Disclaimer: All the Twilight stuff belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just playing in her sandbox.

Chapter 14

EPOV

"It was Monday morning. Dad had asked me to come to the hospital this morning for a couple of consults and to tie up some loose ends. I had not been away from Bella since she had come back to me 10 days ago and I had no desire to be away from her now, but it was the least I could do. Carlisle had arranged nor only for me to have emergency leave last week, but for me to be gone for three more weeks. Three weeks with my wife before I had to be parted from her even long enough to do my shift at the hospital. She was taking this time today to get her affairs in order with her publisher and clear her schedule for the next few weeks as well. Bella was actually ahead on turning in required amounts of the next book, so it would not be a problem for her to take the time off. She insisted that she wanted to bring a laptop, shyly admitting that she thought there would be some amazing views and atmosphere on the island and she needed to write, or at least jot down ideas while she was inspired.

I could give a damn. Fuck all if it mattered to me if she wanted to work, as long as I was with her, wrapped around her reading a book or rubbing her shoulders while she typed . . . I could care less. I was so fucking excited to just be with her that I would take anything she had to offer at this point. The fact that she loved me, wanted us and we were expecting just tickled the shit out of me. I was happier than I had ever been, rivaling the happiest motherfucker on the planet I'd wager.

I parked in my space and headed in, nodding to the folks that I hadn't seen in a week. They must have thought it odd that I wasn't there, hell I was always at the hospital, ever since I had started there I was there almost 24/7 whether it was my shift or not. I slept there half the time. Not now. I had not so much as called in in the last week. I had communicated via Carlisle and consulted with him on a few cases using the computer at my house, but nothing too time consuming.

Carlisle had told the staff that I was out on emergency leave and had not elaborated to any of them except to tell them that I was physically fine, just taking care of something important. Damned right it was important, more important than anything ever had been as far as I was concerned. Though it was a small town, I had no contact for the last week with any of the people I worked with . . . especially Jessica.

She had sent me a couple of texts, asking if I had come to my senses and telling me that she forgave me for being so rude to her, but I had not answered her. In truth, I probably did owe her some explanation. She had spent time with me and put up with me when I was at my lowest point, but on the other hand, she had used my mood to her advantage . . . and I had not put a stop to it. I had allowed the rumor that we were engaged. She had worn my grandmother's ring and I had not embarrassed her by refuting it when people congratulated her in front of me or even when they congratulated me. I had just changed the subject or walked away, letting them think whatever the hell they wanted.

I was so fucking stupid. I should have been stronger, I should have stood up for myself, for my marriage . . .I was just so hurt I could barely function. It wasn't that I didn't have the balls to do it, I just didn't care. At all. Resisting anything, confronting anyone was just not in me. I simply went with the path of least resistance, whatever was the easiest thing to do, whatever caused the least ripples, that was what I did . . . unless it came to sex.

Anything more than a chaste kiss had not occurred and would not occur. Ever. I knew who I loved and I would settle for no less. I had given my word when we were married, my word that I would love her and be faithful and for whatever reason, the damned vows stuck . . . unbreakable . . . and all alone in the quiet of night I could admit to myself that I didn't want to break them, I just wanted her.

I headed to Carlisle's office first to check in with him. The shift had not started yet and I knew that, though it was early, he would be there quietly going over his case load.

"Edward, come in, son," my father greeted me, rising from his desk and coming round to give me a hug, "Nice to see you back here. I think the entire hospital missed you, you've become a fixture around here in just the few months you've been here with me."

"Thanks, Dad. I can't say that I've missed anything this last week, the hospital included," I said with a smile, my Dad's answering snicker telling me he understood, "But I do enjoy working here with you."

"I'm just so happy for you, son. You know," Carlisle said, "after our talk . . . when you first told me the story of getting married and moving to New York together and then her leaving, I went back and looked up all my old files on her. Hell, son, I even looked up the hospital records for accidents and emergency visits, you know how accident prone she used to be, to see if I could get her address."

"Dad!"

"I know, I know. Hipaa. But I thought if I pulled the files, being her doctor of record in the past, that I could call her, contact her in some way and try to persuade her to contact you. I told you that I would help you find her, son, and that's what I was trying to do but there was nothing. I ran into her father, Chief Swan, a time or two in emergency when he would bring in some prisoner for testing or after an injury, but he would give me nothing. Every time I asked about her he would just say she was doing fine and change the subject, not even a hint about where she was or what she was doing.

