AN: Updated 08/01/2020 - Added a bit at the end!

Friday Afternoon - Cafeteria

"What do you mean you already—" My shrill voice cut through the relatively silent lunch chatter, sending Cynthia's eyebrows flying up. I cleared my throat and leaned in, continuing in a whisper. "What do you mean you already knew he was married?!"

"I'll let you in on a little secret," she said, following suit as she leaned in as well and dropping her voice. She lifted her left hand up and tapped the inside of her fourth finger, which held two silver bands sparkling with diamonds, with her thumb. "It's called a wedding ring."

My face dropped. She burst into laughter, leaning back into her seat.

"You're really telling me you never noticed? You've spent the most time with him."

I sighed dejectedly and sat up.

"Well, you knew how well that was going."

"Yeah. But it looks as though you guys finally kissed and made up?"

I glared at her, feeling the tips of my ears instantaneously heat up.

"Oh, would you relax? It's just an expression!"

I laughed mockingly and crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yuk it up, why don't you? Bet you and Frank had a nice, long laugh at my expense."

"Hmm, kinda." She giggled at the look I gave her. "We just liked to tease you a bit. It was adorable how flustered you got over the entire situation."

Grumbling, I looked away from her and pouted. A loud rattling erupted between us, startling us both. I grabbed my phone from the table and saw that I had received a message.

Hey kid. Won't be able to pick you up today. Late shift. Dinner's in fridge—1:49 p.m.

K. Be safe!—1:49 p.m.

I locked my phone and placed it back on the table, sighing. "You able to give me a ride home today, Cyn?"

"No, sorry. I've got to pick up Lacey from day care, so I'm leaving a little earlier." She paused, then smiled teasingly. "Dalton might be willing, though."

Rolling my eyes I pushed myself up from the table.

"And this is where I'm choosing to leave you to continue being a pain in the ass."

She shook her head and waved me off as I gathered my belongings and started to walk toward the exit.

"I'll let him know you're looking for a ride," she called out behind me.

"Don't you dare," I shouted over my shoulder, flipping the bird over the other one.

Her raucous laughter trailed out after me.

I returned to an empty office. Slumping into my seat, I kicked my heels up onto my desk not unlike the position I found Carlisle in this morning. Thinking back on what transpired earlier had a silly grin spreading over my face. I was ecstatic that we were finally able to clear the air between us and get back to some semblance of normal. I stole a glance at my bandaged palms, huffing a laugh through my nose. And to think, all it took was a little blood. How ironic.

My desktop pinged with the notification of an incoming message. I sat up quickly, almost knocking my third chai off the desk with the swinging of my feet, and logged into the system before opening up my skype. It was from Cynthia.

I've got Dalton in front of me if you still need a ride. :P

Ha ha, I hate you.

I'm only trying to look out for you, you know!

Yeah, yeah. I'll take a cab or something, don't worry. Thanks, though.

The sound of the door opening behind me caught my attention. Looking over I saw it was Carlisle, and I gave him a small wave before turning back to my computer. I minimized my Skype chat and opened my email to see if he had sent me any work. I already knew what I would find, but with nothing else to do I was bored out of my mind. Zip. Zero. Nada. My email was barren. I sent a glare in his direction, where he didn't even look up from what he was doing. I sighed deeply.

"So, I heard you're looking for a ride?"

"Wha—how did you hear about that?"

He gave me a knowing look, and I just stared back, incredulous.

"There's no way you would have been able to hear me in the cafeteria!"

He sat back in his chair and raised his eyebrow. "You don't even know where I was."

There was a pen resting next to my keyboard, and I picked it up and twirled it around as I responded. "True, but as there aren't many places you could be other than here, which is on the third floor, or in an exam room on the second floor on the opposite side of the building, I'd take my chances that of all the possible voices you could hear, mine wouldn't be one of them."

"That would be a sound argument if I weren't also in the cafeteria."

The pen fell from my hand, clattering onto my desk.

"What were you doing in the cafeteria?"

"A couple of the other doctors wanted to do lunch as a way of getting to know the new guy." He sighed, pushing his fingers through his blond locks. "I need to keep up appearances, and I already pushed it off long enough so I finally agreed."

"Can you even eat human food?"

"No."

"Did you actually eat anything in front of them?"

"Yes."

My eyes went wide. "Wait, so what does that mean for you now?"

