I'm sooooo sorry I haven't posted in a few days. I've been catching up on sleep and hanging out with my family, and I just haven't had the effort to upload. I'm going to post a few more chapters today. I don't own Twilight or anything recognizable, and please review!

"I need a job," I groaned, dropping my head into my hands.

"I'm sorry," Embry said unhelpfully.

"No, I seriously need a job. This is the third time I've been turned down!"

He put a hand on my knee and massaged it gently. "Well, Jake and Bella found me a job. Maybe they can find you one, too."

My head snapped up. "You got a job?"

He slowly turned red. "Um, yeah. I'm the new stock boy at the auto parts shop Jacob's been working at."

"That's great, Bry," I said honestly. "It really is. But I don't know what kind of job I'd want or what I'd be good at."

"Well there is a cashier opening at the shop," he said, somewhat singsong.

"No. N-O. No. There's no way in hell that me, you, and Jacob can work under the same roof without the place blowing up."

Embry pouted. "Lee…"

I glared at him. "No."

"Well, at least let Bella help you. She is your sister now."

That she was. But in the end, it was Rosalie that found me the perfect job.

"There's a shortage of nurse's aides in the children's ward at the hospital," she said casually the next afternoon, as we were searching through racks in the baby store, looking for gifts for Emily's shower that I was hosting. "Carlisle thought you might be interested in helping out."

I'd never considered doing anything in the medical field, even if it was without training, but suddenly I was interested. "I'd never thought of that before."

"Well, Embry mentioned you wanting a job, so Carlisle mentioned it to me," she said with a shrug. "If you want the job it's yours. The pay sucks but the kids are adorable."

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "Yeah, sounds good."

Rosalie smiled, then pulled about six onesies off the rack. "What do you think of these?"

I laughed, seeing all the green. "Cute, but it's going to be a girl."

"I know," she said, "but this shade is pretty, and it'll look nice with her skin if she ends up looking like Emily."

I shrugged, letting her have her way. I'd discovered that was the best way to handle her, and it was okay. Later that evening, Carlisle and I talked and I left the Cullen home with a minimum wage job. It was a start.

Embry was waiting at my house when Rosalie dropped me off, and he'd brought dinner. "Hey, Lee."

"Hey, Bry," I greeted him with a light kiss, then I let us in. "Mom and Charlie are staying in town tonight, so it's just me and Seth here."

Embry pulled a note out of his pocket. "Seth's gone."

I took the note and read Seth's chicken scratch.

Leah, Staying at Brady's house after patrol. Don't get into too much trouble. Love, SethPS- Embry, since I know you'll be there, I know where you live.

"Well, then, I guess it's just me," I said, balling up the note and tossing it into the trash can as we made it into the kitchen. "Thanks for bringing dinner."

"Welcome," he said, putting the bag on the table. "How was your day with Rosalie?"

"It was good," I said, pulling down some plates. "We found some nice baby clothes for Emily."

Embry began to pull out food and set it out, getting a few utensils out of the drawers. "Well, since you're all alone this evening, do you want me to stay over?"

I laughed out loud. "So that's what this is all about. Am I your new security blanket?"

"Yes," he said, catching my waist as I attempted to slip past him. "So, do you?"

I put my arms around his neck, pressing my forehead to his. "You know I want you to, but I have to actually get some sleep tonight instead of staying up until three talking. I start my new job tomorrow at nine."

Embry suddenly lifted me up and spun me around. "That's great! Congratulations, babe!"

I laughed and grinned. "Rosalie and Carlisle got me a job as a nurse's aide in the children's ward. I'll work weekdays from nine to five."

"That's amazing, Lee," he said, kissing my cheek. "This calls for a celebration. How about we eat this, then we go and get something good for dessert."

"Sounds like a plan."

We enjoyed out Chinese takeout, then we went to the diner for their secret specialty we'd discovered one afternoon after a patrol: death by chocolate pie. We got an entire pie and went back to my house to share it. At about ten, Embry got up to go home.

"I work until four tomorrow, so I can pick you up afterwards. We can get cleaned up at my house for dinner with everyone," he said, slipping into his shoes. "Do you need a ride to work? We can grab breakfast somewhere."

"Sounds like a plan," I said, standing up to see him out. "See you in the morning."

Embry pulled me into a warm embrace, kissing me, long and deep. "I needed a proper goodnight."

I smiled, kissing him again. "Goodnight."

"I love you," he said, his hot breath fanning over my lips.

"I love you, too."

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay over?"

"Goodnight, Embry," I said, lightly pushing him.

He smirked and shrugged. "It was worth a shot."

The next morning, I started my job. After breakfast with Embry at McDonald's, Carlisle greeted me in the lobby, then passed me off to a skinny, dark skinned woman.

"Jayne, this is Leah," Carlisle said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "She's a friend of my family's. She's going to be working as your aide."

The woman smiled, showing off perfectly straight, stark white teeth. "Nice to meet you, Leah. It'll be nice to have a helping hand with these kids."

Carlisle smiled. "Get her into some scrubs. I'm making it your job to show her the ropes."

"Yes sir, Dr. Cullen," Jayne said, grinning. "Let's go."

In the children's ward, she led me to a supply room, to a rack of scrubs with cartoon prints and told me to choose one. I picked up one with about a thousand tiny Tweety Birds on it. When I was dressed, she led me to the first room on the hall.