"Well I have her now Dad, and I really appreciate that you understood and that you were trying to help. I knew if I could just find her that it could all be explained away . . . I knew she loved me and I damned sure knew I loved her.

We both smiled at each other and Dad patted me on the back a few times, going to his desk to pick up a couple of his files.

"What"s on the agenda?" I asked as he handed me a list of patients.

"I need you to check out the Thompson boy in the Nicu, he was born six weeks early and there are some issues. He's the one you consulted with me on last week and there is a Carolyn Maddox in labor and delivery. She's almost 8 weeks early and they are having no success so far stopping the contractions. I need an assessment from you and if I can't get her labor stopped I'll need you for the delivery in order to give that baby every chance we can", he shook his head, then went on to say, "they are a young couple, third attempt at having a child. She stayed in bed and followed every directive so far, very easy to work with."

"Damn.," I said out loud without even noticing it while I looked at her chart, "Why the hell do the little ones have to be so impatient to get out here? They are so much better off when we can keep them in Mom till the last minute. I'll go check her now, maybe there is something I can come up with that will help."

"By all means. Let me know after you assess her, I should still be here but just use my cell, the hospital paging is slower." Dad laughed knowing that I, of course, had his private number.

"Dr. Cullen," several of the nurses nodded as I left his office and headed for delivery. They were certainly snickering about something. Damned hospital gossip. Wonder what it was this time, Dr. John Doe was banging nurse Jane Doe, blah blah blah. It was always someone doing someone, or doing someone wrong. Whatever, I had not been concerned with the idle gossip in the past and now my life had no room for anything but Bella and maybe a splash of family and work . . . maybe.

The Maddox's were in delivery looking like their world was shattering . . . again, from what I knew of their history. I checked everything. Every possible thing I could think of. Of course I did that with every case, each child was precious and deserved every chance . . . but I looked at everything twice this time desperately trying to help these parents. The baby's vitals were good, he was obviously a fighter and I was determined to give him and the drugs we were giving him to help develop his lungs, a fighting chance. I worked with them for several hours achieving some small success in stopping the contractions intensity and frequency. Things seemed to be calming down and the pregnancy was still intact. It would just be a waiting game. Every day, every hour that we kept the baby in the Mom his chances of survival rose.

I returned the chart to the nurses desk. "Congratulations Dr. Cullen," Mrs. Cope said as I handed it to her. She was a dear, one of those charge nurses that had been there forever and a vital part of making this unit function as a whole.

"Thanks. Still touch and go though, but we'll hope for the best. Let me know if there is any change in Mrs. Maddox, use my cell directly, I'll be around the rest of the afternoon", I told her as I headed to the Nicu to visit the Thompson baby.

I loved my job, absolutely fucking loved helping tiny innocent babies to survive, giving them a chance. My being here, in this profession and good at my job was entirely due to Bella. She had wanted me to continue, to become a doctor. Not just any doctor, she had wanted me to excel in my specialty. I hadn't realized, nor had she, that my field of interest would turn to pediatrics . . . to babies in specific. It was obvious, of course, that it had been Jaymee-Rose that had done it. I was obsessed with the months of pregnancy as it related to the growth of the child and the immediate health of the baby, post delivery.

Obsessed.

It was like I somehow thought I could get my daughter back if I just learned enough, if I was good enough at what I did. It forced me to be the best, drove me to learn every single thing I could . . . kept me up and going for days without sleep so that I could study and learn, surpassing all my fellow students by sheer determination and will. It was in fact my need not to think - to have not a single fucking moment to consider that Bella was not with me, that she had left. If I worked hard enough, studied long enough, spent enough hours at the hospital both when I was in school and even here, once I had moved home to Forks and started working with my father, I could almost fool myself into thinking that I was just at work, just studying. I could ignore that there was nothing else for me, nothing at home for me. After all, I was at the hospital doing what Bella had wanted me to do and somehow it . . . got me through.

I walked to the desk and asked for the chart, flipping through it to make sure I was up to date on everything that had transpired since I did the consult with Carlisle last week. It was difficult to separate the need for the twins that I had fathered to survive with the desire to help the Thompson baby. He was the surviving twin . . . the one who lived out of the two babies that were born. Twins were routinely born early and one was almost always larger, sometimes significantly larger than the other and this was no different. The little boy had made it so far and I wanted to help him continue to breath in and out with the least amount of energy expanded from him so that he could use his strength to grow and become stronger.