He grimaced before passing a hand over his mouth and furrowing his brows, as if remembering something distressing. "Let's just say I had to experience an unpleasant lunch. Twice."

"Yikes."

"Indeed."

"Why didn't you say you had work to do or something? Make it so that you could sit for a bit but not actually have to eat?"

"They caught me at the end of my shift. Couldn't find an excuse to leave early." He groaned and held a fist up to his mouth. "Could you please stop making me relive the horrendous meal?"

My lips twisted to the side as thoughts of teasing him further bubbled to the surface. I didn't want to push my luck, however, as we had only started talking again this morning. I quickly picked the pen back up and touched it to my lips in an attempt to cover my blossoming smile. I almost dropped it once more with the force of the look he leveled me with.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

I made no move to hide the smile that erupted. "Very much so, yes."

He rolled his eyes. "Great. I tell you of my plight, and I just get made fun of for my efforts."

"Yeah, but I bet you're glad you have someone to complain to!"

"Humph."

I quietly laughed to myself, but I damn well knew that he heard me anyway. Turning my attention back to my computer, I saw that my skype was blinking with a new notification which reminded me of his initial question.

"Why were you asking me if I needed a ride again?"

"Hmm? Ah. I was going to offer you a ride, but I'm currently rethinking that decision."

All pretenses were dropped and I held my hands up in front of me. "Huh? Oh no, Doctor Cullen, there's no need for you to do that!"

"It's no issue at all. You're on my way home, anyway."

I pushed a piece of hair behind my ear before depositing the pen snugly into the space I created. "I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to impose."

He smiled softly at me. "Trust me, it's no imposition whatsoever. And if it really bothers you, we can just attribute it to the two of us getting back on the right foot."

There was clearly no arguing with him about this, and so I conceded. "Okay, okay, you've convinced me. But are you sure you're okay with waiting until I get off at five?"

"What do you mean? I was going to drop you off on my way home now."

Now I was confused. "Uh, what? I can't just leave early."

"I'm pretty sure, as your employer, I have the authority to let you off work whenever I please. Besides, it's not as though you have a ton of work to catch up on."

He had me there. "You don't gotta tell me twice!"

I hopped up from my chair, the pen falling out of my hair and onto the desk with the motion. I exited out of my apps and logged out of my computer before swiping all of my empty drink containers into the trash can that rested next to my desk. I grabbed my half-empty chai and chugged as much of it as I could stomach, tossing it in the trash with the others when I was done. Throwing all of my stuff into my bag, I slung it over my shoulder and gave my space a once over to make sure I didn't miss anything. I turned back to Carlisle to see if he was ready to go to find him not only holding the door open for me but staring at me with an amused smile.

"What?" I asked, pausing in my tracks.

He just chuckled and shook his head, motioning to the open door with a nod. "You ready to go?"

I shot him a couple of finger guns as I passed him, flipping the light switch off as I walked through the doorway. He locked the door behind us, and we made our way to the elevators in comfortable silence. We carried on this way until we hit the entrance of the hospital where we were met by Dalton, who was talking to Cynthia at the front desk. She raised an eyebrow at me, and I gave her a minuscule head shake, silently begging her to keep her mouth shut. Unfortunately, it wasn't her whom I had to worry about.

"Hey, Bry! Cynthia was just telling me you needed a ride home today?"

"Oh! Is that so?" I cut a glance to Cynthia, who tried her damnedest to not make eye contact. "And why would she be telling you such a thing?"

"Because I'm assuming you need a ride home?" He sounded slightly unsure now, and all I could do was offer him a small smile. "Do you?"

I shifted back and forth on my feet, not knowing how to answer his question. "About that, I—"

"Actually, I will be driving Miss Swan home today." Three pairs of eyes simultaneously landed on Carlisle. I had honestly forgotten he had been standing next to me and was startled by his voice. He had a polite smile upon his face as he turned to address me. "Isn't that right?"

"Ayup," I nodded.

Dalton shrugged and said, "Alright. Glad you were able to find someone!"

"Yeah, thanks! Well, I'll see you guys on Monday, then. Have a good weekend!"

I waved at them both before starting to make my way to the exit.

"Wait, you're leaving now?"

I turned back to answer Cyn. "Well, yeah. It's not like I have any wo—"

Carlisle stepped in front of me, effectively cutting me off once more. "It's a personal policy of mine to not have my employees stay in the office any later than I do. Doesn't make much sense when they can get just as much done at home. Now, if you don't mind I really must be going. I'll see you all tomorrow. Miss Swan?"