"Good morning, Dani," Jayne said, throwing open the curtains and letting grey light fill the room. "How are you this morning?"

In the middle of the hospital bed was a tiny girl, about four, with pasty white skin and dark circles under her eyes. She stirred in her sleep, then blinked her large brown eyes open. "G'morning, Aunt Jayne."

"All the kids call the nurses aunt or uncle," Jayne said, going to a cabinet and pulling out a few instruments. "It makes them feel more at home."

"I have pneumonia," the little girl said suddenly, startling me. "But I'm getting better."

I looked at the nurse. "Um…"

Jayne smiled at the little girl lovingly. "Everybody always asks her what's wrong, so she's taken it upon herself to announce it. And yes, Dani, you are getting better. Let's check your heart and then we can get you some breakfast, okay?"

The little girl sat up. "Who is this?"

"This is Leah," Jayne said, putting the stethoscope in her ears. "Breath deep."

As if rehearsed, the little girl went through the motions of a basic checkup with the nurse. When she was done, the nurse gave her a little hug and carted in the food someone had put outside of the door.

"Do you need Miss Leah to stay with you and make sure you eat, or will you be good and eat everything on your own?" Jayne asked, adjusting the bed so the little girl could relax and still sit upright.

"I can do it by myself," she said, rolling her eyes.

Jayne got down at the little girl's level. "One day your eyes are going to be stuck like that."

Dani grinned and blew a kiss at Jayne, who clasped her hand in the air and pressing it to her heart. "I'll see you later, Aunt Jayne?"

"I'll come by after I've visited everyone else," Jayne said, straightening up. "See you in a bit, angel."

Each patient had the same routine. There were several of them, most of them under seven. They had broken bones, viruses, allergic reactions. Generic, for the most part, if a children's ward in the hospital can be generic. It was somewhat heartbreaking, but their heart and personalities were inspiring.

At around eleven, we came to our final patient of the morning. "Thomas is our special patient. I need to warn you before hand, he was in a very bad car wreck with his older sister. She didn't make it, and he barely did, but he doesn't know she's gone. He's also a bit…frightening to see at first. He has hemophilia, so he's got a lot of scarring and bandages on his left side. He would have died if it weren't for Dr. Cullen."

I followed Jayne into the room nervously. Sitting on the hospital bed was a tiny boy with a big grin and dark red scars where bandages were absent. "Auntie Jayne!"

"Good morning, Thomas," she said, opening his curtains and beginning his checkup. "How are you feeling today?"

"I feel all better! When can I see Sissy Chrissy?" he asked, following Jayne with his eyes.

"When you're all better for real," Jayne said, tickling his chin. "C'mon, deep breaths."

The little boy took a while to notice me, but when he did, he smiled hugely. "Hi, who are you?"

I smiled and knelt down to his eye level. "I'm Leah."

"Can you be Sissy Leah since I can't see Sissy Chrissy?" he asked, his big blue eyes shining.

Jayne caught my eye and grinned, mouthing, 'He likes you.'

"Sure," I said, holding out my hand.

He took it in both of his tiny hands and shook it, grinning widely. "Guess how old I am!"

I shrugged. "How old?"

"I turn five in six days!" he said, holding up five fingers. "I hope for my birthday I get to see Christina. She got sick after the car hit us, too, but she's not a little kid like me. She's eighteen, so she had to be with the boring grown-ups."

I felt a little flutter in my heart. I didn't really talk a lot the rest of the check-up, but when Embry picked me up for lunch, I couldn't shut up. I told him all about all of the children, and spared no detail about Thomas. He seemed genuinely interested, and listened the entire time.

"So you like the job?" he asked, taking a sip of the coke we were sharing.

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "It's a little heartbreaking, but it's worth it. They're all really sweet and funny, and their personalities are unbelievable."

Embry chuckled and took my hand across the table. "I'm glad you like your job. Are you tired?"

I laughed out loud. "Exhausted. But it'll be okay. I just might sleep through dinner."

Embry took me back to the hospital, then picked me up after I spent all afternoon helping clean the rooms and supplies as well as the children. We went to his house, where he let me use his shower. After I was done and dressed, I finished towel drying my hair in the living room while he showered and dressed. Mom and Charlie arrived a bit later, then Seth showed up right before dinner started. I talked about work and the kids, and entertained them all with anecdotes about the funnier patients. I hung out after everyone left, and hung out with Embry and Cassie.

"Well, you're welcome to the couch if you want it, Leah, but I'm going to bed," Cassie said after a long while. "Goodnight kids."

After she left, Embry pulled me into his arms, letting me use his shoulder as a pillow. "You know," he said slowly, "you can sleep over if you want."

I looked up into his eyes, a light smile playing on my lips. "Tomorrow or Saturday, but I'm really tired, and I won't get any sleep with you because you can't shut up."

Embry smiled and kissed my lips lightly. "I'll take you home."

"I love you," I murmured against his lips, letting him help me up after a longer kiss.

His smile almost made me change my mind. "I love you, too."

A/N: I don't know anything about being a nurse's aide. Never have been one, and I'm not sure I could stomach going into the medical field, so I never will be one. Anyone who is a nurse or a nurse's aide, I'm sorry if I'm horribly wrong about what you do. Also, I have the utmost respect for those in the medical field because I'm squeamish and too light hearted to do what you all do every day of your life. Reviews, please!

~Sidney