One of my favorite nurses, Angela, was on duty and caring for the baby when I walked into the nicu. I immediately felt comforted that the baby was getting every possible attention, as I knew her to be an excellent nurse, one of the very best on staff. She was a friend, well, as much of a friend as I allowed anyone to be. She was kind and caring and she and I had coffee occasionally when we found ourselves in the lounge or cafeteria together. I wondered for a moment if Bella would enjoy her company, we would probably be inviting friends over at some point or going out to dinner with them and I thought of Angela first on my list of people that I would like my wife to meet.

I made some notes, did an assessment and left orders on the chart. The baby was doing well and I saw no problems arising which I knew would be a relief to both his parents and my father.

"Angela, here's the Thompson chart. The baby is progressing nicely, good work with him," I said casually, "You're really good with the little ones."

"Thank you, Doctor. I hear congratulations are in order," she said, smiling at me as we stood at the nurses station.

"Congratulations for what, the Maddox's labor? A little too early to tell on that one, but I'm hopeful," I responded, not knowing how the hell she knew about that. Then again, it was a small hospital and there were few secrets.

"No, not the labor or babies. I mean on your marriage," she said nodding to the ring on my finger, "We all knew you wore a wedding ring when you first came here, but everyone soon realized that you apparently just wore it to keep the girls away. Smart move. It seemed to mostly work for you, that is until Jessica got you to take it off and you got engaged."

Realization dawned on me. It was a small town and a relatively small hospital. They all thought I had been engaged to Jessica. Shit. I needed to fix this and fix it now.

"You and Jessica both being away on personal leave last week was kind of a dead give away though, especially with that ring back on your finger now," she chided me.

Fuck. I suppose Angela was the best place to start.

"How about getting a cup of coffee with me, Angela?" I asked.

"Excellent timing, as ever. I was just going on my break," she said, "let me tell Sara I'll be out for a few minutes."

I stood there waiting for her, reeling in my own damned stupid fucking inability to have put a stop to the Jessica thing months ago. Now it was an issue and what never was had turned into a rumor and rumors in a hospital spread like wildfire. I wondered briefly why the hell Jessica hadn't been at work last week . . . had she really been that upset from walking in on Bella and I that Saturday morning? She couldn't have been in love with me, I had never returned any of her advances, or any feelings for her. Fuck. I used to love that the Edward Cullen could dampen the underwear of any woman with only a glance, but not anymore. There was only one woman that I cared to affect that way . . . and I did. Angela walked up to me, rousing me from my musings.

We walked to the lounge which, thankfully was empty. I got us both coffee and we went to sit on the sofa by the window.

"Angela. I need you to know something about me. You are probably the closest thing I have to a friend here in the hospital. I say it that way because I haven't been very open to making friends, hell I haven't even been very nice to staff," I said to her.

"You have never been rude to me, Doctor," she added quietly.

"Edward. Please, call me Edward," I asked her.

"Edward then. You have just seemed professional and here to do a job, not gossip and chat like the others. I admire that," Angela told me, "I remember that you were like that when you were in college here."

That's where I knew her from. Damn, she had been in some of my classes before I moved to New York.

"I thought you seemed familiar, Angela. I didn't remember you from college, I'm sorry," I added.

"That's exactly what I mean. You were focused, although . . . you seemed focused on having a good time back then," she snickered, looking down at her coffee and seeming embarrassed that she had just said that.

"I certainly was. It was all about me back then," I laughed, "I thought I hung the moon and everything revolved around me. I had no fucking clue!"

"Well, being away in the big city seemed to cure that. It takes a lot of dedicating to achieve what you have in such a short amount of time, I know your father is extremely proud of you."

"He is. He has always been there for me, but I own everything that I am today to my wife," I said, studying her carefully as I said it to see how she was going to react.

"Huh. I didn't think you had been together that long. Jessica just started working here before Christmas. She must have had quite an effect on you," Angela half smirked at me. She was smiling and obviously happy for me. Apparently she did not know Jessica very well.

"Angela, you are the very first person I have told this to and you may well be the only person I am going to tell. I was never engaged to Jessica. She assumed that all by herself and wore my grandmother's ring only because she put it on to admire it when my Mom gave it to me," I told her. She looked astonished.

"You were never engaged to her? But you stopped wearing your wedding ring, you and she went out . . .", I stopped her short.

