. I laid on Bella's pillow and pulled out my phone, calling her while I breathed her strawberry-floral scent in, causing the gaping hole in my chest to flare up and catch fire.
"Hi!" she said excitedly into the phone.
"Hi. I just got home," I said, smiling at the sound of her voice.
"Oh, I wish I was there," she pouted.
"Four more days and you will be. And then we have your ultrasound the week after that."
"I know. It's coming up so quickly," she breathed.
"Are you excited?"
"Yes," she giggled. "Are you?"
"Very," I answered. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm going in to work tomorrow."
"Why? You're supposed to have tomorrow and Friday off!"
"I know, but I've got some stuff I need to catch up on. I may hate my job, but I'm not going to let the ER go to shit."
"And that is why you got the job in the first place." She sighed. "I miss you, baby."
"I miss you too, love."
She was silent for a beat. "No, I mean I miss you."
I chuckled. "Okay..." I had no idea what she meant.
"These hormones are about to freaking kill me! I thought it was bad before, but now that I've hit the second trimester, all I think about is sex!"
Oh. I'm a fucking idiot.
"Well, that's probably a good thing," I told her. "Because most likely, the closer we are to meeting the babies, the more uncomfortable you'll be. We can get it all out of the way now," I joked.
She laughed. "Yeah, if only I was home right now."
I cleared my throat, unsure of how she would react to my next statement. "You don't have to be home to do something about it, you know."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we're on the phone...both of us are thinking about it..." I could feel my dick harden as I spoke. "We both have hands..."
"Oh, I don't know," she said quickly. "I'm not sure I could do that."
"It was just a thought."
No matter what, I knew what I'd be doing before I went to sleep. There was no way I'd be able to sleep until I got some sort of release. Not since she so innocently told me how in the mood she was.
I could almost hear her chewing on her lip. "Well, okay. I've got to try something." I could hear the sheets rustle in the background. "I'm miserable here. So, how do we do this?"
I laughed. "Seriously, love? You don't know how phone sex works?"
"Well, I mean, I get the gist of it, but I..." I could imagine her blush which only made my little problem not so little anymore.
I knew exactly how to start. "Are you blushing?" I asked lowly.
"Yeah," she said shyly.
"I love watching you blush," I murmured. "If I was with you, I'd run my thumbs across it before I kissed your perfect mouth."
She moaned softly. "What else would you do?"
I fumbled with my jeans and pushed them down with my boxers. "I'd take your clothes off and run my hands all over your naked body. You are so fucking gorgeous," I said, spitting into my palm and sliding my hand down my rock hard dick. "Bella? Can you touch yourself for me?"
"Oh, God," she whimpered.
If she kept making noises like that, I was going to come any second now.
"Tell me what you're doing."
She moaned. "I'm putting my fingers inside me and rubbing," she gasped," my clit with the palm of my hand. I wish it was you," she said breathlessly.
"Oh, fuck, I wish it was me, too." I pumped my dick in my hand. "I wish it was your hand on me instead of mine. No," I corrected, "I wish it was your mouth." She moaned again. "Watching you wrap your lips around me is so fucking hot," I said hoarsely.
"Uh," she groaned. "Edward, I want you."
"Are you wet, Bella?"
"Um-hmm," she sighed. "So wet."
"If I were there, I'd be sucking on you. I love the way you taste." She started moaning loudly into the phone and I knew she was close. "Are you going to come, Bella? Let me hear you," I rasped.
I pictured her fingers dipping inside her over and over while the glistening wetness spread as she moaned loudly into the phone. She started breathing heavily over the phone and my hand involuntarily sped up with the sound.
"Edward, I'm-" She broke off and cried out as her orgasm over took her.
I moved my hand faster as I thought of the way she felt around me when we made love and started bucking my hips up into my hand. Within seconds I felt the hot liquid shoot out over my fingers as I came violently, roaring her name as I did.
"Jesus, Bella," I said, panting.
"That didn't take us long," she said with a laugh.
"No, it didn't. I guess we both needed that," I said, chuckling breathlessly.
"Must have."
I looked down at my hand. "I guess I need to hop in the shower now," I said reluctantly.
"Okay," she said sadly.
"I'll call you tomorrow. Tell Claire I miss her and I love her."
I heard the smile in her voice when she responded. "I will. I love you."
"I love you."
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I worked all day at my desk, trying to catch up on everything that had piled up over the last two weeks. I had just sent out a mass e-mail regarding some change in hospital policy that I was instructed to inform everyone about, when the intercom on my phone buzzed.
