SM owns Twilight.

(CozItRunsInMyBlood /Rose B. Mashal) owns the plot.

(BandMum) is the wonderful beta.

Chapter 8 Part 2

Any slight suspicion that the figure in the window could be Dr. Cullen, vanished when he texted, saying that he would be home in an hour with dinner.

I made a mental note to ask him when he got back if somebody else lived in the house; the assistant, maybe? Who knew, maybe it was an unwelcome visitor that Dr. Cullen didn't know about.

I gasped when I turned on the lights in the glass room. Dr. Cullen had added some furniture. There was a table with two chairs in one corner, and a small sofa in the other, all on a carpet that covered a large section of the floor.

It didn't escape my notice that they were all different shades of sky-blue. My favorite color.

I was so touched by all of this, that I almost cried. It felt like… the glass room felt comfy, and even welcoming. It felt like this was home.

My smile was huge as I placed my bags on the table, and then tested out the sofa. I moved my hand over the soft fabric and giggled, not able to contain how happy I felt with everything.

The glass room suddenly looked so beautiful, and I couldn't believe I would get to live in a such a cozy place as this. I needed to thank Dr. Cullen for this – big time.

Not long after, the man who had given me so much entered the lab. I knew he was there before I saw him; Smokey was making the loudest noises, that I learned he only made when Dr. Cullen was there to feed him.

"Bella! How was your day outside?" he asked as he put two containers on the table.

"It was great. Thank you, sir. How was yours?" I bit my lower lip, wondering if it was okay with him to ask about his day, or if it was too much.

"It was busy. Do you like the new furniture?" he gestured around the room.

"It's perfect. I love it. Thank you so much! But you really didn't have to. It was okay as it was."

"Ah, please! It's a bit more livable now, and there's more to come later this week," he said to my shock.

"Dr. Cullen, it's really not necessary. It's fine now, more than fine. I don't need all this."

"Of course, you do. You're going to be here for a long time," he said, and before I could reply, he pointed at the bags. "I thought I told you to get anything you want."

"I did, sir."

"It doesn't look like it. And a brown coverlet? I thought you said your favorite color was blue," he pointed at the bed. I had put the coverlet on while I waited for him to return home.

"It was the cheapest I could find." I shrugged.

"Oh, Bella! I wish I had sent someone with you, but I wanted you to enjoy your privacy. Maybe I should've sent Margaret along, but she asks so many questions. I hate it when people ask a lot of questions."

As he spoke, I was about to ask him who Margaret was, but stopped myself when he said that.

I wondered if that was why Eric didn't attempt to chat with me; maybe Dr. Cullen ordered him not to ask questions. I knew our deal was secretive, but Dr. Cullen himself, was mysterious. I wished to know more about him, but now I wasn't sure if I should ask anything. I didn't want to upset him.

"I'll figure it out," he said. I didn't know what he meant by that, but I didn't ask. "Come eat your dinner; aren't you hungry?"

"Uh, are you going to eat with me?" I asked. I assumed he probably just got in from work and hadn't had a chance to eat.

"No. I already ate. I have to go now, actually. I have work to do in my office," he said, and my shoulders hunched. "I'll be back in the morning. I need to do some further examination and tests on you before we start anything."

"Okay." I said in a small voice.

"We won't do anything you're not comfortable with, Bella. Please know that." His words were kind, and eased my anxiety just a bit. But to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to tomorrow.

"Thank you."

"See you tomorrow, dear."

For the next fifteen minutes, I sat at the table and ate my dinner, or rather pretended to eat. Just thinking about the examination tomorrow made my stomach turn, but I wasn't going to upset Dr. Cullen by not eating or taking my medication.

So, I did as I was told, while watching him as he fed Smokey. He wrote a few things on a chart hanging on the wall next to the little monkey's glass cage, then left the lab.

~WtSGD~

No matter how hard I tried to convince myself to relax, I couldn't allow him to touch me. It was out of my control.

"The examination is important, Bella. I promise I'll be as professional as possible. We'll take it easy, okay?"

I was holding tight to my hospital gown over my chest, pulling my knees to my stomach protectively, and visibly shaking.

It was the third try in as many days, and I still couldn't make myself do it.

On the first day, Dr. Cullen decided to do more blood tests instead, and said maybe I would relax in a few days. But the second day came, and I still couldn't let him touch me, no matter what. So, he let it go, and decided we would try another day.

But here we were; same results, different day.

"I'm sorry," I whispered in a shaky voice.

"No need to be sorry, dear. I understand how difficult it is for you," he reassured me. "We don't have to do anything today. We can always try tomorrow."

But we both knew it would probably be the same. I couldn't let him put his hands on me, gloved or not.

"But that's why I'm here. We can try again now. I feel better." I lied. I took a few deep breaths to help calm my nerves and lay back down on the bed.

It took me no more than thirty seconds before I screamed, "No, no, no! Please!" and pushed his hand away.

"It's okay. You're okay. I'm not doing anything. Here." Dr. Cullen stepped back immediately, his hands in front of him so I could see they were nowhere near me, like every time I pushed him away.

As I caught my breath, he took off his disposable gloves, and I knew he was going to stop trying for the day. He looked defeated, and I loathed myself for troubling him that much.

"I'm so sorry, sir."

"Stop saying sorry!" Dr. Cullen snapped and I flinched, my teary eyes wide in shock. It was the first time I'd seen him lose his temper, but I couldn't really blame him.

"Shit! I'm sorry, Bella. I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. I just hate that you keep apologizing when you didn't do anything wrong. This is not your fault, dear."

I nodded, and wiped away my tears, looking away in shame and sorrow.

"I would bring a female doctor here to do the examination, but that will open doors to questions I'm not ready to answer." Dr. Cullen said, "Would you go to the hospital with me? I could pull a favor or two and have them-"

"No hospitals, please." I begged.

"Alright. No hospitals." Dr. Cullen was silent for a moment. "How about I ask you a few questions to get a grasp of your medical history before you're ready for the examination?"

"I'm fine with that." I told him; my voice just above a whisper. I sat up on the bed and pulled the cover over me, still a bit shaken.

"Good." He stood and grabbed my file from the table. He opened it and started writing something.

"Do you have any allergies to food or medications?" he asked.

I shook my head, "Not that I know of, no."

"Have you had any recent infections?"

"I don't know, sir. I haven't had a check-up in years. I have gotten sick a few times in the past year, but it lasted a few days and I was back to normal. I never knew what it was." I answered, and he started writing in the file.

"It was probably Maglos. Can you describe where the pain hits you the most?"

"My bones. They're always aching, specially my fingers and toes."

"Any other symptoms?"

"So many, I can't even count. Headaches, stomachache, cramps, a burning sensation all over my body… The list goes on."

"Understandable. Could you tell me if your cycle is regular? Do you keep track of the dates?"

I sighed and looked down. "I... uh, I haven't gotten my period in years, sir. I had a hysterectomy about four years ago." I knew that answer would raise a lot of questions. I also knew that I wouldn't want to answer them. They would bring back one of my worst memories.

~WtSGD~

Author Note:

I'm wondering how everyone is doing during this difficult time all over the world. Tell me how you feel, and if I can help in anyway. We need to support each other.

A question:

What was the most agonizing pain you ever felt in your life?

Don't forget to leave me a review and tell my what you think. :*

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Until we meet later…

Love and kisses.

Cozy.