"I was so fucking distraught over something else in my life, so nearly incapacitated by it, I wrongly allowed Jessica to say whatever the hell she wanted. I didn't care enough to dispute anything and I took the path of least resistance. If she kept nagging me to go to dinner or a movie, I went and she hushed. I only ever kissed her chastely, and then it was her kissing me, never the other way around. I have always been faithful to my wife."

I studied her even more closely now, letting my words sink in. Angela finally looked up at me, her head cocked to one side and a question on her lips.

"Your wife?" she asked.

"Yes. I was married when I was 21 years old, before I left for New York and I have always remained faithful to her", Angela looked as though she would burst with a million questions, but I continued. "Something happened at Christmas that made me think it was over between us, my wife and I. I took my ring off and word it on a chain around my neck and I allowed Jessica to talk me into going out. There was never an emotional attachment of any kind . . . how could there be," I shrugged my shoulders, "I felt dead inside."

"Edward, I"m so sorry," she said putting a hand on mine to comfort me.

"Thank you", I told her, ducking my head, "but it was my own fault."

"But you seem so happy today and your wedding ring is on your finger. I just assumed that since both of you were unexpectedly away last week that you had gotten married," she told me, still trying to understand.

"Actually, I am the happiest man on the planet," I could not control the goofy grin that I was sure was plastered on my face, "My wife came back to me last Saturday. I had seen her for a day at Christmas, but before that we had been apart for almost five years. I can not imagine any possible way to be happier than I am right now."

I told her some of our story, leaving out some of the details like the fact that Bella had thought she was pregnant and that was the reason for the marriage in the first place. I sure as shit wasn't disclosing intimate details, and I wasn't sure we were ever going to discuss that with anyone. She was almost in tears when I had finished. She seemed so happy for me that she was going to explode.

Before I knew it, her arms we around my neck and I felt her wet tears on my cheek. Of course, that was the moment my wife decided to walk into the lounge. She had brought me lunch as a surprise. I knew my wife was an amazing woman, but her reaction to what she saw told me everything. She came in the lounge after peeking in and seeing me, but what she had seen was just my back and my arms around a brunette, her face buried in my shoulder and her arms around my neck. She knew it was me instantly from the coppery tangled hair, no one else had that mop on their head.

"Sweetheart," she said, never missing a step and placing our lunch on one of the tables near me, "are you alright?"

I noticed that Angela looked mortified, apparently realizing who Bella was from the way she greeted me. She undoubtedly assumed that there would be a huge fight over this, my wife thinking that something was going on with her husband. She couldn't have been more wrong.

I patted Angela on the back reassuringly and stood to greet my wife, hugging her to me and kissing her lips. She wiped the wetness from Angela's tears off my cheek with her knuckles, looking intently into my eyes for an explanation. Her expression was not one of jealous, but of concern. She had just walked in and found me alone, in the arms of another woman and she was fucking worried about me. Damn, I didn't deserve her but I was sure as hell never going to let her down or disappoint her.

"Baby, I'm fine."

She turned to look at Angela.

"Angela, I'd like you to meet my wife, Isabella Cullen. Bella, this is Angela, the absolute best nurse in the Nicu."

Bella held her hand out, at least the one that wasn't wrapped around me and Angela shook it. "Nice to meet you, Angela," she said with a firm, even voice.

"Mrs. Cullen I . . . I want you to know that . . . well we were just . . . ," my wife cut her off.

"Angela, you are under the assumption that I'm upset about seeing you hugging my husband, am I right?" Bella asked her.

"Well, yes . . . aren't you, I mean . . . I can explain," Angela told her.

"No," Bella shook her head, "I trust my husband and I'm sure he'll explain, although he never needs to."

The words no sooner left her lips than mine consumed them. I kissed her passionately. They could sell fucking tickets for all I cared, she was the only thing in my world that truly mattered to me and she just made good on the promise we had made to each other, the only thing I had asked of her - other than that she never leave me again. I recalled the words we had spoken to each other -

When we leave this bed this morning, we never doubt each other again. No matter what. No matter how bad the situation seems, we always give each other the benefit of the doubt. And we will not be parted . . . . . . If I find you standing in the middle of a room, your clothes covered in orange paint and paint all over the walls and floor with a brush in your hand and you say you didn't do it. You didn't do it. Agreed. Forever.

