A/N: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, not me. I've typed that phrase 14 times and only now realized that you could infer the meaning: Stephenie Meyer doesn't own me. Hahahahaha. Well, she doesn't, but I meant I don't own Twilight. I guess I should rethink that sentence, no?

I lifted another quote from the book and fit in the idea/some of the quote. Can you find it?

Chapter 14: O Come All Ye Faithful

Our dinner date was fantastic; a perfect meal and fabulous conversation, but my favorite part of the night was the dancing. Bella was reluctant to try because she felt she was too clumsy. Not only did I prove her wrong, leading her around the dance floor was a heady experience. The way we moved together was virtually indescribable. It was more than instinct. Her body affected mine, and mine affected hers. She was like my Earth, and I orbited her like a moon in synchronous revolution. There was something almost magical about it.

She was stunning in her sapphire dress with her long hair flowing down her back. Her grace and beauty captured the attention of every man in the restaurant. I couldn't blame them for noticing, but instead of feeling jealous or possessive, I just felt lucky to be the guy she'd chosen.

It didn't hurt that I was able to touch her whenever I felt the need, just to remind myself that she was real and mine.

With Bella on my arm, I felt like I could take on the entire world.

When she invited me to go upstairs, I politely refused. She seemed worn out, and I had a sneaking suspicion she only offered because she was putting what she thought were my needs ahead of her own. I didn't want her to think she had put sex on the table to keep me coming around. I enjoyed her company, regardless of what we spent the time doing. The fact that she didn't try very hard to coax me upstairs after I said no, told me my suspicion was probably right.

I was sure I'd done the right thing, until I climbed into my cold, empty bed. Sleeping next to her was a far preferable choice to not being with her at all. If I'd thought to ask her to sleepover, I could have taken care of her and shown her how much I wanted to be with her at the same time. Next time I would do better.

Bella had a friend coming to stay with her for a few days, so we didn't see much of each other for the rest of the week. We exchanged text messages when we could, but even that wasn't easy since I couldn't carry my cell phone on me at work. I missed her terribly after only one day. By the end of seventy-two hours, I was considering climbing through her window while she slept, just so I could see her face. Despite realizing how irrational I was being, the intensity of my longing remained unchanged. She was the only thing I wanted.

As I lay in my bed, exhausted but unable to sleep, it was crystal clear that I was falling for her.

Hard.

~8~

The next morning I left a note taped to her door. It was too early to phone her, plus I knew talking to her would only make the longing to see her more acute. Sure, I could have sent a text or email, but notes were kind of our thing. It just felt right.

If I don't see you today, I think I may die of a broken heart. I'm a doctor, so I know what I'm talking about. Just give me five minutes of face time, please? I'll even promise to keep my hands to myself if that will persuade you. Just be forewarned that the previously delineated condition does not include my lips. It's been eighty-seven hours since I kissed you. You wouldn't deny a dying man a kiss, would you?

I was anxious and irritable waiting for her to respond. I even broke protocol and kept my damn phone on me all day, so I'd be able to get her reply instantly. It just didn't come. Halfway through the day, I went ahead and called her but got no answer. Three texts and an email later—I was nothing if not thorough—I was going out of my mind. In some ways I think it's natural to be kind of cynical in a situation like this, to assume the worst when you have no idea why someone isn't getting back to you, but I'd taken it to new levels. In my mind, she'd packed up and left town, never to be heard from again.

Since procrastinating wasn't my style, I decided to track her down and make her talk to me after work. If she'd changed her mind about us, I'd rather rip off the bandage in one fast, painful pull.

Time was dragging by, so I hit the Starbucks across the street. Caffeine was probably the worst thing I could ingest in my already anxious state, but I needed the distraction. My coffee was half-gone by the time I made it back to the doctor's lounge. The rest disappeared in long sips as I stared out the window and tried to mentally prepare for my conversation with Bella.

"Cullen, are you going back on the floor when your break's done or would you rather write summaries?" I turned around and saw Dr. Hayes staring expectantly at me.

"Whichever," I answered noncommittally. "Why?"

"I'd rather take the floor, if you don't mind," she answered.

"Suit yourself. Just tell Gerandy so he knows what we're both doing." She nodded and left.