He directed his attention to me and held his hand out in front of him, silently ushering me to keep moving. I gave one last wave and hurried alongside him, whispering harshly.

"What in the hell was that about?"

Leaning in just enough for me to hear, he gently whispered, "Mrs. Porter knows that I've seen at least ten new patients today. How did you think saying you had nothing to do was going to go over, exactly?"

"Point taken."

It was a few minutes later when we arrived to his car and once he unlocked it, I folded myself into the soft, buttery leather of the front passenger seat, cradling my bag in my lap and crossing my ankles in front of me. I buckled my seatbelt across my chest and waited for Carlisle to get in the car. Once he was seated, I immediately shifted in my seat to face him.

"Thanks again for giving me a ride home. I truly hope it isn't too much trouble."

He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road before he responded. "Please stop fretting, Miss Swan. You're going to start making me feel bad."

I giggled at his teasing tone. "Alright, sorry. And please call me Briar. We started over to become friends so there's no need for all this formality. It makes me feel old."

He let out a full-bellied laugh at that. "You are nowhere near being anything close to old! Me on the other hand, well...but I digress. We shall go back to first names, yeah?"

I agreed, relaxing back into my seat. Leaning against the headrest, I let my eyes drift to the window to watch as the trees flew by. My thoughts began to wander. I went into work this morning thinking that it was just going to be another day of tense silence, but now here I was in his car, joking about as he drove me home. We had made so much progress in such a small amount of time, and I couldn't help but feel giddy about it. It was almost as if this last week never happened and we picked back up from where we left off on Sunday.

I chuckled to myself at the memory of how we first met. Never thought I'd find myself casually sitting in the passenger seat of a vampire's car. And certainly not after he offered to take me home! I laughed again, imagining a more traditional vampire Carlisle: luring me back to my home under the pretense of being a nice guy only to turn and sink his fangs into me as I unwittingly became his next meal. I sensed him shift to look at me, but he thankfully didn't say anything. I wouldn't know how to explain my thoughts if he did.

I mentally waved my silly musings away. He was a doctor, for crying out loud. What self-respecting vampire who drank from people would turn around and save them? I snorted at how backwards that statement sounded. I didn't even know if he actually ate people, but in that same vein I wasn't sure that he didn't. I rolled my eyes at myself and scoffed. Even in my thoughts I wasn't safe from my dumb puns. I heard him shift again.

"While it is quite humorous to watch you have what seems to be quite the riveting conversation with yourself, would you like to share? Perhaps my input might help?"

In an effort to not laugh in his face, I bit down hard on my lip. He was just being polite, but I'm almost certain I was internally volleying a conversation he wanted no part in. "I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Oh, come on. I'm sure it's nothing I've never heard before. Let me put my old man wisdom to good use." He shot me a cheeky smile, playfully lifting an eyebrow over one of his obsidian eyes.

I choked on the oncoming laugh as the realization shot itself into my brain. He was a hungry vamp. And I did agree to get into an enclosed space with him. And I still didn't know what he ate.

He looked at me quizzically as I discreetly shifted closer to the door. "Is everything okay?"

"Hey, uhm, don't take this the wrong way, but..." I trailed off, twiddling my thumbs. "Now, I don't really know how to say this..." I tried again, only to have the words clog themselves in my throat. "I mean, I was wondering..."

I twisted my fingers together in frustration. My knowledge was accidental, and I didn't want to step over any boundaries by asking questions. But the need to know for my own self preservation was too strong. Taking a deep breath I pursed my lips, ready to just push the words out. A soft touch on my shoulder caused me to whip my gaze towards him, startled. He wore a gentle, understanding expression.

"Whatever you need to ask, it's okay. I promise you I won't be offended."

Spurred on by his soothing tone, I blurted out, "Are you planning on drinking my blood?"

Judging by the way he recoiled from me, I could tell that that was not the question he was expecting. His demeanor hardened, and there was a squeak from the steering wheel as he gripped it even tighter. His voice sounded despondent as he uttered an apology.

My heart raced in panic. Ah shit, I fucked up again.

"Please, no! I'm not mad! I remembered you mentioned that you hadn't eaten in a while, and, well, I mean I don't mind, per se. I just needed to know if I had to, like, change my shirt or something? Like, is it messy? I really like this shirt and blood is a bitch to get out, so I'd like to know beforehand, is all."

