Thanks to lotusblossom, maxandmo and hubby for all of their support and ideas.

*All the characters belong to SM*


~Chapter 3-Shielded~

~Edward~

I was having a bad day. I was worried about Carlisle. Was he going to be OK, sometimes the aftershocks are worse than the original quake? I spoke with Esme this morning and she emphasized he was fine. They always tried to shield me from bad news. I think it in their nature because I have gone through so much in my lifetime. They wanted me to be happy and feel safe, never mind I am a 27 year old male that works in Level 1 trauma center. I have seen my fair share of devastation. I do believe if anything was seriously wrong with Carlisle, Esme would let me know.

But the worry could not escape my mind. I need to call Carlisle after I see my next patient. I was beeped a couple of minutes ago. A patient was brought in unresponsive from the airport. She has history of a head injury and was flying in from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

I am a resident here at Northwestern and I love it. I am selecting neurology as my specialty. Ever since I was adopted by Esme and Carlisle I have envisioned myself following in Carlisle footsteps. He is such a compassionate man and someone I could respect and admire. I have seen how he has helped so many people in his life time, me included. He was the doctor that saved my life after the horrible car accident I was involved in with my parents. They were not as lucky as me. Both Elizabeth and Edward Sr. were pronounced dead at the scene. They both had suffered severe internal injuries and could not be saved. Everyone told me they died on impact. I didn't believe them. They all want me to believe that my parents did not suffer. But, I was already twelve when the accident occurred and I knew better. I was able to hear my mother breathing and she also asked me if I was OK. I was not able to respond. I could hear myself answer 'yes' in my head but no sound would come out of my mouth. Then her breathing stopped and I lost her. She died thinking I was already gone. I think she let go because she felt she had nothing else to live for. Hearing her alive after the accident and then hearing her life leave her body will leave scars in my mind that will never heal. She was the best woman I had ever known until I met Esme. My mother was the most gentle and giving person. She taught me how to play the piano and supported me in whatever I wanted to do. I tried everything from soccer to hockey. She was always there supporting me and rooting me on.

My father was a great man also. He just wasn't around as much as I would have liked him to be. He worked so many hours at the law firm trying to make a name for himself and support his family so my mother could stay home with me. He was very generous with his money but he could not be generous with his time, he didn't have it to give. One thing he did do with his free time was plan the most wonderful and exciting vacations for us to go on. We would go to Ireland, the Caribbean and Australia. But the best vacations were the ones when we would go camping in the mountains in Washington. It would just be the three of us roughing it. Although we did not stay in tents, due to my mother always insisting we rent a cabin with working plumbing. We did not go out to dinner or shop. We would spend the entire vacation playing games, fishing and hiking. It was pure quality time, with the most gifted and special people in the world.

On the way to one of those great vacations was when the unimaginable happened. We were just getting to the base of the mountain ready to make our trek up when we came around the bend and a mountain lion was standing in the middle of the road. It all happened so fast, my father attempted to stop the car and make a slight swerve but the black ice was not forgiving. The car slipped off the road and flipped several times as it fell down the side of the mountain. It was a pretty isolated area and chances were not good we would be discovered and rescued anytime soon. I am not sure how long my parents and I sat in the upside car before we were found. When rescuers finally arrived it was too late for my parents, but I was put on a backboard, put in a lift basket and hoisted out of the canyon the car landed in. I was then life-flighted here to Northwestern, which is where I had my first encounter with Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He was the neurologist that first examined me and took me to surgery to relieve the pressure on my brain. Like I said before, he saved my life in more ways than one.

For months after the accident I was in a major depression. I was withdrawn and in shock. I didn't know why God kept me alive, why didn't I die with my parents? I missed them and needed to be with them. I couldn't stop asking these questions to God and everyone I came in contact with. The people that would answer me would always say the same thing, "Edward, you are meant to do great things and that is why you were spared."

The common answer would always frustrate me. OK fine, I can grasp the idea that I was kept here to do great things, but so were my parents, I knew they were doing great things before they were killed. They were wonderful people and the world was a better place with them in it. So, for that reason I didn't want to be in a world where they didn't exist any longer. I just wanted to die so I could be with them. Carlisle even had me admitted to the psychiatric unit for a suicide watch. I was admitted for weeks, put on many antidepressants and went thru much counseling. They were able to convince me that I was meant to be here and I cannot waste my life. My parents would have disapproved if they knew what I was doing to myself. As you can tell, I never committed suicide, but it was a very dark time in my life.