"Dr. Cullen," I answered.
"We could really use your help down here," Keisha said over the intercom.
"What's coming in?"
"Damn. I dunno. Somethin' about a grocery store gettin' robbed and a shoot out between some cops and the idiot who tried to get away. We're short-handed down here and the waitin' room is full of folks with the flu."
I chuckled. "I'll be right there. Make sure all the trauma rooms are ready to go and see if you can't get one of the on-call residents to come in."
"What kind of fool you take me for?" she asked in irritation. "I did all that!"
I shook my head and took off my suit jacket. "Of course you did. Just go make sure there's nothing else that needs to be done while you're waiting for the traumas to come in."
"And what are you plannin' on doin', Dr. Cullen? Makin' us wait till Christmas to come down here? Cause you know, it's only February."
I rolled my eyes. "Keisha, you know how slow the damn elevators are in this place."
"Oh."
I laughed. "I'm on my way. Do you need anything else or are you just talking to me for the hell of it?"
"No." I heard the click as she disconnected on her end.
I made my way down to the ER and saw the entire staff making sure each trauma room was stocked and had crash carts ready. I put on an isolation gown and grabbed a pair of glasses and some gloves.
I stopped at the nurse's station and looked at Keisha. "Your hair's purple today."
She looked up from her paperwork. "Don't like it?"
"No, I like it." I flashed her my best smile.
"Does your wife know you use that panty-droppin' smile of yours a lot?" she asked, cocking her brow.
"Yes, I believe she does. How do you think I managed to get her pregnant again? It's called panty-dropping for a reason."
She laughed loudly, snorting slightly. "You got five minutes."
I went out to the ambulance bay and listened as the sirens approached. I got to the first ambulance and let Tyler and Mike get the man out of the ambulance before asking questions.
"What have we got?" I asked, taking the chart Tyler had started.
"GSW to the chest. Approximate down time five to eight minutes. No pulse or pressure when we arrived on the scene, pupils were fixed and dilated. Started CPR and placed lines. Driver's license says his name is John Hawthorne, age twenty-four. Police have already notified his family," Tyler rattled everything off efficiently.
"Okay, get him in Trauma One. " I followed behind them and took Mike's place performing CPR. "Someone start ventilation and get a unit of O neg going!" I called out.
Jessica came over with the mask and gave Mike a huge grin, never once looking at the patient.
"Miss Stanley!" I snapped. "Quit eye-fucking your boyfriend and get to work!"
"S-sorry," she stammered, starting ventilation.
I had one of the interns take my place as I began examining the man. He had no breath sounds to the right side of his chest due to the obvious hemothorax he received when taking the bullet.
"Still no pulse, Dr. Cullen," Dr. Allen stated.
I grabbed a syringe and gave the man an anesthetic intravenously and got an ETT and a laryngoscope from the cart. I motioned for everyone to stop what they were doing as I checked the monitor and then almost pushed Jessica out of the way .
"I need to intubate and then I need to get a chest tube in."
I moved the man's head up so that I had easier access to his airway and used the scope to place the tube. I gently pushed the tube in his throat and pulled the scope out, reaching over and attaching a self-inflating bag to the tube.
I then got everything out for a chest tube. "Hold compressions," I instructed, listening to the monitor's steady sound indicating he still had no pulse.
I quickly made a passage and inserted the tube, watching the blood practically gush out of the tube once I'd entered the pleural space.
"Start compressions."
I gave him a round of epi and atropine while having Jessica charge the crash cart. She held out the paddles once they were charged and I took them from her, maneuvering around Dr. Allen's fisted hands and putting them in position.
"Clear!" I yelled, shocking him once Dr. Allen's hands were out of the way.
The monitor beeped erratically for a moment, before settling into a rapid sinus rhythm.
"BP's one eighty-three over one oh six, pulse is one twenty. Get him to surgery." I ripped my gloves and gown off and looked around the destroyed room. "Nice work everyone. Only took nine minutes."
Too bad he probably won't make it through the surgery.
I walked out of the room and made sure that all the other patients were stabilized. Once I'd checked in on all of them, I walked over to the nurse's station and waited for Keisha to turn around.
"You called me down here for one trauma?"
She shook her head and smiled sweetly. "I called you down for that," she said, pointing towards the waiting room.
I went over and looked out the door, seeing the waiting room overflowing with patients. I ran my hand through my hair and turned around.
"Shit," I muttered.
"Yep," she said back.
"Better get started, " I sighed.
"Yep," she repeated.
