DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction for which we will receive no compensation, especially since all characters belong to a different Stephenie. But this story helped save the babies, which we are all for.

Hello all and welcome to a new chapter of SCARS. Denise and I appreciate your continued patience as we tell this story. We are already plotting the next one so hopefully it won't be too long. We hope you enjoy!

Also BitterLady is up for Favorite Scribble Alliance for the TFFA and we would certainly appreciate your vote if you so choose!

Chapter 37

Dr. Carlisle entered the conference room and closed the door, the dull chatter in the room quieting a bit.

"I'm starting in three minutes, people," he said with a pointed look at the coffee bar. "So re-up if you need to."

Bleary-eyed department heads blinked at him before scurrying to top off their cups and grab one last pastry before the meeting. Dr. Carlisle set his large black planner on the table, the familiar sight prompting assorted chuckles among the senior-most staff. The Chief's overworked calendar was bursting with post-it notes and other scraps of paper and was held together by a trio of overworked rubber bands. Administrator Cope had been trying for years to convert the chief to digital but to no avail.

"If one of those bands pops and hits someone in the eye, I don't want to hear it!" she groused about once a month.

The Chief could almost hear her voice as he carefully removed the rubber bands and opened his planner. A pile of notes spilled onto the table, and Dr. Crowley slid them back to him without looking up.

"Good man, Crowley," Dr. Carlisle said.

"Tell a friend," Crowley said. "Preferably a rich, handsome one."

The gathered doctors chuckled, and Dr. Carlisle took that moment to begin. He'd allotted an hour for this meeting and hoped they could stay on track. He was scheduled to perform a gastric bypass in 85 minutes, his first surgery in nearly three weeks, and he did not want to miss it.

Not for a conversation that could easily be an email.

Dr. Carlisle opened with a brief budget report, enjoying a sincere round of applause after announcing the backordered warming cabinets would arrive by the end of the week. After discussing requests from ortho and radiology, he invited their department heads to begin the specialty reports.

"Thank you for the updates," Dr. Carlisle said, jotting some follow-up questions to address with radiology at another time. "How is our VIP patient, Dr. Cullen?"

Edward shook himself out of his thoughts. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm asking about Senator Murray's case," Dr. Carlisle said, peering at him. "If you're not ready, I can…"

"No. I'm ready." He cleared his throat. "I'm still running tests."

Edward fell silent, and Dr. Carlisle looked at him expectantly. "Is that all?"

"Yes."

"You've been working with Senator Murray for an entire week, and all you can say is that you're still running tests?" Dr. Carlisle asked, folding his arms. "Is there something else going on?"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I mean, do I need to check with Dr. McCarty to make sure everything is as it should be?"

"That won't be necessary, Chief," Dr. Crowley said, sitting up in his chair. "Dr. Cullen has kept me apprised of his work with Senator Murray. He could certainly spend the next twenty minutes detailing that work, the bottom line is that he has no concrete answers yet." Crowley looked at Edward. "Isn't that right, Dr. Cullen?"

"Uh, that's… that's right," Edward said with a hesitant smile.

"Oh." The Chief's irritation cooled. "Well, good, good. Let's turn to maternity now."

With Dr. Carlisle's attention elsewhere, Edward pulled out his phone under the table. Crowley's phone buzzed across the table a few moments later, and he leaned to one side to pull it out of his pocket.

Cullen: Why did you do that?

Crowley shook his head, wondering how Cullen got his number. He quickly pushed that thought aside to decide how best to answer his question. Crowley knew Cullen hadn't as much as seen the senator in five days. He also knew the battery of tests Cullen had run on the first day had yielded enough normal results to render any further tests useless.

Most of all, Crowley knew Cullen had been stalling to keep himself on the senator's case to give himself a legitimate excuse to see Swan. A week had passed since Crowley overheard that stairwell conversation between McCarty and Cullen… and saw Swan flee the elevator Cullen had been on… but the gossip grapevine had been quiet ever since. Crowley didn't trust the delicate peace and expected this situation to explode unless he intervened.

But he still had no idea how.

Cullen cleared his throat, and Crowley realized he hadn't replied to his message yet. With a roll of his eyes, Crowley began typing.

Crowley: Better that than the chief finding out the brown-eyed reason you're still "running tests" on a patient you haven't seen since last week. You're welcome.

He stuffed his phone back in his pocket, and a moment later, Cullen had a coughing fit on the other side of the table. The Chief stopped mid-sentence and looked at him with concerned eyes.

"Dr. Cullen, are you all right?"

"Fine, thank you." Edward reached for his cup of tepid coffee, glancing at a smug Crowley who pretended not to notice.