I finally got Angela to calm down and understand that my wife trusted me and I explained to my wife the conversation that Angela and I had just shared. Bella had set out the lunch that she brought for us and offered to share with Angela. She had refused, insisting that we eat our lunch in peace, but Bella had invited her to at least sit at the table with us and have her coffee. I ran through a synopsis of what I had told Angela and Bella's eyes twinkled. I knew what she was thinking but I also knew that she wanted to wait to announce the pregnancy. If today was any indication, just announcing the existence of my wife was going to fucking turn this hospital upside down.

We three chatted and though I could not keep my hands to myself, I at least allowed her use of her lips to talk to Angela as well as eat her lunch. I could see that Angela and Bella were going to be great friends and it made me happy to share some of my life, in whatever form, with my wife. I wanted her to meet everyone while she was here, but I realized that only Angela and Mrs. Cope in delivery were of any consequence to me. I was pulled from my thoughts by a high pitched sound, coming from Angela.

"Hawaii?" she squealed. Bella had told her about our trip, and I explained.

"Carlisle gave me the rest of the month off. I'm just here for a couple of consults, then we are off for the honeymoon I never got to give my wife," I told her as I leaned over to kiss my wife, beaming with joy at sharing our happiness with another person openly.

"Bella, apparently Jessica took off last week as well and when I showed up this morning with a smile on my face and ring on my finger, the apparent assumption was that we got married," I explained.

Angela literally blew coffee from her nose, her surprise was so complete. We both laughed quietly at her, causing her to turn a very strange shade of red. After she had finished cleaning the coffee off her face and the table in front of her, we continued to talk.

"We have no secrets, Angela," Bella told her, "that's one of the reasons that I could walk in here and see you two together and not give it a second thought, except of course to wonder what was wrong. When you tell each other everything and trust each other lots of things are possible and it eliminates so many misunderstands and upsets." She looked at me, stared into my eyes while speaking to Angela, "and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my husbands loves me and is faithful, and I feel the same for him." She was obviously remembering the same conversation that I had remembered just moments ago. Damn I loved this woman.

I smirked, "My wife owns me,Angela, and I like it that way".

Angela just smiled at us, half laughing. We cleaned up our mess from lunch and left the lounge, promising to get together with Angela and her boyfriend, Ben, for dinner when we got back from our trip. I took my wife's hand and walked down the corridor with her, garnering quite a few looks. No one at the hospital had ever seen me touch another person, hold hands, nothing. Apparently I was noticed quite a bit more than I realized . . . or liked.

We got to delivery and Mrs. Cope was behind the desk. Just who I wanted to see. I asked for the Maddox chart and checked the numbers for the last couple of hours that I had been away. Things were looking up and it looked like we wold be able to keep the baby in the Mom for a little longer. That was good news and much needed for the almost parents. I noticed a look from her when I handed her back the chart. Bella was standing behind me, her hand tracing circles absently on my back as she waited for me. I had wanted her to come with me to the nurses station just so that I could introduce her and now was the time.

"Mrs. Cope," I said, gaining her attention from where she was placing the chart back on the patient rack.

"Yes, Doctor?" she quickly responded. I took Bella's hand in mine and put my other arm around her as I spoke."

"I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Isabella Cullen," I said gesturing to the woman beside me, "Bella, this is Mrs. Cope. She actually runs the unit, just don't tell Dad I said that."

"This is your wife?" she said, gesturing to Bella. "Well, I am so very happy to meet you my dear and so very glad that the rumor about you being married to Jessica isn't true. I knew you had better judgment and taste. Nasty young woman that Jessica, full of herself if you don't mind me saying."

Bella and I both could not help but laugh. "No, we don't mind, Mrs. Cope. We just don't want there to be any hard feelings here at work."

"When did all this happen, Dr. Cullen? I thought you just wore that ring to keep the ladies off of you", she allowed with a smile.

"No, actually we have been married for over five years now, my wife has been away," I told her.

"Well, Bella is it?" she asked and Bella nodded, "Off the record, if I were married to a man that looked like he does, I would never let hm up for air, if you know what I mean."

"I absolutely agree," Bella said to her, leaning towards the counter to get closer to her ear as though what she was about to say was a secret, "It's just that his patients probably won't take him seriously if my lips are surgically attached to him! But, I will try my best not to let him breath the next few weeks. Edward is taking me on the honeymoon we never got to have and I'll have him to myself for the next few weeks anyway."

"Congratulations you two," she said again and several of the other nurses that had been standing near and listening congratulated us as well. I hugged Bella to me, hearing something drop behind me. I turned to see the livid face of the next person I was going to have to deal with . . . Jessica.