Chapter 32 – Concerns

Edward

"This one's special, Edward, don't let her get away," Esme had whispered to me at Dorianne's birthday party. I had agreed with her, letting her know I wouldn't. I had no intentions of letting Bella go. We had only known each other a very short time, but I already knew she was going to be an important part of my life.

Of all the women I had dated over the years, Bella was the first one I had felt like I had connected with on more than a physical level. I was by no means a player, but I'd had enough interactions with women to know when one was more than just a pretty face or a good body. Bella had both of those, but there was something else about her that seemed to shine from deep within her, a goodness and purity of spirit I had never encountered before, and it spoke to me on just as deep a level.

I knew she had to be a compassionate person to do the job she did, but the way she had taken care of me while I had been sick spoke to me of the kind of woman she truly was. It couldn't have been pleasant for her to have cleaned me up like she had, but she had done it willingly and without complaint. I hadn't had someone to take care of me to that degree since my mother had passed, and I didn't realize how much I had missed having someone who cared about me that much in my life. Bella was going to make an incredible mother someday, and I hoped I would be around to witness it.

I didn't remember much of my first twenty-four hours of being sick, but occasional fleeting memories of dreams would pop up, some of them quite bizarre, and others almost real. The most realistic of them was a dream of my parents and grandparents coming to visit Bella and I, right after we had announced our engagement. Mom and Grandma Hettie had looked extremely happy, and they all gave us their blessings. Even though I had never met Bella's grandparents, they were there, too, and Bella's grandmother told me to remind Bella of her wedding gown in the sealed trunk in the attic. Looking back on this dream, I was not so sure a dream was what it had been.

Bella had been particularly warm and caring towards the mother of one of my patients who had nearly been beaten to death by his stepfather. As I made my rounds, the boy's mother told me I had just missed Bella's visit, and that she had spoken favorably of me, assuring her Aaron was in the best hands.

"Miss Swan is a wonderful person. If you need anything, she certainly will be there for you," I spoke out of experience. "She's definitely a rare find."

"She's special to you, isn't she?" Hannah asked, smiling. "I can tell by the look in your eyes. I saw it in hers, too, when she spoke of you earlier."

"Yes, she is, more than I realized," I half said to myself.

I wanted to invite Bella to lunch, but I didn't get a chance to go myself due to an emergency case that came in. I saw the usual group of doctors heading out to go eat, however, carrying on with their typical banter, though they seemed to be particularly focused on whatever they were discussing today. I saw Dr. Cheney and Dr. Black glance my way before they continued fawning over the hospital's newest addition, Dr. Stanley, and I thought to myself, more power to them. Maybe if they kept her distracted, she would leave me alone.

After getting my patient stabilized, I finally made it back to my office to find a message from Alice Brandon, asking me to call her back. She sounded like something was wrong, so I returned her call immediately.

"Hello, Edward. I just wanted to give you a heads up. Bella came back from lunch today totally pissed off and ready to cut a skank," Alice hissed.

She told me about Bella's lunchtime encounter with the doctors, especially Dr. Stanley. It made me angry, but it didn't really surprise me. Ever since Dr. Stanley had arrived at Children's a few weeks ago, she had made it obvious she was interested in me. I found her shallow, brusque, and unappealing, even though the other doctors seemed to think her such a beauty and worthy of much attention. I just didn't see it. She was a brilliant doctor, though, so I was hesitant to make waves. We needed all the good doctors we could get, so I decided to just avoid her as much as possible.

"Yes, Alice, I agree that Dr. Stanley is a piece of work, but her interest is definitely one-sided. Hopefully, she'll get the hint, back off, and just do her job. My attention is all for Bella, and if Dr. Stanley starts messing with her, she's going to have to deal with me," I spat.

Alice also began telling me of her concerns about an elusive person Bella had mentioned who she thought was watching her.

"I just don't know what to do, Edward," Alice said, sounding frustrated. "This really has me worried."

"Have you seen anything yourself, or heard of any trouble around the hospital?" I asked worriedly.

"No, I haven't, but I'm not with Bella every time she's there. She's so trusting of people, so even if someone were harboring threatening intentions towards her, I'm not so sure she'd recognize it. She's smart, but she's fallible. I'm just afraid she'll miss the signs or something," Alice sighed.

"I'll see what I can find out. In the meantime, is there anything you can do to try and make sure she's never alone here? I know you can't be with her every minute, but…just do what you can, Alice, and I'll do the same."

I promised Alice I would keep an eye on things around the hospital and try to verify whether there was indeed someone here who was posing a threat to Bella. The thought of someone harming her had me determined to do everything in my power to protect her. She was quickly becoming my whole world, and no one was going to take her away from me.