"Before the peds report," Dr. Carlisle said. "I'd like to address the rumors about Dr. Call's departure last week. We made him a generous offer he was ready to accept. But the lure of being near his sister and her family on the East Coast was more than we could compete with, and that ultimately made the decision for him. We are sorry to see him go, but a pediatric oncologist, Dr. Benjamin P. Randall will arrive next week. Dr. Randall comes highly recommended, so let's make him feel welcome."

"Not too welcome," Crowley muttered, looking at a smirking Dr. Embry. Crowley scoffed, grateful he'd never taken the cocky dermatologist up on his repeated offers. Crowley was nothing if not discreet, and Dr. Embry seemed almost proud of his on-call room antics with Dr. Call.

"Now, on to your individual independent work," Dr. Carlisle said. "As one of the foremost teaching hospitals in America, we are expected to be innovative, to be fearless, and to boldly go where no man has gone before." At several odd looks, he smiled sheepishly. "When I can't sleep, I watch old episodes of Star Trek."

Crowley snorted aloud, mainly because no one knew of the Starfleet Command Medical Patch on his right pec. He may have been out of the closet, but his secret life as a Trekkie would remain just that.

"I expect to hear from each of you about exciting projects or papers in the next few weeks," Dr. Carlisle was saying, snapping Crowley out of his thoughts. "Consider this a friendly reminder."

As the meeting adjourned, Crowley realized how far behind he was in his research and that he would need some serious help and fast. Because Crowley wasn't about being behind.

Not professionally anyway.

***STYB***

Bella closed the door to her patient's room and sighed. Whoever said the flu was no big deal had never encountered a vicious strain of it. Her poor patient hadn't eaten in days, couldn't hold down water, and had a consistent fever of 103 degrees or higher for the past three days. With a compromised immune system, it was a wonder he'd survived this long.

But he was finally holding fluids and hadn't vomited in six hours. Bella had gotten the all-clear to take a break, so she dragged herself to the cafeteria and plopped herself in a chair beside Rose, dropping her head on the table.

"Long night?" she asked.

"You don't know the half," Bella muttered.

"I had back-to-back enemas on two elderly men who alternated between hitting on me and vomiting," Rose said. "I don't feel sorry for you."

"They didn't have onion rings," Jake said, setting a tray in front of Rose. "So I got you a salad." She looked at him, and he shrugged. "It has onions in it."

"Aw, and you brought me cheesecake." Rose fluttered her lashes at him. "My hero."

Bella took a deep breath, and her nose picked up something other than salad. She looked over and saw Jake stuffing his face with chili cheese fries.

"How can you eat like that so early in the morning?" she asked.

"I've been here since midnight," he said with his mouth full. "Technically this is a late lunch."

Bella's stomach turned, and she put her head back down. "I've just lost my appetite."

"Hey." Rose nudged Bella. "Remember what happened the last time you didn't eat?"

Bella's thoughts drifted not to passing out in the ER, but how that horrible event put her on the improbable path toward all that happened between her and Edward. A phantom pain pulsed through her heart, and she shook it off.

"You're right," she said, grabbing a slice of cheese pizza from Jake's tray.

Rose plucked a french fry from Jake's pile and paused when she looked up.

"Heads up," she said. "Tropical storm Pipsqueak dead ahead with strong winds and rain imminent."

"What?" Bella asked.

Before Rose could answer, Alice crashed into the chair between Bella and Jake, crossing her arms with a loud huff.

"I hate nurses!" she cried.

"Shhh!" Rose hissed. "Are you trying to make our lives more miserable?"

"Well, I do!" Alice said, lowering her voice a little. "They're... they're just the worst!"

"What are you talking about, pipsqueak?" Jake asked.

Alice leaned forward. "Are you telling me none of you see that?"

"See what?" Bella asked.

"That!" Alice said, angling her head to the right. "Or should I say, them."

Jake turned around, and Alice yanked his arm, turning him back to face her. "Don't look!" she whispered.

Jake gaped at her. "What the hell's the matter with you?"

"She means 'look but don't be obvious about it,'" Rose said blithely, stealing a sip of Jake's soda and grimacing. "What is this?"

"Dr. Pepper and orange Hi-C," Jake said.

Rose stood up. "I'm gonna grab a soda adults would drink."

"Hey, can you grab me some yogurt, a muffin, plain fries, two granola bars, and some juice?" Bella asked her, shrugging when Rose raised an eyebrow. "You told me to eat."

"Oh, and get me another slice to replace the one Swan stole from me," Jake said.

Rose glared at them, shaking her head. "I hate having friends."