I weeded my way through the waiting patients, seeing the people who described symptoms of more serious conditions first and working my way down to the minor lacerations and sprains. Before I knew it, it was almost ten.
I got to the chart of a little boy exhibiting signs of influenza and looked up at the clock. They'd been waiting for just under an hour. I knew that there were still a few on the list that technically had priority over him, but he was so close in age to Claire that I went on ahead and had one of the nurses bring him back.
I took care of a couple other patients before going into curtain three to examine the little boy and was met with the fiery red-haired boy and his mother, causing a wave a familiarity to wash over me.
"Hello," I looked down at the chart, "James. I'm Dr. Cullen. Do you feel bad?"
He nodded and looked over at his mother with his big blue eyes.
"What are his main symptoms?" I asked her, looking over at her for the first time.
She looked at me nervously for a moment before snapping out of it. "Um, he's been running a fever and had chills since yesterday. Tonight he started puking and he says his head hurts." He coughed. "And he has a cough."
"Did you give him any ibuprofen or any other fever reducer before bringing him in?" She nodded. "He most likely has the flu. I want to run a test to see which flu virus he has. Normally, I would put a swab in his nose for the sample, but since he's so little, I'm not even going to try it. I'd imagine he'd react the way my eighteen-month old daughter would," I said with a smile. "So, I'm going to aspirate instead. I'll need you to hold his head for me."
She put her hands on each side of his head while I aspirated his left nostril and then put the sample in a tube. He screamed at me anyway, and of course I felt like an asshole for doing that to him. I sent the sample to the lab and worked on clearing the waiting room out some more while I waited for the results.
Once the results came in, I went back into curtain three and found James sleeping soundly in his mother's arms.
"He tested positive for influenza A. He's awfully young, did his doctor not recommend that he get a flu shot?"
"He, uh, he doesn't have a pediatrician anymore. His doctor moved and I just never found another one." She still seemed nervous.
"Okay." What else could I say? "I'm going to prescribe Tamiflu for both of you. It will treat James' flu and will prevent you from catching it." I quickly wrote out James' prescription. "What's your name?"
"Oh, I, uh..." I looked at her evenly. "I don't need it."
"Unless you want to spend another, what? Hundred and fifty dollars to come back and see me in a few days, I suggest you take the prescription." I smiled politely.
What the hell was wrong with this girl?
"Victoria," she said in a small voice.
I started to write down her name and froze. My head snapped up and looked at her. "You're the one who told the press about my wife and I were expecting again."
"Yeah," she squeaked. "Um, congratulations?"
What the fuck?
"Why?" I demanded.
"I needed the money. Obviously," she said, motioning down to James. "Thank you for not getting me fired."
"Actually, it was your employer who kept you from getting fired. I merely told her that as long as she kept our files locked up out of our reach and you were never working on the days that my wife has appointments, it should be fine."
"Oh." She looked around the room. "You don't remember me, do you?"
I sighed. "Your hair seems familiar," I said honestly. "Should I remember you from somewhere?"
"I guess it doesn't surprise me. You were pretty busy that day." My brows knit in confusion.
She got up, slowly laying James down and pulled up the side of her shirt, exposing a small scar, similar to one made from a chest tube insertion.
"You were in a car wreck a couple years ago and were brought here," I said as I remembered working on her. "You almost died."
"Yeah. You saved me. And look how I repaid you. I really am sorry. If I could take it back, I would," she said in a rush.
"You never said you were pregnant. I could have done something that day to..." I trailed off as I looked at James.
"I didn't know. I didn't find out until a couple weeks later. It was too early to show up on any tests." She moved closer to me. "You saved my life and his life. Thank you."
"I was just doing my job. And there's no need to thank me, if I recall, I couldn't save his father." I ran my hand through my hair.
"No. But he was too far gone by the time he got to the hospital. Look, I know I said I'm sorry once already for telling the press about your new baby. Well, babies, I hear. But I truly am." She gave me a small smile. "Is there any way I can make it up to you?"
"Probably not."
"Fair enough." She held out her hand for the prescriptions. "I'll get out of your ER now. Thanks again."
I numbly handed her the slips of paper and watched her scoop up James and leave. She turned and opened her mouth to say something before quickly changing her mind and ducking behind the curtain.
I had no idea what it was I was feeling. On one hand, I was extremely pleased that Victoria was doing so well, but on the other, I was still pretty pissed off for what she did, especially given the knowledge that she was doing it to the doctor she just expressed her gratitude for saving her life to.