Since I was without any other living relatives Carlisle and Esme offered to take me in. They had all the necessary paperwork to be foster parents filled out and approved quickly. They took me in and watched over me with all the love they had. They treated me as one of their own. They didn't have any children, not for the lack of trying, but Esme had major problem with conceiving and carrying to full term. She had gotten pregnant a few times only to miscarry within the first trimester. Each time she was distraught. She was a maternal soul; she deserved to have a child to care for.

Both Esme and Carlisle were able to get me back on track. They picked up where my parents had left off. The piano lessons continued and I played a lot of soccer. Carlisle was always there for every recital and every game. It was one of the major differences between Carlisle and my father. Carlisle had wanted children also. He was saddened each time Esme would miscarry. Yet, Carlisle believed in fate. He knew if he and Esme kept being good people they would be rewarded. I think that is how they felt when I was brought into their lives.

~***~

I arrived at the nurses' station and grabbed the chart for the patient I was paged to consult on. She was involved in the earthquake, just as I had suspected. She was saved by a dialysis machine and Carlisle had examined her there in Haiti. Esme escorted her here. I wonder why how that happened. I began to look around for Esme and I didn't see her anywhere. I decided it was time to see this patient that knew my whole family. When I walked into her room I saw she was awake. She was lying in the bed looking a little worried and confused. But she was beautiful, no not just beautiful, she was breathtaking. My breathing changed slightly and my heart began to race. I introduced myself as Dr. Masen and asked her a few questions to ascertain her level of conscientious. She was unsure of the date but I let her know she was correct. I addressed her as 'mam'. She corrected me and told me not to call her mam, she said it made her feel old. She asked how I knew so much about her history and I told her that Esme Cullen notified the staff when she was brought in and it was then recorded in her chart. As I was speaking to her she began to get agitated. I spoke calmly and touch her shoulder. There was an immediate shock and it made me jump. What just happened? I didn't understand. I continued with my assessment confused by the feelings I was having while standing next to her and touching her.

As her head injury went she was stabilizing and I was confident in knowing she was going to be OK. A few moments later my beeper went off. I was late for surgery. I apologized to the Mrs. Swan-Black and I left the room. I felt a very odd sensation when I left. I was so confused. What was going on with me? I felt the need to be back in the room with her.

I needed to push these strange feeling to the side and focus on the task at hand. I needed to get to the surgery I was late for.

~***~

I got home after a long day at the hospital totally spent. I was literally falling asleep on my feet. I decided to grab a quick bite to eat and head off to bed. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I walked into the hospital room and she took my breath away. No words were spoken, just body language. I knew she wanted me just as much as I wanted her. I approached her, grabbed her and kissed her with all the passion I had in my body. Her kisses sent shock waves throughout my entire body. She started to remove my lab coat and unbutton my shirt. So, I began to untie her gown. When the gown fell to the floor I was caught off guard by the perfection that was her body. Her breasts were firm, medium sized and very natural. She had curves in all the right places. She was thin, but not too thin. If I was to ever imagine the perfect woman, she would be it. I immediately got hard. She began to take off my pants as we began to kiss again. My hands moved right to her breast and pert nipples. I had to taste more of her, so I took her nipple in my mouth. She started to moan the most erotic sound, my dick got even harder. After she got my pants and boxer briefs off her breathing became staggered. She eyed my manhood with a look of hunger. She made me feel like the ultimate man. I gently placed her on the bed while sucking and biting at her nipples and she started to stroke my very erect cock. I moved up to her lips and she whispered for me to fuck her. Oh, God, I wanted her badly. I grinded my hips on hers and we both moaned simultaneously. I thrust my dick into her very wet pussy and she thrust into me. I was plunging myself into her while she drove her hips back at me in perfect sync. I have never had it feel like this before. There was like and electric charge between us. I kept getting the shivers as did she. Her breathing pattern began to change and I knew she was close. She took her hands from my back and moved them down to my ass so she could push me further into her. She tightened around my dick and squeezed it so tight I couldn't move my hips, but this action makes me explode all over her. We both panted and gazed into each other's eyes knowing we were meant to be together.

I heard this annoying sound and realized my beeper was going off. I opened my eyes and looked at the clock; it was 4:24 AM. I was being beeped; the beeper has interrupted me again when I was with the breathtaking woman. I think I need to get rid of this beeper.

Then I came to a realization, she is a married woman. But, where was her family, she didn't mention anything about them? Esme didn't mention anything about them in the chart either. I am going to have to get in touch with Esme and find out what has happened to them.

I hope I get to see her again. She does something to me, my mind and my body.

How can Edward feel this way? She is a married woman after all. Reviews are helpful and always encouraged!!!!! Thanks for everything readers. I hope you are enjoying the story so far