"Hello?!" Alice cried. "Doesn't anyone care that I'm having an existential crisis?"

"No," Jake and Rose said together, Jake adding, "Jinx. Grab me a brownie, too."

Alice rolled her eyes as Rose walked away then looked pleadingly at Bella. Bella sighed then made a show of stretching her arms, trailing her gaze to see what Alice was talking about. But nothing stood out to her.

"I didn't see anything," Bella said. "Sorry."

"They're right there," Alice hissed.

"This is stupid," Jake muttered, wiping his mouth and turning around, ignoring Alice's protests.

He saw a group of EMTs playing cards at a nearby table, two kitchen staffers cleaning up some spilled dry cereal, and Jasper and Jessica at the coffee station. Rolling his eyes, Jake turned back to Alice. "I don't see anything."

"You don't see Jasper fawning all over Jessica?" Alice asked.

"I see Jasper getting in where he fits in," Jake said. "But I don't see what it has to do with you."

"He's my roommate!"

Jake shrugged. "That doesn't make him your property."

"I don't think..." Alice was cut off when a peal of laughter rang out. She and Bella turned to see Jessica covering her mouth as Jasper grabbed some napkins. Jessica swatted Jasper's shoulder, causing him to chuckle. He carried their two cups of coffee and led her to the other side of the cafeteria, Jessica walking right beside him.

Alice craned her neck to watch until they disappeared around a pillar, and she fell back into her seat with a groan. Rose returned then, setting her full tray in the center of the table.

"Are Jasper and Jessica a thing now?" Rose asked as she sat. "If so, good for her. He could do better."

Alice growled into her hands, and Jake stared at her while picking the crust off his pizza. "Is something wrong?"

"Seriously though," Bella asked before Alice could launch into another fit. "What is wrong with Jasper talking to Jessica?"

"They weren't just talking," Alice said seriously. "They were also getting coffee!"

"Right..." Bella said. "And that's... bad?"

"It's horrible!" Alice cried. "It's horrible and terrible and... ugh, it's the worst thing that could have happened!"

She dramatically dropped her head to the table, muttering under her breath. Jake glanced at Bella and Rose, mouthing, "What the hell is going on?"

Bella shrugged, and Rose mouthed back, "I don't care."

"Alice," Bella said. "I think we're going to need more information."

"What more is there?" she muttered. "Jasper's with Jessica, and everything's different, and..."

"Ohhh, now I get it," Jake said. He pulled Alice's chair toward him and waited for her to look up. "What did you do?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" Alice asked.

"You only care about Jasper and Jessica because it will cut into his 'being your lap dog' time. And Jasper would only give up that honor if you upset him." Jake paused to set down his empty cup. "So what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" she cried. Jake raised his eyebrow, and Alice huffed. "Jasper's being immature."

"Alice," Bella said. "What did you do?"

"All I did was borrow something of his that he wasn't using at the time."

"What?" Rose asked, taking a bite of her cheesecake. "His personality?"

"His headboard," Alice muttered.

"What?" Bella blinked at her. "How do you borrow a headboard?"

"You'd have to borrow the bed too. Oh shit!" Jake snickered. "You banged some stranger in Jasper's bed?"

"He wasn't a stranger!" Alice said. "It was Colin, the short-but-hot bartender at Sam's. He'd been buzzing around this honey for weeks, and two nights ago, I let him in the hive."

Rose shrugged. "He could do better."

Alice flipped Rose off, and Bella asked, "Alice, how did you end up in Jasper's bed?"

A group of administrators passed by, and Alice lowered her voice. "Colin agreed to meet me at my place after my shift and..."

"You brought him home?" Rose tsked. "Never bring the strays home, Brandon. That's rule number three."

"What are rules number one and two?" Bella asked.

"Can we focus, please?" Alice cried. "Anyway, Colin came over and brought a bag of tricks. Like, a velvet bag full of vibrators, butt plugs, flavored lubes, and other goodies."

Jake nodded. "Nice."

"He wanted to use the handcuffs, but I have a tufted headboard. Jasper has this metal headboard with a honeycomb design just perfect for light bondage play. He was supposed to be working a double, and I figured I could wash everything and make his bed before he knew anything about it. But he came home early and caught us."

"In his bed?" Jake asked.

Alice nodded. "Colin was on his knees, naked and handcuffed. I was holding the riding crop and...

"Wow," Bella said. "That's..."

"TMI," Rose said. "Almost ruined my cheesecake."

"And it's terrible," Jake said. "How could you do something so horrible?"

Alice glared at him. "Are you slut-shaming me?"