And I had no idea how it came about that this woman just so happened to get a job at Bella's obstetrician's office. Was it a coincidence? Or not?
I looked back in the direction that she went. Something told me I hadn't seen the last of her.
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Bella
"Come on, come on," I muttered, bouncing my foot up and down rapidly.
After what felt like an entire twenty-four hours of airtime, we finally landed at Sea-Tac airport. Claire was fast asleep in my arms and I was just sitting there, waiting impatiently for someone--anyone--to let me up so I could get the hell off the plane.
After Edward left Minneapolis, I managed to get back to usual self, breathing in the slightly achy breaths I was accustomed to when we were apart. But now that I was so close to him, I knew just how much I'd really missed him. That even though I'd kept myself busy and focused on the signings, readings, and Claire, it was all just a ruse. My entire body seemed to sense Edward's nearness, going into overdrive. I could feel my heart hammering loudly in my throat, threatening to beat out of my chest and find its way to its keeper.
The babies reacted to my anxiousness. I felt the distinct fluttering of them moving around excitedly, like popcorn popping low in my stomach. I pressed my free hand to my stomach and tried to feel something. After a few minutes, I felt a extremely light nudge against the palm of my hand. My face broke out into a wide smile. I couldn't wait to see if Edward could feel something.
Finally, everyone got off the plane and I slowly got up, adjusting Claire so that she was on my shoulder and walked to the jetway. After getting off the plane, I forced myself to walk--not run--to the baggage claim.
I came out of the terminal and frantically looked around, desperate to see his glorious face. Like in some cheesy movie, the crowd parted and there he stood, giving me a lopsided smile. As soon as our eyes met, I felt whole. Every part of me instantly calmed in his presence.
And then I completely freaked out.
I almost squealed audibly as I hurried over to him, feeling as if I'd burst into a million pieces with the joy I felt rushing through my body. I beamed at him and threw us in his arms, breathing in his intoxicating scent and feeling completely and totally at home.
"Hi," I breathed, still beaming.
"Hi," he said back. "You look pregnant now." He piercing green eyes danced with joy.
"I look like a fat cow."
"Not a chance. To look like a fat cow, you need to actually have fat, love. You look incredible." He leaned down, kissing me gently. He pulled back and ran his nose against mine. "I missed you. Home just isn't the same without you two."
"I missed you, too."
"So, how are my four favorite people in the world?" he asked, cupping my face with his hand.
I felt myself lean in to him. "Well, I'm much better now. Claire will be better once she gets her nap out and the other two have been moving around like crazy since we got back. So, I guess that would mean that they're happy to see you, too."
"Good," he smirked. "I'd hate to think they didn't want to see their daddy." He moved his hand and cupped the curve of my stomach. "I wish I could feel them," he whispered longingly.
"Give them a few minutes. You will," I promised.
He knit his brows and stood still, keeping his hand in the same spot. The babies moved around furiously in my stomach while I waited nervously for one of them to kick the right spot.
His head snapped up and he beamed at me. "I think I just felt one of them."
"Yeah?" He nodded. "Soccer players," I said with a wink.
"Must be," he murmured. He leaned down, pressing his lips to mine and parting my lips, slowly sliding his tongue in my mouth. "God, I missed your taste," he said breathlessly. A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he sighed. "And the moment's over." He abruptly stood up and motioned for me to give him Claire.
We slowly exchanged our holds on her and he worked her sleeping face into the crook of his neck. I looked around and noticed a few people had cameras and phones out, taking pictures of us.
"Well, damn," I whispered in annoyance.
"Tell me about it. They're all over the place outside," he muttered. "Let's go get your bags and go home. Where we can be alone."
We grabbed my suitcases and battled the swarm of photographers that were waiting for us outside.
"You think Jane told them we'd be here today?" I asked Edward quietly.
"Jane? Really?" he laughed.
I shrugged and squeezed in between two guys in front of me. "Well, it is part of her job, you know."
"Maybe. I guess it doesn't matter. They'll be all over us until the twins are born, whether someone tells them anything or not." He took my suitcase from me and put it in the back of the car.
"Probably," I agreed.
Edward carefully backed out of the parking space, maneuvering around the photographers that surrounded us and cursed quietly.
"Why don't they get the hell out of the way?" he yelled. "I'm going to run over feet soon if they don't back off."
I giggled. "Occupational hazard."
He glanced over at me and grinned crookedly. "Guess so." He paused for a second. "So, I was thinking about getting a new car."
"What? You love this car!"