It was almost as if I were talking to a statue with how still Carlisle was. If not for the fact that the car was still moving, I would have thought that the world had been put on pause. In fact, I was almost afraid that he would send us careening into a tree on the next bend if he didn't snap out of it. I tentatively reached out a hand to touch his elbow but thinking twice, just let it drop back down to my side.

"Uh, Carlisle? You okay...?"

If not for the laser focus I had on his face, I would have missed the movement of his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed thickly.

"You...you would let me drink your blood?" His words sounded strangled, and my chest tightened.

"Er, yeah? Of course I would."

His eyes grew wide but still stayed facing forward. "Why?"

I chewed on the inside of my cheek in thought. "Hmm, because I have to? No, that's not putting it right. I suppose it's that I feel a sense of responsibility as the only person who knows of your...underlying condition, shall we say? And as such, it's my duty to help you whenever you find yourself in need. Besides, I reckon that I'd taste much better than a gross mountain lion!"

Laughing at my own joke, I turned to see if there was any reaction only for him to turn his face away and look out of his own window. I briefly feared the thought of him not looking where he was going, but he returned his gaze to the road shortly after. Sighing deeply, I sunk down into my seat.

"I just want to be able to help you," I muttered.

He roughly passed a hand over his face, slapping his palm back onto the wheel. "Briar, I'm not going to drink your blood."

"What? Why not?"

"I can't."

That had me shooting back up in my seat. "What do you mean you can't? I'm literally telling you, you can!"

"I mean exactly what I say. I can't drink human blood."

"I—huh?"

"Forgive me. I should amend that to say that I can physically drink human blood, yes. But if I were to do so, the only options left for that human would be for them to be turned into a vampire themselves or death."

I blinked owlishly at him. "Ah. Well, that's...extreme."

He hummed in response.

"Wait a minute. So you just let me sit here like a fool and ramble about the proper attire in which to get my blood sucked meanwhile you knew damn well that wasn't ever going to be a problem? That is uncool!"

"In my defense, I thought you were asking out of fear. When I finally wrapped my head around the fact that you were offering your blood to me, I was a little speechless. I couldn't believe how foolishly selfless you were being."

"Hah, yeah, that sounds like me. The epitome of foolishness."

"Briar, please. I only say so because if I were any other vampire I would not waste a moment to take advantage of your kind words. And then where would you be?"

"Dead, apparently." He looked at me exasperatedly. "Okay, okay! If I run into any more vampires I promise not to offer myself up to them on a silver platter in the name of assistance."

He sighed. "I'd rather you didn't make it sound like you were planning on meeting any more vampires, but if that's the best I'm going to get out of you, then sure."

"Okay, so, I have another question."

"Is it going to cause me to go into cardiac arrest because I don't think I can handle that again."

"Wouldn't you technically need to have a beating heart for it to go into arrest?"

"Is that your question?"

"No! I was just curious since you don't drink human blood, you know, what do you drink?" I thought for a moment. "But also..."

"To answer your first question, though it should be fairly obvious, yes. And as I am technically undead, my heart does not beat and can therefore not go into cardiac arrest."

"Zombie," I snickered.

The severe look he sent my way had me scrambling to cover my laughter. "In response to your second question, I am what's considered a 'vegetarian'. Meaning I only drink the blood of animals, including the, what did you refer to it as again? Oh, yes. Gross mountain lion."

I coughed, feeling the telltale signs of an oncoming blush. "Whoops?"

"No, it's fine. They are pretty gross." There was that cheeky smile again, this time sending butterflies flitting through my abdomen. "I'm more of an elk guy, myself."

I gasped in disbelief. "Carlisle! Not the poor little deer!"

"Briar, people eat deer. I eat elk. They're two very different animals."

"Yeah, but Bambi's mom, Carlisle? Really?"

"Still not an elk!"

I held my hand up and faced the window. "You know what, I'm not having this conversation with you!"

"Good, because it's ridiculous."

Ignoring him and muttering to myself about sharing a car with a mom killer, I noticed that we had turned onto the stretch of road leading up to my house. It suddenly struck me how sad I was that the car ride was coming to an end. It was only a few moments before he was pulling up in front of my house and putting the car in park. The driveway was empty which means I was thankfully saved from having to explain to my dad why my new boss was dropping me off at home in the middle of the day. I sighed wistfully.