"Hell, no. You can fuck every guy in here twice for all I care," Jake said. "But to do that in Jasper's bed when you know how he feels about you is some callous shit."

"What do you mean, 'how he feels about me'?" Alice asked.

"Seriously? Are you blind?" Jake asked.

"No, but I seriously don't know what you're talking about," Alice said.

Jake looked at Rose, and she shrugged, adding, "What do you expect from someone who breaks rule number three?"

"True," Jake said, shaking his head. "Even Swan wouldn't make a mistake like that."

"No, she wouldn't," Bella said as she looked past Jake's shoulder. "Because she's too busy making bigger ones."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked. Bella raised her eyebrows, and Rose turned to see Edward enter the cafeteria. "Oh."

"Never mind, Jasper," Alice said, suddenly sitting up and fixing her hair. "I've got bigger fish to fry. Bigger, brawnier, bluer-eyed fish."

"Blue-eyed fish?" Bella asked then froze. "Are you saying Dr. McCarty is here too?"

Alice nodded gleefully, her gaze darting from side to side. "Cullen and McCarty? What I wouldn't give to be the meat in that sexy sandwich."

Jake set down his slice of pizza. "And there goes my appetite."

Dr. McCarty noticed Dr. Swan in the distance sitting with her friends. Remembering he'd wanted to ask her a question about Senator Murray's case, he made a beeline for her table, approaching from the left.

Dr. Cullen saw Dr. McCarty heading toward Dr. Swan, so he changed directions and headed that way too, coming from the right.

And as Dr. Crowley came through the side entrance intent on grabbing a snack, he saw an accident about to happen.

"Shit!" he muttered under his breath. "I can't leave these two alone for one fucking minute!"

Parting the waves of people in the cafeteria like Moses through the Red Sea, Crowley rushed toward the table as well.

Rose looked around, saw what was happening, and her eyes widened.

"Look alive!" she hissed.

"Oh, I'm very alive," Alice said, batting her lashes as Drs. McCarty and Cullen reached the table at the same time. "Hello, Dr. McCarty."

"Hello." Emmett glanced at her name badge. "Dr. Brandon."

Alice grinned, and Rose glared at her.

"Dr. Swan," Emmett said. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

"About what?" Edward asked.

"About running more tests on Senator Murray, I'm sure," Crowley said as he arrived, looking pointedly at Edward. "I'm sure you understand."

Edward's nostrils flared, but he said nothing.

"Dr. McCarty, I apologize," Crowley said, "but I need Dr. Swan."

"No problem," Emmett said. "I'll find her later."

"Black!" Edward said sharply, causing Jake to jump. "You're with me. Let's go!"

"But I'm…" When Edward turned and stormed away, Jake stuffed the rest of his brownie in his pocket before following after him.

"Brandon, get to The Pit," Crowley said without looking at her. "Unless you'd rather be on scut for the rest of the week."

"Pit it is!" she said brightly, clearing her tray and Jake's before scurrying away.

"Dr. Swan, if you'll follow me," Crowley said.

Bella glanced at Rose who shrugged. As Bella gathered her things, Crowley looked at Rose, nodding meaningfully. Rose returned the gesture, grateful for his intervention on Bella's behalf. She watched Crowley and Bella leave then turned to Emmett who was still standing beside her table.

"You can't antagonize him like that," she said.

"Crowley?"

"Cullen."

Emmett sighed, taking a seat. "I needed to talk to Dr. Swan about Senator Murray's case. It had nothing to do with Dr. Cullen."

"Uh-huh."

"Why do you care anyway?"

"Because Bella is my best friend, and whether I like it or not, whatever affects Edward affects her. Things weren't great before you got here, but now that you're here…"

"So everything wrong in his life is my fault?"

"Not everything. But enough."

Emmett looked away, shaking his head. "You know," he said at length. "For a brilliant doctor, you've got a lot to learn."

Rose was offended and intrigued, and she let the latter set her tone. "Like what?"

"Like you shouldn't make assumptions because they make an ass of you."

"Well, since we're giving each other lessons, here's one: don't be the ass who ruins his best friend's marriage then shows up at his job expecting a warm welcome."

To her surprise, Emmett laughed. "Case in point."

"What?"

"One, I didn't come here expecting a warm welcome because I didn't know Ed was in Seattle. Didn't know where the hell he was, to be honest." Emmett's pager went off, and he tilted his head to look at it. "Two, I didn't ruin Ed's marriage."

Rose snorted. "Right. I'm sure you fucking his wife made things better."

Emmett came to his feet. "Strike three."

"What?"

Emmett leaned down and met Rose's eyes. "I didn't fuck Tanya."

What'd he say?