We finally managed to get out of the parking garage. "I know. But there's no way it'll hold three car seats. You'll probably need something a little bigger, too."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "I don't want another car, Edward! I like my car!"
He looked out the windshield thoughtfully. "Well, I guess I could take your car and you can get something else. Regardless, the Volvo has to go."
I looked at him warily. "What kind of car were you thinking of?"
"An Escalade ESV. You know, the ones that are the size of Suburbans?"
My mouth gaped open for a moment before I snapped it shut. "I'm not driving a freaking tank!"
He chuckled. "Then I'll drive it."
"We don't need something that big," I argued. "There are five of us and five seats in my car. You can get something like that."
"Well, I could. It'll work for now. But I know how you are. You're not going to want to buy vehicles every time we turn around and as the kids get older, we'll need something bigger. More space for all the shit they accumulate and eventually for friends. Besides, there's something I haven't talked to you about yet."
"What?" I asked warily.
He chuckled. "It's nothing bad. But when I said that Carlisle was retiring, I forgot to mention that he and Esme are buying a house in Forks. So we'll need a large family vehicle to be able to drive back and forth every now and then. Something that can hold all five of us and our luggage comfortably."
"They're buying a house in Forks? Which one?" I asked disbelievingly.
"I don't know. It was a big, white house in the woods somewhere," he answered uncertainly.
"Sounds like the mayor's old house."
He nodded. "So, do we agree then? Escalade? I really don't see any other option unless you'd like to drive a minivan around town." He gave me a dazzling smile.
Ew, minivan. No.
I hated it when he used his watertight logic on me. "Fine," I grumbled.
We got home and I went to our bedroom to unpack while Edward and Claire played in the living room. I could hear him running around, growling playfully and chasing her while she squealed uncontrollably. He caught up with her and started tickling her, making her giggle loudly. I caught myself occasionally laughing at them while I finished putting my toiletries away.
I finally finished and took a deep breath, grimacing at how sore my back suddenly was. I went into the living room and watched Edward help Claire with counting, trying to teach her that seven did not come after three. Edward looked over at me and frowned, putting Claire down and coming over to me.
"What's the matter?" he asked worriedly.
"Nothing. What do you want for dinner?" I asked. My hand involuntarily went to my back and started rubbing.
"Oh, no. You're not cooking anything." He moved around to my back and started massaging my lower back. I moaned at how good it felt. "You're going to lay down and let me figure it out."
"But-"
He cut me off. "There's no sense in overdoing it, Bella. The last thing you need to do is hurt yourself. Not only that, but if you keep it up I can guarantee your feet will start swelling and your stomach will start cramping up." His hands snaked around my waist. "Now get on that couch and don't move until I tell you otherwise." I could feel his smile against my neck.
I laid on the couch and watched The Wiggles with Claire while Edward got dinner ready.
Claire came over to me and flashed me her little teeth. "What you wan eat, Mommy?" She finally managed to say 'mommy' correctly now.
"Are you making me dinner, baby?" I asked, grinning back at her. She nodded. "Okay, Mommy wants some pizza. Do you have pizza in your kitchen?"
"Izza!" She took off towards her little kitchen and started rattling things around, throwing aside the food she didn't want before she finally found it. "Here is!" she squealed.
I took the pizza from her and pretended to take a bite. "Yummy. That's good, Claire. Thank you."
"Your welc."
Edward came in from the kitchen and handed me my cell phone. "Jane," he whispered before walking away.
"Hey, Jane," I said pleasantly.
"Bella! I know you just got home, but I couldn't wait to share the good news with you," she said excitedly.
"Um, okay. What is it?"
"Paramount wants to turn Defying Gravity into a movie!" she exclaimed. "They've already drawn up all the paperwork and sent it over. They want you and your publisher to both sign your approval to let them turn it into a screenplay and start filming by the end of the year."
"Really?" I asked giddily, as the excitement bubbled up in my chest. "This is great! Can you mail everything to the house so I can look at it?"
"Sure. I'll get it out first thing in the morning. Talk to you later."
I put the phone down and looked over at Edward, who was standing in the doorway, grinning at me.
"Good news?" he questioned.
"Paramount wants to turn my first book into a movie," I said, beaming.
His eyebrows shot up and his face lit up with his answering smile. "That's great! Congratulations, love."
"Thanks."
My book was going to be a movie.
Victoria will be popping up occasionally in the story...but not as a crazy person (God knows I've had enough of those writing SN). More of a nuisance. And if you ready Defying Gravity, you'll know that she was only 18 in that story...meaning she's not an actual RN....
