So glad everyone liked the gala, in spite of the lack of detail.
Bella did choose to make a speech, and yeah, Dr. Newton
did call her up front in spite of his assurance that he would
not. Shows how far she has come over the months since she
was first told about it, right?

SunflowerFran is my beta and she is amazing!

-LWTC-

Chapter 24

Bella had been home for nearly a week, but Edward had only seen her once since the night of the Gala. She was pulling sixteen hours shifts on her surgical days, performing an average of three surgeries daily. It was driving him up a wall to have her home and not to be able to see her. He was grateful, however, that she had chosen this route. By Friday evening, when she got off work, she would be caught up on all of the surgeries that had been pushed back in her absence.

On Thursday evening, Edward, Alice, and Esme had snuck into Bella's house and decorated while she was at work. Esme and Alice were also on a mission to discover some important paperwork. If they were to succeed in their scheme, they would need documentation.

By the time the two women left at eleven o'clock Thursday night, they had managed to decorate the outside and inside of Bella's house, find the paperwork, wash Bella's laundry,—that she hadn't had any time to get done for herself—and put a large roast into the crockpot so that she would not have to cook at the end of her long day.

While the girls had been busy cleaning, cooking, and decorating inside, Edward had put up the majority of the outdoor decorations at the direction of his sister-in-law—to whom he began to refer as Teeny-tiny Dictator*—and snow-blow both driveways and the walkways between Bella's house, the street, and the garage. By the time he walked back into the house, he was utterly exhausted. He was grateful that he had thought ahead to bring a change of clothes.

"Thanks Mom, Alice," he hugged and kissed them, in gratitude for all of their help. "Do you think she'll be surprised?"

"I think she's going to be floored, Edward," Esme beamed. "This was a very thoughtful idea on your part. I'm grateful I was able to help."

"Thanks again, Mom."

"Anytime, son," a large yawn escaped Esme as she shrugged into her coat.

"Call and let me know that you got home safely."

"I'll text you as soon as we get there, Edward," Alice promised.

-LWTC-

We just pulled into the drive. The roads are bad. (A)

Great, just one more worry on my plate. Glad you two made it home safely. (E)

She'll be fine, Worryward. (A)

Nice play on words. Of course I am … concerned. (E)

She won't drive if she feels unsafe, you know this. (A)

Goodnight, Ali. (E)

Edward sat in a recliner in Bella's living room, and turned the television on, only to find that she didn't have cable or satellite hooked up. He grumbled to himself about her complete lack of interest in technology, and popped in a DVD to watch while he waited for her to get home.

-LWTC-

"Edward," Bella asked softly, "What are you doing here? How did you get in … Ali."

Edward hadn't realized that he had fallen asleep, and woke with a start, nearly falling off the chair at the sound of her voice. The television screen was blue; the movie had finished without notice some time ago.

"Sorry, Princess," Edward yawned. "What time is it?"

"It's just after four."

"Four? Why so late, sweetheart?"

"An emergency case came in at ten o'clock, and I spent three more hours in surgery."

"You've gotta be exhausted," Edward finally stood to greet her properly. He pulled Bella into his arms and she melted against him, yawning deeply and breathing in his scent.

"You decorated my house," she mumbled against his shoulder.

"Yeah, we did," He chuckled, "Ali, Mom, and I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, you definitely succeeded," Bella grinned sleepily as she backed away from him. "I almost didn't recognize the place. It's beautiful," she looked around the room, taking in the pretty tree, and the nativity that Esme had found in the attic, and set out on the coffee table. "Smells like someone cooked as well."

"Yeah, Mom left a roast in the crock."

"That was so thoughtful of her," Bella yawned so deeply that her eyes began to water. "I'll have to call her later, to thank her."

"Why don't you get in the shower, and get out of those scrubs? I'll plate up the food for you while you clean up," he kissed the top of her head, and walked toward the kitchen.

"How long have you known?"

"What?" Edward frowned, having no idea to what she was referring.

"That I live here," Bella watched as a Cheshire Cat-like smile spread itself across her beautiful boyfriend's face.

"Did you know that I took the kids trick-or-treating this year?"

"Yeah …," Bella trailed off, askance.

"Well, I brought them to Hart, figuring I would bring them to all of the houses I stopped at as a kid."

"And you brought them by here," Bella nodded, understanding. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I did drop some hints, but I think they were just too subtle," Edward chuckled, shaking his head at her. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I was afraid that you would tell me to stop coming to the store every morning once you knew how far out of my way I was traveling each day."

Edward grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, kissing the tip of her nose. "Sweet girl," he kissed her forehead, "I would never have done anything to keep you away. You've owned my heart from the start. Telling you not come to the store would have been like cutting off my oxygen supply."

"You, sir," Bella stood on her tip-toes, and kissed him softly on his lips, "are just too cheesy for words."

"Ah, but you love my brand of cheese." Edward wrapped her in his arms, and kissed her again, more deeply, taking his time to explore her mouth with his tongue. "Now, go shower and change."

As Bella complied, Edward turned his mind back to the task at hand, adjusted himself in his pants as he walked into the kitchen, and tried not to think about naked Bella in the other room.

-LWTC-

"That was so good," Bella said through a yawn, "and I know it isn't the healthiest thing to do, but I need to go to sleep now."

"Yes, love, you really do," Edward agreed, picking up the plates and glasses and carrying them into the kitchen.

Bella's phone chirped with an incoming message, and she sighed heavily as she read it.

"What's the matter, baby," Edward asked as he pulled her to his side.

"Well, I guess I don't need to go in tomorrow now," Bella said, fighting to hold her voice steady, and hold her tears in.

"Oh, sweetheart," Edward sighed, and held her tight. "You do know that this isn't your fault, right?"

"I know," Bella nodded as tears began falling down her cheeks. "I know there's nothing I could have done differently in this case. She was actually a newer patient, and I bumped her surgery date forward on Monday. I really didn't have high expectations for the outcome."

"Your heart is so big and tender," Edward lifted Bella into his arms, carried her to her bedroom, and laid her down under her covers.

Bella grabbed a hold of him and looked him in the eyes as she implored him, "Stay."

"I will, but I need to change first," he kissed her softly, and went to the mud room to retrieve his overnight bag.

After changing into his sweat pants, and an old Audio Adrenaline tee, he climbed into her bed, between the top sheet and the comforter, and pulled her against his chest.

They quickly fell asleep, each clinging to the other.

-LWTC-

*Teeny-Tiny Dictator was borrowed from StaceLeo's Baseball Trilogy.

So, they finally had that talk! Only took forever, right? LOL
Last time 'round, a few were confused as to why he slept between the
sheet and comforter … well, he plans to wait until marriage for sex, so
having a layer in between them is merely a reminder to keep his resolve.

Like I said, there won't be an actual lemon in this story. It was rated for
the occasional language.
*huggles*

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