Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all.

Rated M for several reasons.

Chapter 1: Settling In

BPOV

Second day. Two sprains, a broken tibia and a strep throat. Well within my comfort zone.

Third day. Pregnancies. Thrillingly, someone I know. Leah and I were at school together. Well, sort of. She went to school on the Reservation, but our families were friends and we hung out a lot at La Push. Leah is the first of the Quileute, the local native American people, that has come to the hospital since I started. She is also married to Jake, my old boyfriend.

Which is bittersweet. I loved him once, but not enough to stay with him when I got my shot at college. I am glad they are so happy, glad for both of them.

The pace here is much slower than I am used to but judging by the bustle everywhere else in the building I am being eased in gently. Which seems eminently sensible.

…..

"You look tired," Charlie observes from the table as I shoulder my stuff onto the kitchen counter.

"I saw Leah today."

"Ah," he hums, tucking his newspaper away.

"Why didn't you tell me they were pregnant?"

"Um?"

"You remember that I went to their wedding? That I am okay with their relationship? That I am not jealous?"

"Well," he hedges, "yes. But. You know. You're a woman, and I thought you guys might get married yourselves once, and you know . . . ."

"Charlie – dad, it's 2020, maybe try and keep up?"

"I have no idea what that means," he drawls, "but there's a lasagne in the oven which will probably be ready after you've hopped in the shower."

"Thank you."

"You are welcome."

…..

Fourth Day. And I finally get to meet Dr Cullen.

"You must be Bella? Sorry to have missed your first couple of days but the sun has been shining so the family and I have been hiking and camping."

Oh my god. He is like a matinee idol, blonde and beautiful perfection, with a deep and melodious voice. Be cool Bella, be cool . . . .

"There is so much natural beauty to enjoy around Forks, is there not?" He continues when my mouth opens as closes without making a sound. The edge of his mouth quirks up into a smile and his startlingly golden eyes twinkle.

"Um," I finally manage, mentally exhausted from the failure to form words.

"Well," he says brightly, "we're all very excited to have you here. How are you settling in?"

"Um, well, I think I can just about find everything now, so . . . ."

"Good. Excellent."

I imagine I can feel him silently urging me on. You can do it Bella, interact like a normal human being, even a qualified doctor. Go for it. However, there is a long pause during which his smile begins to falter, and his eyes lose some of their added lustre. This happens to me all the time. All the time.

"Have you seen the patient list for today?" He asks, gesturing toward the reception desk.

"No," I murmur, despondent.

"Shall we?"

I nod and we move there together.

"Ah," he murmurs as we bend our heads over it, "that's good so see."

"What?"

"Several of our patients from La Push are booked in to see you today. That's excellent news, they've never really taken to me I'm afraid."

My eyebrows show my surprise.

"I think they still see me as an outsider after only a year here, you on the other hand are a local, so they will probably feel more comfortable with you now that Dr Gerandy has gone."

A new, reassuring, smile appears on his face.

"Go get 'em! I'll be here if you need me."

"Thank you, Dr Cullen. "

"See you later Bella," he says with a jaunty wave as he lopes way down the corridor, white coat tails flapping merrily behind him.

Great first impression you made there Dr Swan.

Truly great.

…..

My first patient, in for his annual check-up, was Billy Black, Jake's dad. He seemed pleased to see me, very much so considering we had fairly recently seen each other since Leah and Jakes' wedding.

He was as healthy as he could be, with all his issues under control. And in possession of a nifty new electric wheelchair, curtesy of Jakes's incredible engineering skills.

He was excited I was home, telling me how happy and proud dad has been when I had accepted the job. And he was super excited about his new grandchild since both Jake's older sisters had moved away from Forks years ago, and he barely gets to see the ones he has already. Best of all, he invited Charlie and I to a cookout at the beach on Saturday night.

Yes! La Push cookouts are the best. If you remember to take a warm and waterproof coat!

…..

It was a busy day and I was slowly and meticulously finishing up all my patient notes when the call came from the ER following an RTA at the High School.

Dr Cullen is already there, listening intently to the EMT as he strides down the corridor beside the rapidly moving trolley

The other EMT is escorting in an annoyed and uninjured looking young man who reminds me of Dr Cullen in some way.

Focus! I remind myself as I dart forward to take over this case.

Just as I am about to open my mouth the angry young man's eyes go wide, and his nostrils dilate alarmingly.

"Are you alright . . . ." I begin, as I reach out to him, but it is already too late, turning on his heel he blurs out of the ER before I can reach his side.

"What the fuck?" The EMT gasps, meeting my surprised eyes.

"I . . . ."

"Bella!" Dr Cullen's voice cuts through our shock. "Can you see this patient please? Suspected head injury following a collision with a van in the parking lot."

"But, the other patient . . . ."

"My son, Edward, please?"

"Of course, Dr Cullen!"

…..

My patient appears to have been incredibly lucky, she thought she was about to be squashed between the out of control van and a parked car when Dr Cullen's son suddenly pulled her out from between them. His lightning fast reactions probably saved her life. It is likely she did bang her head, but I could not see any medical need to admit her, so I released her to her parents with strict instructions on how to care for a potential concussion.

Then, because all this was highly unusual, I went in search of Dr Cullen and an explanation.

I found him in one of the back corridors conducting an animated conversation with the angry young man, Edward. To which I am now shamelessly eavesdropping.

"I had no choice," Edward hisses, "I saw Jasper's reaction in Alice's head, I had to act to protect us."

"I understand that," Dr Cullen snaps back, "but why the hell did you let the EMT bring you in? There was no way I could let another doctor examine you! Even Dr Swan would have noticed . . . . "

"Unless you want me to start assaulting school staff, I did not have a lot of choice!"

