I love this moment, time for an update.

I'm not only working a lot, I'm also recording an album and the studio time is already taking its toll on my social media life. HUGS and KISSES to all who review my attempt at writing, even anonimously, I LOVE you. Sorry for caps-screaming, but I DO love you.

SM owns.

Lou and Nancy are still my super heroes.

Chapter 5

~~~~* Lyrics inside: "All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles from the "Magical Mystery Tour" LP (1967)~~~~

"...Well, Edward Cullen, get the fuck out of my room, immediately, or I'll scream."

Oh… no! No, no, no.

What now? I've lost my ability to speak. My headache morphs into the thumping rhythm of a tribal dance, and the drums are killing me.

Well, I do have blood pressure, Nurse Stanley, I can hear it. Sounds more like ventricular tachycardia.

This is awkward. He has narrowed his eyes, waiting for my reaction, and there's none. Not until I hear a commotion behind my back, in the corridor outside the closed door. There's an exchange between excited voices, and wheels screeching over marble. A door is opened, then forcefully shut.

"On three!" I hear the order, and I assume they're transferring a body into a hospital bed.

Shit. They might need me.

I'm not even wearing scrubs, but this sounds like an emergency and I don't know if one of my colleagues has taken over. I have to go.

"I'll be back, Jasper," I say over my shoulder and step out of his room.

I hear the voices nearby, so I head to the nearest door to my left. I peek in, seeing a paramedic and my colleague, Dr. Gerandy, examining a dark-skinned schoolboy with a bleeding laceration on his head. The kid is young and scared, but conscious and in good hands, so I relax and retreat.

Down the corridor, near the entrance, the triage nurse stands, her hands thrown in a helpless gesture. She watches as the doors in front of her open and two more paramedics appear, carrying what looks like a woman's body in a stretcher. I run towards them to see it's Isabella, Chief Swan's daughter, a plastic collar with an uncomfortable chin piece securing her neck. She looks terrified, but is conscious, too.

The nurse directs them to another empty room. I stay.

"Who's taking her?" I ask, hoping my help won't be needed.

"I called your father. I thought you'd already left, Dr. Cullen. There's been a car accident again and we're short staffed."

There aren't car accidents on a daily basis in Forks. Even two in a week is far more than normal. This is strange, but such things happen. Without a second thought, I give instructions for blood tests, an EKG, and an ultrasound for the girl, and leave.

I'm back in the dark parking lot in the rain until I see my father's Mercedes approaching. He pulls up and steps out of the vehicle a few yards away from me. The small puddles on the asphalt add a funny, splashing noise to his footfalls when he walks my way.

Dad has an umbrella and covers both our heads before he speaks. "How are you, Edward? Your Mom and I have been worried about you and your loving heart."

Ah, really?

"Dad. Cut the bulshit. You don't believe me."

"Do you believe yourself, Edward? Do you really believe you have feelings toward that man?"

I gulp, shove my hands into my pockets, then take them back out and clench my fingers into fists. No, I don't want to hit my father. I'd rather hit myself for being so hesitant.

The tribal dance rhythm thumps again. There's a train whistle too, drilling my temples.

"I love him, Dad." That poor head of mine is going to explode.

"But son, it's not possible. You don't know him, at all."

"I don't. But I believe I can define my own feelings... Do you… do you despise me, Dad?"

"No, Edward. I don't despise you. I only think you're making a terrible mistake." He puts a hand on my shoulder, then taps twice. "Now, I have a patient to attend to. You get some rest. Think it over."

I watch the umbrella disappear through the hospital entrance.

Think it over.

Okay, I'm thinking. I'm thinking hard while I drive home. I'm thinking hard while I pass by the kitchen and wave to Mom on my way inside the house. I'm thinking hard while I undress and wait for the water to warm up.

I'm no longer thinking when I step into the shower and the jets hit my skull; that's when I let the tears stream down my face. God, I'm crying like a baby.

Then I remember Jasper's tears.

My beautiful man in tears. My beautiful, terrified, helpless man, crying like a baby, like I am now. I wanted to comfort him, I wanted to lull him into tranquility, I wanted to wipe away the anxiety from his angelic features; to protect him.

I lean against the bathroom tiles, red eyes watching me from the mirror on the wall. My jaw trembles in one last sob.

Get your shit together, Cullen.

Yeah, but he hates me. 'Get the fuck out of my room,' he said. And he's married.

Okay, but he didn't seem to be delighted by his wife's visit.

I'm not going to leave it like this. I have to know what's going on in his head.

So, in the morning, freshly shaven and smiling to the man in the mirror, I try to get my messy hair into a semblance of order. I put on my favorite jeans. I even sing along with the radio while I drive to the hospital.

"...all you need is love, rrrah-ta-da-da-da, all you need is love, rrrah-ta-da-da-da, all you need is love, love, love… love is all you need…"*

The lyrics are ancient, I smile to myself, but so true.

I'm a real ray of sunshine when I greet the receptionist. She has a genuine smile on her face, unlike the lady from last night. Oh, the world is a wonderful place.

I'm a happy person when I enter Jasper's room, realizing a bit too late I haven't knocked. It seems my mood is contagious, because he doesn't jump out of his bed. Instead, he fixates me with his ocean blue eyes and smirks.

"Ah, you're back," he says and lifts his chin up. "Took you a while."

"Look, um, don't scream." I hurry to explain my presence. "I'm not here to waste your time with my feelings. I just need to know a bit more about you. May I stay?"

"Please, have a seat, Doctor." He's deadly serious. "We really shouldn't waste time. I've been thinking… It's absolutely beyond me why you would say you were in love with me. I'm not even asking. But I need help, and I guess you might be the right person."

Oh. Look at you, Jasper Hale, now you need me. I sit in a chair near his bed and nod, signalling I'm all ears and willing to help.

"The thing is…" He closes his eyes and coughs to clear his throat. "Well... I think my wife is trying to kill me."

A/N Yeah, I knew you expected that, didn't you? Tell me.