Tiffany couldn't get something Hannah said out of her mind. When she had returned with Embry the night before, she had said, "you will find someone who loves you." Not 'will love you' but 'who loves you'.
It made her think of the one person she had never been able to forget, even though there had never been anything romantic between them. But he was the one she had always thought of; the one person she had thought she could have had something really good with, had her life been different. But life was what it was and she couldn't redo anything.
She knew she shouldn't be so obsessed with something a child said, but she couldn't help turning over and over in her mind as she tried to focus on her work. What if... She shook it off. It wasn't worth agonizing over; she would probably never see him again anyway.
"Ah, Nurse Call." Tiffany finished scribbling a note on the patient file in her hand before looking up at Dennis Morrow; the hospital director. He was such an ass. But when she saw the person standing next to him she froze in shock.
"I'd like you to meet Dr. Coal. He is taking Dr. Cullen's place. Dr. Coal, I like to introduce you to one of our best nurses, Tiffany Call."
Sooty or Dr. Coal, as Dennis had called him, smiled devilishly as she just gaped at him. Was this some kind of joke? Mr. Morrow's cell phone rang and he pulled it out, checking the caller id. He held up a finger. "I've got to take this. Miss Call, would you be so kind as to show Dr. Coal around?"
She gave him a scathing look. "Of course, it's not like I have patients or anything."
"I'll take over for you," Deena whispered behind her and Tiffany flashed her an ironic look. Deena waved her off with an encouraging smile. If there was one thing she could count on Deena for, it was a continual push into the world of dating and she could almost see the gears turning in her friend's red head, matching Tiffany up with the new Dr. Coal.
Her stomach was jumping with nerves and she just wanted to disappear before she hyperventilated. How could she just be thinking about him, how she would probably never see him again and then he just materializes right in front of her eyes!
"Tiffany!" Deena hissed and Tiffany looked wide eyed at her. Deena waved a finger in Sooty's direction. Tiffany bit her lip and took a deep breath. With a tiny sigh she looked up to Sooty; Dr. Coal, whatever.
"So, what part of our glorious hospital have you already seen?"
"It's nice to see you too, Tiffany," he said with a slow look over her body. She barely kept from shivering at the look in his eyes and merely gave him a bland stare as she started walking briskly. His long legs easily kept stride and she pointed out things as they passed by, never stopping in her whirlwind tour. She didn't stop until they turned down a seldom used corridor and she whirled around to face him.
"Doctor Coal, huh?"
He grinned his killer smile.
"Nurse Call, huh?" He answered back playfully and she narrowed her eyes.
"Tell me how you went from being Sooty to the new doctor at Forks hospital." He narrowed his eyes right back at her with his smile still in place.
"Hmm," he said and cocked his head. "Do you want the truth or just the bullshit answer?" She gave him an incredulous look and he put up his hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay, the truth it is." He suddenly went serious.
"The day I broke that motel room door down and saw that bastard waling on you, I knew that I had to do something better with my life than what I was doing with that group of lowlifes. And when I watched Sheila trying to patch you up and save your baby, I felt so frustrated that there was nothing I could do to help. When you got better and your dad said that you had been disowned, I did a few things I probably shouldn't have and got that money together. I figured it was the least I could do to help you. And then I did a few more things I probably shouldn't have and pulled together a whole pile of money."
Tiffany was just staring at him mutely as he spoke, so he continued. "I had my high school diploma and so I enrolled in college. I was only twenty two and I figured I had enough time to do something good with my life. When the adviser asked me what I'd like to end up doing after college, I just kept thinking of you. So I said I'd like to be a doctor, thinking she'd laugh me out the door, but she didn't. She said that I would have to work hard, but she could see me making it. So that's what I did."
"I've been an ER doc in Seattle since my residency and when I heard about the opening at Forks, I applied for the job." He leaned forward and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You see, I've been waiting for the opportunity since the day you drove out of Axel's driveway to get you, Tiffany Call. That's why I came here, to pursue you until you give into me."
Holy shit! She stared at him, eyes wide. He was serious!
"What?" she asked him incredulously. He smiled again and raised his eyebrows.
"I've waited almost eighteen years for the chance to pursue you and be deserving of you. I'm not leaving Forks without you. And if you don't want to leave here period, I'm okay with that." She stared at him some more. Oh Holy Hell! He had moved here with the sole intent of pursuing her.
"So," he said with his eyes dancing, "I don't start officially until Monday. Are you free Friday night?"
Her jaw dropped. "Are you asking me out?"
"Yes," he said happily. "What time can I pick you up?" She shut her mouth and shook her head but there was something bubbling up in her chest and she felt a tiny smile come unbidden to her lips.
"Uh, I guess I could meet you," she said hesitantly.
"I'll pick you up," he said and she bit her lip. "Or will that upset your son?" She frowned at him.
"How do you know I have a son?" she asked him and he gave her a 'seriously?' look.
"Though I am no longer in touch with the rest of our old buddies, I am still close friends with Axel and Sheila. I have heard things here and there and have even seen pictures of you and your son in their home."
"Oh," she said surprised. Axel hadn't mentioned Sooty in a long time. "Um, I get off of work at four on Friday. I guess any time after six is fine."
He grinned and ran his fingertips down the back of her hand. "I'll pick you up at seven." He took out his cell phone and handed it to her. "Can you give me your number?" She took it reluctantly and tapped out her phone number before he opened his digital address book. She dutifully filled in her address so he could find her on Friday and then smiled almost dazedly.
"Maybe I should show you the rest of the hospital before Dennis comes looking for you."
He chuckled. "Why do I get the feeling that you don't like Dennis Morrow?" She scowled at him with her nose wrinkled and he was sure she had no idea how utterly appealing she looked.
"I don't like him. He's butt sore that I turned him down when he tried to get me to sleep with him. He's grabbed my ass and used to 'accidentally' brush against my boobs every chance he got. He only leaves me alone now because I threatened to tell his wife what he was doing. It's common knowledge that he's on his last life with her. One more incident and she'll leave him. Since she's the one with more money than him, it's not a prospect he looks forward too."
Sooty - Dr. Coal - was looking down at her with a fierce look. "He's harassing you?" he asked in a low tone. She grinned.
"Don't worry, Sooty. He's well and truly under my thumb. He's met my son who let him know on no uncertain terms that he was to leave me alone. I think he's more frightened of Embry than his wife finding out his latest misdeeds." Sooty laughed.
"So, do you still go by Sooty?" she asked and he shook his head.
"No, that's just what Axel called me when we were teenagers. It stuck with the rest of the group and I didn't mind then. My name is actually Jackson McManus Coal. My friends call me Jack but you can call me what ever you want."
Tiffany smiled. "My friends call me Tiffany and you may never call me Tiff or Tiffy."
They made their way through the rest of the hospital, but Tiffany could hardly concentrate on anything but Jack. Walking side by side with him, she could smell his cologne and feel the slight heat given off from his body. She felt giddy from the shock of seeing him out of the blue, especially in light of what she had revealed to Embry the night before and how much she had thought of him since then. When they made their way back to the Emergency Room, she saw Deena scurry away from the nurses station but watch them surreptitiously.
Jack smiled down at Tiffany.
"So, Tiffany, I'll see you on Friday." His eyes twinkled and two dimples were visible in his cheeks. It made her heart flutter and her stomach contract. He was just as handsome as she remembered him and the knowledge that he had spent the last eighteen years thinking of her, gave her more confidence in herself than she had ever felt before.
"See you Friday," she said as he left her at the nurses station.
Seventy-seven, seventy-eight, seventy-nine, eighty. Hannah lined up the last of the meatballs in the industrial size pans.
"Those are like tennis balls," Kim said with a little smile. Hannah looked at her with wide eyes.
"Should I make them smaller?" She looked down at the neat rows and frowned. "I thought the guys would like them. And they shrink down when they cook."
Kim stirred the cream filling for her Tiramisu and shook her head. "They're fine; I'm sure the guys will love them."
"Don't worry Hannie," Emily said from the stove where she was checking her three gallon pot of spaghetti sauce. "They will all be eaten."
After sliding the pans in the hot oven, Hannah washed her hands. "Do you need me to do anything else?" She asked Emily, wanting to leave as soon as possible.
Emily smiled at the younger girl. "No, I think everything is pretty much done."
Hannah nodded, her mind already elsewhere. "Okay, I'll come back in a little bit," she said and darted out the door. Emily and Kim both looked after her and then went back to what they had each been doing. Hannah was a little odd most of the time. She didn't have a concept of asking permission or communicating where she was going, but she always turned up safe. It was an awkward situation too, because she was really sixteen though she looked like she was only nine or ten and she had been on her own for the last eight years.
Johannah was, at that moment, riding her bike to Embry's house. She knew his mom would be home soon and Tiffany had promised she could watch her do her hair and makeup. It had always been Hannah's favorite thing to do; watch her mother doll herself up. In the absence of her mother, she was forming a strong attachment to Tiffany. She had her Aunt Sue, but it was a different dynamic.
Aunt Sue was more down to earth and wasn't into fashion and style like Kaiya had been. Hannah definitely took after her mother in a lot of ways and she was glad that Tiffany was like her mother in liking girly things.
She saw Tiffany's car in the driveway as she pedaled up to the house and she left her bike on the side of the walkway and darted up the steps. She knocked and waited anxiously for Tiffany to answer.
"Hey baby," Embry said, opening the door with a doughnut in his hand. She stared at him, torn between curiosity why he was here and wanting his doughnut.
"I'm not a baby," she said with a scowl. "And give me a doughnut. Why are you here?"
Embry grinned as he stuffed the rest of his doughnut in his mouth. "I'm here because my mom is going on a date. And I don't have any more doughnuts."
Her jaw dropped. "You don't have any more doughnuts and you ate the rest of that one?"
"Embry, stop harassing her." Tiffany's voice rang out from the house and Hannah pushed her imprint aside to make her way to the kitchen. There, on the counter, was a box full of doughnuts.
"You are such a meany," she said as she picked out a Boston Cream. She squealed in surprise when he grabbed her from behind. Embry sat in a kitchen chair with Hannah on his lap.
"I'm not a meany. Take it back."
Hannah shook her head with a smug smile as she chewed a bite of her custard filled pastry. "Nope; you're a meany. You think it's funny to torture me with food."
He grinned at her, turning her on his lap. He enjoyed verbally sparring with her and didn't understand why the other wolves didn't loosen up and have more fun with their imprints. He had always thought if he ever imprinted he would be stuck with some girl for life, walking on eggshells, freaking out about offending her at every turn. It wasn't like that though. Hannah was really good-natured and didn't seem to ever get offended by his offbeat sense of humor. He teased her all the time and she gave it right back.
"You need to leave," she told him before stuffing the last bite in her mouth. "This is supposed to be girl time and you're a boy so you're not allowed."
Embry lifted an eyebrow. "I'm not leaving, so you can get over that one."
Hannah narrowed her eyes at him. "You are too going to leave. We're doing makeup and you don't want me to use you as a practice dummy do you?"
He laughed out loud. "You don't scare me. If you want me to leave, I'd like to see you make me."
"Embry Call, do not sit that girl on your lap like that!" Tiffany paused in the kitchen with a furious glare at her son. She had a heaping basket of clean laundry and Hannah could smell the fabric softener she loved so much. She looked to see what Embry's mom was talking about and smiled bashfully at Tiffany. She hadn't realized before then that she was straddling his thighs, facing him. Though she hadn't developed adult hormones yet in her time warped body, her mind recognized the suggestive nature of the pose.
Embry sighed. "Jeez mom, don't make it seem like something dirty."
His mother merely glared and waited for him to move Hannah, before marching down the hall to her room. Hannah slid off his lap all together and got another doughnut.
"If you're not leaving, then you have to stay out here."
Embry sighed dramatically. "You wound me. I was so looking forward to using curling irons and mascara with you." He leaned over her shoulder and took a bite of her cinnamon twist.
Hannah giggled and pushed him away. "You were not. So do what you're really here for and wait for your mom's date and scare the crap out of him."
"How did you know that's what I came home to do?"
Hannah rolled her eyes. "You've been obsessed since your mom said she was going out on Friday night. And it's just killing you that she won't tell you who it is."
She was so much more perceptive and definitely smarter than most people realized. Though his wolf kept his mind from straying to inappropriate thoughts of her, he really couldn't wait until she fully adjusted to being human again and she caught up to her age physically. He knew that she would be phenomenal.