Dr Cullen pinches the bridge of his nose, a gesture Edward immediately mirrors, which is interesting.

"What a mess," Dr Cullen sighs after a moment.

"Who was she?" Edward asks.

"Dr Swan, " Dr Cullen replies, "are you sure?"

"Yes. I can still smell her now, just not as strongly."

"You'd better go before you run into her again, this isn't the world's largest hospital. I'll meet you at home after I've spoken to her."

"Very well."

…..

I like to have time to process things so I thought it would take Dr Cullen a while to find me in the Sluice Room. I was wrong.

"Bella, Dr Swan . . . ."

"Dr Cullen."

"Carlisle, please."

"How is your son?"

"Edward? He is fine, thank you. I feel I owe you and explanation, however, and an apology for leaving you alone with a patient I should have been treating."

Yes, you do, I do not say, so he speaks into my silence.

"Edward can be, difficult, with people he doesn't know. Particularly in stressful situations and I wanted to avert a potential incident."

"I see."

I want to ask what condition Edward has but it seems inordinately rude to ask.

"I want to assure you Dr Swan, that it won't happen again."

"Thank you."

"No, thank you," he replies, with a smile that relaxes every muscle in my body.

"Would you like to review my notes on the patient with the head injury?"

"Only if you would like me to?"

"I would appreciate your feedback," I concede.

"Shall we?" He asks, opening the door of the Sluice Room to let me out.

…..

Have I forgiven Dr Cullen for this afternoon? No. Am I curious about his angry, special and unfeasibly handsome son? Yes.

Charlie is at work when I get home so I can't ask him about the Cullens, which is annoying because it takes me ages to get to sleep sifting through everything I saw and heard this afternoon with only Dr Cullen's skimpy explanation and my ridiculous imagination for company.

…..

"Are you nearly ready?" Charlie yells up the stairs.

"Yes," I yell back.

"What does that mean in real time?" He shouts.

"Oh my god! How have you been single for so long?"

"Hey!"

"There," I announce as I make it to the top of the stairs, "I'm ready."

"Wow," he says quietly.

"It is just a dress, dad."

"You look very nice. Now, can we please get in the car and go before all the good food is gone?"

…..

I do not know why he was worried about the food; you could feed always feed an army from a La Push cookout, and nothing seems to have changed. Except, we are all a little older.

Although we last met at Leah and Jakes' wedding it feels like years since we have sat around a fire like this, talking crap, telling stories, eating until our stomach's ache and drinking beer like it is going out of style. It is toe amputatingly cold on First Beach, but I am far more comfortable here than I ever was at any college party and the blue flames of the burning driftwood are like the power emissions of a time machine.

"So," Jake chuckles, taking a seat on the log next to me, "Dr Swan, eh?"

"You looking for free medical advice Jacob?" I laugh.

"Of course, I'm a small business owner and entrepreneur, every little helps."

"There is still no new cure for your big giant head."

"Ouch, Jake!" Paul guffaws from the other side of the fire, "She's still got your number!"

"And you still wish she'd got yours," Jake smirks.

"Oh! Burn!" Jared, jeers, cuffing Paul round the back of the head.

And I smile because it is just like the old days. Paul's interest in me was always a long running joke, even when Jake and I were dating. He never once acted on it. Well, maybe once, just after Jake and I split up. But that is our secret, and ours alone.

Across the fire Paul toasts me with his beer and turns away to whale on Jared.

"So," it is my turn to laugh, "impending fatherhood. How is that working out for you?"

"I won't lie, Bells," he replies, "I am shitting the proverbial brick."

"But in a good way?"

"The best way," he sighs, his eyes picking out Leah's heavily pregnant form in the crowd by the surf. "You planning on starting a family yourself any time soon?"

"Jake, please, Charlie is still cutting the crusts off my toast, I'm not giving that up until I'm well into my thirties."

"He's so jacked you're home."

"So everyone keeps telling me," I respond wryly.

"Not had a hug yet then?"

"No," I snigger, raising my beer to my lips, "But he did clap me on the back so hard at the airport that I fell headfirst into the falafel stand."

"Swans," he laughs, "always embarrassing themselves."

"True dat."

And he and I clink bottles with a smile.

…..

"Bella! Bella!"

"Dad?"

"Bella, quick, it's Emily. She's having contractions!"

Oh, crap!

I don't have time to think about how drunk I am as I'm passed from Quileute to Quileute through the throng. Emily is Leah's cousin, although as she's much younger than us I barely know her. But I do know that when Sam, her husband, first moved here he was hot and heavy with Leah, before dumping her for Emily and breaking her heart.

When I reach her, she is reclining on the sand in Sam's embrace.

"Ooph," she gasps when she sees me, "I think the baby is coming."

"Can we get her inside?" I ask the crowd in general.

Immediately Sam scoops her up and starts running. I scuttle after him as best I can with half the male members of the tribe attempting to pick me up and carry me too. To be fair, I am quite slow . . . .

…..

"Okay?" Charlie asks as I join him on the deck.

"Yeah," I sigh happily, "my first baby."

"Mazel tov."

"She's beautiful," I sigh again as he hands me a beer.

"They're not calling her Bella, are they?" He snorts.

"Fuck no!"

"You know," he observes, "beer does wonders for your powers of communication."

"So my professors used to tell me."

"Thank god I wasn't payin' for your education."

"Amen, Dad, amen."

A/N Thank you all, for welcoming me back and showing an interest in the story. Now the first full chapter is up I will probably post every weekend. Stay safe out there!