"Well, this is me. Thanks again."

"No worries. It was quite enjoyable."

I snorted. "Are you sure? Because I for sure thought I might have killed you at one point. Again."

He laughed. "Then it was an entertaining one, at least."

Giggling, I grabbed my bag and opened the door. "Have a good weekend, Carlisle."

I started to climb out of the car and had one foot on the pavement when something occurred to me. Looking over my shoulder, I pinned him with an accusatory glare.

"How do you know where I live?"

Sunday Evening - Carlisle's Car

Carlisle watched as she blurted out a final goodbye before scuttling out of the car and into the tree line. Even though she had sworn that she would be able to make it home no problem, an uneasy feeling settled into the pit of his stomach at the thought of something happening to her in the name of privacy. As a man, but first and foremost as a doctor, he couldn't, in good conscience, let her walk home alone through the forest in the dark. Sending her a silent apology, he stealthily turned off and exited his car and ducked into the forest after her.

She hadn't gotten very far along the path and was easy enough to spot as the bright blue of her parka contrasted heavily to the quickly darkening trail. Carlisle kept himself about ten yards behind her, sticking to the trees on her right. She was walking slowly, looking back and forth between her left and right sides. He heard her whispering to herself.

"Okay Briar, just ten more minutes on this creepy ass trail, and you'll be home free."

He chuckled lowly. Of course she had been putting up an act.

Her tone turned mocking. "Oh yeah, I've been walking these trails my whole life! I'll be JUST FINE! You can't even go to the bathroom at night without spooking yourself in the mirror and now you're going to walk through the forest at night? HAH!"

Her exclamation startled birds nesting in the nearby trees. They squawked sharply, flying out of the thick foliage in formation overhead. She jumped and covered her head with her arms before dropping onto her heels into a ball. Carlisle stepped forward in reaction but figured if he came out now it would only scare her more. He moved back into the shadow of the tree he was standing behind, keeping an even closer eye on her.

The birds had settled back into the trees, and it had become eerily quiet with their silence. She peeked out from under her arms. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and brushed herself off. "It's okay. You're okay. It's just some birds! Birds can't hurt you. You're not in an Alfred Hitchcock movie."

She took another steadying breath. "Almost home, Bry. Almost home."

She stepped forward, snapping a small stick underfoot. Carlisle worried when he heard her heart rate shoot through the roof. Then she was off like a streak of lightening, tearing her way down the trail like her ass was on fire.

"Please don't eat me birds! I didn't mean it!"

He would have thought the entire situation was humorous if he didn't fear she might accidentally hurt herself whilst running. It was easy enough to catch up to her, as her running speed was akin to a leisurely walk for him, and kept up alongside her until the back of a quaint, two-story home was visible though the spots in the trees. Briar pushed her legs to go just a bit faster as she cleared the last hundred yards before she burst out of the tree line and into her backyard.

She didn't stop running until she reached her back porch door, flipped the overhead light on, and collapsed onto the ground. She sat with her back pressed up against the screen, her chest heaving as she caught her breath and her eyes roving the surrounding area for any dangers. Carlisle kept his distance, hiding behind another tree.

She ran her hands through her hair, tousling it in the process and heaved one last, heavy sigh. "Man, I need to work out more."

With that, she pushed herself up off the ground and unlocked the doors before entering her home. Carlisle waited until he heard the sound of the lock sliding back into place before he turned back around and ran to his car. He was seated inside in mere moments where he finally allowed himself to laugh uproariously.

"What a trip."

Friday Afternoon - Carlisle's Car

Well, color me absolutely mortified.

When I accusatorially asked Carlisle just how he knew where I lived, I never expected the amused smile I received in response. I then sat back into my seat and slammed his door shut, demanding he give me an actual answer. Not the best move, I admit, but I was angry and curious. Now, after hearing his tale and knowing just how true it was, I could only sit there stewing in sheer embarrassment.

"So that's how you knew..."

"That, and your address is written on your employee file."

I slapped my forehead, wishing on everything in the world for the ground to open up and swallow me whole. I barely spared him a glance as I opened the car door once more. "I'm leaving now!"

I didn't have to see his face to know that he was wearing that stupid, teasing grin. "Have a good weekend, Briar."

"Yeah, whatever!"

...

...

Hours later found me lounging on the couch, falling in and out of a fitful sleep to the muted sounds of Bram Stoker's Dracula.