I grabbed the stack of folders from the nurses' station and brought them back to the lounge, prepared to drown in charts for the next couple of hours. Luckily I was good at picking out the details that my attending found important, so helping him prepare for his portion of weekly Grand rounds was an easy task.

A few minutes later, I was caught off guard when two warm hands cover my eyes. I'd been so engrossed in reading that I hadn't heard the door open.

"Miss me?" she whispered.

Between the shock of her unexpected appearance and my fear about why she'd stayed away in the first place, I panicked and lashed out at her. "I don't know what would have given you that idea. Oh, that's right: the fact that I spent the whole fucking day trying to get a hold of you."

Her hands dropped from my face instantly. I whipped my head around to look at her, noticing the way she paled when our eyes met.

"I'm sorry I missed your call and texts."

"I've been going crazy, Bella. How hard would it have been to send me one quick text? Even if it was just to say you'd get in touch with me later."

"I drove Angie to the airport so she could catch her flight and while we were waiting-"

"Obviously I mistook this thing between us for something more serious than it is. At least it was serious for me…"

"You think you're alone in this?" she asked acrimoniously, her expression hard. "That's rich, Edward. Yeah, I don't feel a thing for you. I snuck around for the past two weeks planting notes and gifts, all but begging you to notice I was even alive, but I don't care for you at all."

I knew she was being sarcastic, but her words still stung. I guess underneath all my bravado, I was afraid this was all one big sexual game to her.

"I'm sorry, that didn't come out right." I tried to take her hand, but she pulled it out of my reach. It was nothing less than I deserved for yelling at her the way I had, but I didn't like it. "It's just that we haven't really talked much the past few days, and when you didn't get back to me, I panicked and assumed you were avoiding me. It was stupid." I scrubbed my face with my hand, feeling like a moron for letting my fear of losing Bella corrupt my sense of reasoning.

"Angie and I got our phones mixed up. She didn't realize she had mine until after she boarded her flight. She called me right away, but I was driving, so I didn't answer. I realized I had the wrong phone as soon as I got home and tried to retrieve the message. So I drove back to the airport to exchange phones with her, and waiting with her for the next flight seemed like the least I could do, since she missed her flight for me."

"Oh, fuck," I muttered.

"I only got your messages a little while ago. I didn't text you back because I figured you wouldn't have your phone anyway. I thought coming directly here to see you was a better plan."

"Oh, fuck. I'm such an asshole."

"Why would you think I was avoiding you?" she asked incredulously.

"Temporary insanity?" I joked, hoping to make her laugh and lighten the tense atmosphere. "I wasn't thinking straight. This thing between us is so, so unexpected. It's completely pulled the rug out from under me."

She offered me a tiny smile, but her eyes were still sad. "After everything I've said and done, you can't really believe that you care for me more than I do for you."

"Not exactly, but you seem to be handling things better than me. I wasn't prepared for the intensity, and I guess I was so blinded by it that I couldn't imagine you were feeling as swept away by us as I've felt."

She closed the distance between us, laying her palm on my chest. "So swept away," she whispered.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I never meant to discount your feelings. And I'm a douchebag for yelling at you."

"You are," she agreed with a grin. "But I know a way you can make it up to me."

She fisted my shirt and pulled me towards her waiting mouth. The ninety-five hours without her melted away the moment our lips connected, replaced by relief and elation and peace and desire and so many other positive emotions.

I was in over my head, but I wasn't alone. She was right there with me.

Scrubs made for easy access, and Bella came prepared with condom number five tucked safely in the pocket of her skirt. As it turned out, denim skirts made for easy access too. I was thankful for lockable doors, my girlfriend's ability to forgive her situationally insane boyfriend, and the skill of muffling screams with my mouth. Even more, I was grateful for her—for every little bit she gave and all of the things she accepted, her understanding and patience, her never-ending kisses—for finally getting more than five minutes of face time with her, for having someone to miss so much that it made me lose all sense, and for our fragile but unbroken hearts.

A/N: Big miss on the update goal. :( I had trouble getting this chapter right.

My old friend Christy emailed me to say hi and mentioned she'd seen the story rec'd at the Perv Pack Smut Shack. Thanks for the recommendation, ladies!

Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing.