A/N:

Skipper: Navy nickname for the Commanding Officer of just about anything, be it squadron, ship, school, or hospital. Not sure of the historical origin

Since so many people have asked, here's brief primer of Navy Officer rank structure. From senior to junior the ranks go as follows: Admiral, Captain, Commander, Lieutenant Commander, Lieutenant, Lieutenant, junior grade, and Ensign.

Bella and Edward are both Lieutenant Commanders, but Bella has been one longer. Edward is probably about 32 or so, so he's a few years younger than Bella, but essentially the same. Jake is also a lieutenant commander. Victoria is also this same rank, but as Bella noted in Chapter 2, Vic has been this rank longer than Bella has. Emmett is also of the same rank, but he is a Marine, so he is a Major—they have a different rank structure that corresponds to the Army and Air Force.

Alice and Jasper are both about 30, and they are Lieutenants. However, they have both been pre-selected for Lieutenant Commander and will be promoted sometime in the next fiscal year. James is a Lieutenant, but he hasn't been one for very long.

Commander Cullen (Carlisle) is the Commanding Officer of the Blue Angels, so he's very senior. However the most senior person appearing in this story (so far) is CAPT Platt, the Commanding Officer of NAMI, Bella's direct boss.

The naval aviation community has a friendly rivalry with the surface community. This is especially noticeable on an aircraft carrier, where half the crew is associated with the airplanes, and the other half is there to maintain and drive the ship. The carrier is fondly, but derogatorily, referred to by the aviation personnel as "the Boat," even though it is a ship, and they are well aware of that.

Chapter 8

I slept poorly and tried not to think about Edward sleeping just on the other side of the wall from me. Maybe in his underwear. Or less. I'm sure you can see why it was difficult to sleep with my mind going down those corridors.

The time spent with him at Alice and Jasper's, and alone during our walk home, had gone a long way toward changing my opinion of him. He did seem to be a decent guy, but I reminded myself of his questionable treatment of poor Irina. I knew that she had attacked him, unprovoked by eyewitness accounts, but he indirectly caused that by his callous treatment of her over the years. If he could do that to a childhood acquaintance, what would he do with me? Not that I was considering any sort of relationship with him.

But, he did seem interested in friendship, and who was I to deny him that based on his treatment of others? He was an intelligent, interesting man, and if I stayed close with Alice and Jasper, then we would be thrown together socially over and over. And it couldn't hurt to know one more person. So, I decided to be friendly to Edward, but nothing more.

Thursday dawned too early, and I was off to the hospital. Jasper greeted me with a grin in the clinic, and our whirlwind day began. As I had expected, my schedule was already ridiculously overbooked. I met Lauren, the ophthalmologist who had been in the OR on my first day here and was even less impressed with her than I had been with Tyler. She was fresh out of residency, which she had done as a civilian, so her knowledge of the eye and her knowledge of the military in general were both shaky.

After she came to me with a third patient that morning, wanting my "superior corneal expertise (her words)," but really just wanting to dump the patient on my schedule, I had had enough. Jasper had been a trooper that morning, following me at first, but then attempting to branch out on his own and check-in a few patients without me. He was actually kind of slowing me down, but I admired his enthusiasm and effort. I grabbed him and pulled him into the testing room.

"Oh my god, Jasper, this chick is killing me," I whispered furiously. "Thursdays are officially my least favorite day. Is she going to do this every week?" Jasper laughed quietly and detached my hand from his forearm. I'd apparently been squeezing too tightly.

"Relax, Doc," he said. "You should take it as a compliment. Why do you think it took so long to get an ophtho elective for us FP residents? We've been waiting for a suitable mentor." He grinned at me wickedly, and I slapped his arm.

"Hey, was that resident abuse from my attending?" he asked mockingly. I stuck my tongue out at him maturely, and we got back to work. As I had also expected, we did not have a chance to break for a real lunch. I heated up a Lean Cuisine, and Jasper just ate a big piece of my cake. I laughed at him but secretly felt flattered.

Late morning, I heard the jet noise again. Except today it wasn't the screaming passes I had heard at intervals on Tuesday. This was one after another flying overhead at about 30 seconds apart. I counted six in total. I knew there should have been seven, and my thoughts drifted to Edward. I wondered what he was doing over at the hanger now that the team was gone.

Jasper noticed that I was paying attention to the noise and raised his eyebrows at me.

"Is Alice gone already?" I asked him. He nodded.

"Fat Albert left about two hours ago," he confirmed. I shook my head sympathetically.

"It must be hard to have her gone half the week like that," I said. He agreed, but put things in perspective.

"It's better than the two months she spent in El Centro, and most people I know deal with much longer separations. At least she's not gone on the Boat for seven or eight months at a time." I nodded.

"That's a great attitude you have there, Jasper, very mature," I teased. He shrugged.

"It's great for her career, and a great opportunity in general. I want what's best for her. I'll do whatever to support her." In that instant, I felt a pang of jealousy for what the two of them had. I had not often lamented being single, but I momentarily wished for someone to support me unconditionally in the way Jasper had just described. Then, a contact lens ulcer patient came in, and I was swept away with work, no time for such silly thoughts.

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

I was exhausted by the time I got home and decided to skip my run. It was well after 1730, and I was starving. I thought about going out for a real meal, but settled on another frozen dinner instead. Again, I wondered what Edward was doing and tried not to listen for noises next door. I lazed in front of the television, flipping back and forth between interesting shows on the Military channel (D-Day invasion) and the Travel Channel (Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations). I showered and called it an early night, in bed by 2100. I hadn't been sleeping well.

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

I kept my promise to myself and walked over to NAMI on Friday morning. I strolled into the parking lot just as Jacob arrived in his little convertible. Beach condo and convertible, the guy was living the life. But I had a bone to pick with him.

"Morning, Bells," he greeted as he stretched himself out of the low slung car and plopped his cover on his head. Then, he saw my fierce expression. "Oh, no, what did I do now?" he joked.

"I had dinner with Alice, the Blues flight surgeon, her husband, and my neighbor, Edward, last night," I informed him, even though now I was sure he knew who they all were without my explanation. His eyebrows rose, and his face soured.

"Oh, so you're buddy-buddy with the guy who chewed you out and disrespected you in front of your staff, huh?" he countered.

"Don't turn this on me, Jacob Black," I spat, "Alice invited Edward; I didn't know he'd be there, but I did learn that you may have a personal reason for not liking the Blues. Why didn't you tell me that you had met Edward before?" I demanded.

"Well, Bella, the fact that I interviewed "Edward" as you're calling him now, kind of falls under patient privacy, don't you think?" He said exasperatedly. I conceded that, but I wasn't letting the other drop.

"What about, Leah?" I asked. His face got serious, and the fight seemed to go out of him. He sighed.

"What about her? She dates this idiot named Sam that treats her like crap. She lives in my building, and we've been friends for a few months. She's really great, Bella; you'd love her. He cheated on her, while he was in El Centro, and I thought maybe I had a chance then. But, she just took him back, forgave him. I can't stomach watching him hurt her like that." Jacob had deflated, and now he slumped against the side of his car. I guess I could understand why he hadn't told me any of that. Guys don't spill their guts about stuff like that the way girls do. Not that I had much experience with girlfriends.

"Okay," I told him conciliatorily. "I guess I accept that explanation." He gained some life back and grinned at me.

"Oh, you do, do you?" He bumped my shoulder with his own. I smiled and laughed at him.

"Leah's an idiot, Jake," I told him. He sighed again and shook his head, and I understood that the topic was closed. Friends again, we headed together into the building.

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

The morning went by in a blur of productive business. A CPK frozen thin crust margarita pizza was my lunch. Surprisingly crisp and tasty. I managed to pretty much avoid all thoughts of Edward and his impending visit. Or so I told myself.

I was back in my office after lunch, when the day derailed slightly. I had eaten in the break room alone since Jacob had had to schedule a session during lunchtime. I had opened the file of a particularly interesting case and was going over the most recent physical exam. I was going to have to bring this particular patient in and examine him myself, and I wanted to be perfectly up to date before I issued my summons and spoke with his senior regional flight surgeon. I heard a knock at my door and assumed it was HM2 Stanley. I had asked her to pull records for some similar cases.

"Come in!" I called, eyes on my desk. I heard the door creak open, but no busy footsteps crossed the room. I looked up.

Victoria was sauntering in, headed towards my love seat. I watched in astonishment as she seated herself comfortably. She met my eyes with amusement. I guess my outrage showed on my face because she spoke.

"What? You invited me in," she protested, but she was enjoying this a little bit too much. I sighed.

"How can I help you, Victoria?" I asked her. Apparently, this would be my standard greeting for her invasions into my office.

"Oh, I'm just checking in, making sure your first week has gone well," she said in a singsong voice. She was examining her nails, and I was examining the zipper of her flight suit and the way it defied the laws of physics remaining closed over her straining chest. I wondered why no one had reprimanded her on her obvious uniform faux pas. Then, I remembered that I was her department head and considered doing it myself. Nah, not good for morale right now, I decided.

"Well, it's been peachy, don't you worry," I told her, hoping she would leave but knowing she was in here for a reason. Her lips curled into an evil-looking smile.

"I'm glad you seem to have taken my advice to heart," she said, obviously fishing for information. I did not want to indulge her, but I also didn't know how to get her to leave.

"Victoria, I don't have any idea what you mean," I said, turning back to the pages on my desk, hoping in vain that she would take the hint and go. Her eyes narrowed as she watched me.

"Or maybe you haven't," she sniped. "I was talking about Edward and staying away from him. He hasn't been back, so either you listened to me, or you're even less interesting to men than I thought," she finished, quite unprofessionally. I momentarily wished I was a civilian and that I could fire her ass.

"Well, I'm glad you're worried about the well-being of our aviators," I told her trying desperately to keep my cool, "but I examined LCDR Cullen at his hangar on Tuesday and Wednesday, and his eye is healing nicely. I'm glad the accident that he had was so minor." I emphasized the word, so that she would know that I was aware of the circumstances of his injury. It appeared I hit my mark, because her nostrils flared in anger. I decided to keep Edward's impending visit to our building to myself. I didn't want her interfering, and I felt oddly protective of him right now. With any luck, she'd skip out early on a Friday, like the worthless employee that she was. Thankfully, she stood to leave.

"Like I said before," she said menacingly, "there's a lot you don't understand, and you should be very, very careful." I understood the threat in her voice, but I was more annoyed than worried. I didn't bother to answer her. God bless HM2 Stanley, who showed up at that moment. Victoria slunk away.

"Here's the med record you asked for, Dr. Swan," she chirped at me, offering the file to me across my desk. She looked apprehensively over her shoulder at Victoria as she exited the room. Then, she looked back at me questioningly. I pretended not to notice and took the record from her.

"Thanks, Stanley," I told her. "I'm just going to work on this for awhile." That was her cue to go, and she took direction marvelously. I glanced at the clock. Only two more hours until Edward would be here. Not that I was counting.

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

At exactly 15:58, HM2 Stanley softly knocked on the edge of my doorframe. I had opened the door about twenty minutes earlier when I saw Victoria walking past my window toward her car in the parking lot. Just as I had expected, thank goodness.

I'm ashamed to say that I struggled with the decision whether to open the door or not for a full five (maybe seven) minutes before I actually did it. What message did I want to send to Edward? Should I leave the door closed and let him knock? Or would it be easier for the door to be wide open, more welcoming; he could just come in and see me casually working at my desk? Because that is what I would be doing. Not obsessively watching the clock.

Anyway, I was surprised to look up and see her there in my doorway. She spoke timidly.

"Ma'am, LCDR Cullen is here to see you," she informed me. From her formal tone, I knew he must be hovering in the passageway behind her. "Do you need me to stay and help you?" she offered, bless her heart.

"No need, HM2," I responded brusquely. "I can handle this on my own without a technician. It's quitting time; you go on home." I smiled at her as she agreed with relief. I could tell that Edward was making her nervous.

"You can send him in," I told her, and she stepped aside to allow him around her. What a great, loyal watchdog I had found myself. She gave me one last glance and headed back toward the front to gather her things for the day. Edward was left standing awkwardly in the doorway. Damn, it should be a crime to look that good. I forced myself not to stare at him. Apparently, not seeing him yesterday had weakened my immunity, and I now had to concentrate in order to string sentences together in his presence. What was wrong with me?

I stood from behind my desk, closing the charts that I had been perusing. I planned on heading out as soon as our check-up was done. Edward was clutching his garrison cover between both hands, twisting it back and forth. If I didn't know better, I would think he was as nervous as I was, but that didn't make sense. I smiled at him to try and break up some of the tension, but I cursed myself when he rewarded me with the "dazzler," as I was now calling his genuine smile.

"Been keeping busy?" I joked as I led him into the closest room with an eye lane. He grinned back and nodded, seemingly pleased at my ice breaker.

"I think they left me a week's worth of admin. I wonder what the Admin Officer is even doing this week," he complained wryly. "I'll have to go in for a bit in the morning, but I think I'll be done and get some free time." He looked at me strangely when he said that, like he was watching for a reaction. I didn't understand it.

I quickly checked his vision. 20/15, of course, I thought jealously, but I reminded myself that he wasn't born perfect (at least his eyes). The LASIK had made him that way. At some point in his life, he had worn contact lenses just like me. A quick peek at the cornea confirmed what I had suspected. He was completely healed, the flap in perfect condition. I felt a surge of disappointment, knowing that I would no longer be seeing him for check-ups. I tamped down that feeling immediately, recognizing no good could come from it.

"So, Edward," I began with a big smile on my face, "you're all good. Cleared to fly, I mean. I know that doesn't help you much for this weekend, but…all's well that ends well, right?" Why was I babbling like an idiot? This guy had a weird effect on me. I stopped talking and looked at him. He was smiling, too, in relief, I figured. No more dealing with a nutso eye flight doc.

"That's great news," he enthused. "I mean, I figured it was OK since I felt all right. The bruises are better, and I can see, so…" Was he babbling, too? I stood and began turning off equipment in the eye lane. It was after 1600, and the building was already quiet as a tomb. I just needed to lock my office, and I was ready to head out. I gestured for him to step into the passageway.

"I'll touch base with Alice. Since you were never given a formal down chit, that should be all that you need. She can confirm with your Skipper." He frowned at my reference to our first meeting, as I closed the door to my office after pushing in the little lock button. We started walking toward the front door together.

"Thanks again, Bella, for all you've done," he said sincerely as we entered the parking lot. "I know I was an ass when we first met, but I want you to know that I really do appreciate your help. I'm glad we met," he said, giving me an intense stare. I looked away like a coward. We had paused, and I took in my surroundings. We were next to a sleek, sexy, silver Corvette. His, of course, I thought wryly, wanting to shake my head.

"This is me," he said unnecessarily, and then glanced around the parking lot. Was he waiting for me to get into my car? This gentleman before me did not compute.

"I walked this morning," I admitted sheepishly. He gave me a wide-eyed , innocent stare, as if he were waiting for something.

"I'll see you later," I said, starting to head toward the sidewalk. He huffed in aggravation.

"Bella, get in," he said gruffly, gesturing toward the passenger door of his car.

"What?" I said indignantly. "I can definitely walk back." He smiled, the "dazzler" again. Damn him.

"I'm sure you can, but I'm not going to let you walk, when I'm going to the same place you are. How heartless do you think I am?" he asked. "On second thought, don't answer that." He gestured to the passenger door again. I had to admit that I wasn't exactly against a ride in this pretty car. So, I got in.

We rode in silence the few blocks back to the BOQ, and Edward pulled into a parking space close to my 4-Runner. I wondered why I hadn't noticed this flashy ride before. We stopped, and Edward had yet to cut the engine, but I was ready to escape the oppressive quiet.

"Thanks for the ride," I called as I opened the door. He struggled to get the car into park, and I thought I saw a hint of frustration.

"Bella, just wait a minute," he said with irritation, reaching across the console to grip my wrist. That strange electricity coursed up my arm, so I stilled for a moment. He turned the key to stop the engine, dropped my wrist, and rubbed his hand across his eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I just wanted to ask you something before you ran off," he said softly, staring at the steering wheel in front of him. He seemed nervous again. I waited for his big question.

"Um, I've seen you out jogging almost every day, and I wondered if you wanted to go for a jog today." I just looked at him with confusion.

"Yeah, I had planned on doing that now," I told him, puzzled by his line of questioning. He stared at me as if waiting for me to say more. We sat there looking at each other for almost a full minute, before he broke out in a sheepish smile.

"I mean, go for a jog with me," he clarified, and I felt really stupid for not realizing that. Of course, that's what he had meant. Wait! He wanted to go for a jog with me. Together? At the same time? Next to each other? I started to get panicky, but there was really no way to say no, was there? I was going for a jog now, and it sounded like he had planned to do the same thing. It only made sense, I consoled myself.

I heard myself agree to it. He broke out into a beaming smile, even more dazzling than the "dazzler." Apparently, he was ecstatic to run with me. Weird.

"Just so you know, I probably can't keep up with you. You may have to run a little slower than you're used to," I warned him, giving him one more out. He shook his head confidently.

"I've seen you running. I'm the one who may not be able to keep up," he said, and I wondered when he'd actually seen me jogging. I'd just seen him the one time on the landing after my run. "Anyway, go get changed, and let's get this show on the road," he finished with excitement. This optimism and happiness was a new side to him. I had to admit I was curious.

"Okay, I'll meet you back out on the landing in five?" I queried. He nodded in agreement, and I head up the stairs to my room with him behind me. My mind was already running a mile a minute. What to wear? What to wear?

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

So, they're finally getting along. Will this little exercise session lead to more?