A/N: Thanks again to Katrin for the beta!

Bella

I was awoken by evil sunlight streaming through a window.

I threw an arm over my eyes, trying to block its passage to my tortured retinas. They were stinging, nearly as dry as my foul cottonmouth. My head pounded a steady rhythm, keeping time with my heart. I let out a tortured moan and swallowed, trying to coat my parched throat with saliva. God, I needed water.

"Ugh, my mouth tastes like something died," I croaked.

My comment was punctuated by a low, musical chuckle. I pried my eyes open – though it pained me to do so – and turned my pounding head in the laugh's direction. A beautiful, auburn-haired man was lying beside me, peering up at me with clear, green eyes.

I shut my eyes again and sighed. "Ah, still dreaming," I mumbled. "You're too pretty to be real."

He laughed again.

"But if this were a dream my mouth wouldn't taste like dirty socks."

"I thought you said your mouth tasted like something died," said his low, melodic voice.

"Something that died of suffocation in a dirty sock," I clarified.

"Ah," he said, and chuckled again. "Not a very pleasant way to go."

"So…" I started, feeling as if I was talking with the imaginary friend I used to have when I was four. "Where is the setting of this realistic yet slightly sadistic dream of mine, Mr. Pretty, Auburn-Tressed Fantasy Boy?"

He laughed even harder at that. Luckily it was such a beautiful, smooth sound that it didn't hurt my pounding head.

"Um… Chicago. My room…. my house."

"Chicago?" I asked, confused. "That's a strange place for a morning-after-drunken-sex dream."

Chicago.

I sat bolt upright and grabbed my head as a searing pain shot through it.

"Ugh," I moaned. "Shit."

I forced my eyes open. They didn't want to cooperate; my brain was fighting against the pain. I stuck my tongue out as far as it would go, trying in vain to see it.

I looked towards the vision on the bed beside me – he was now sitting up as well. His lovely face was marred by a look of intense worry.

"Ith it gween?" I asked, holding my tongue between the thumb and forefinger of one hand while pointing at it with the other.

He furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Gween? Ith it?" I tried again.

He looked as though he'd had a light bulb moment; his eyes flashed in recognition. "Green?"

I nodded.

"Yes, it's green. Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day. Do you remember?" The look of extreme worry was back.

I released my dyed tongue and threw myself back onto the pillows of Edward's bed in relief.

Edward. His name was Edward.

"Thank God," I groaned, covering my face with my hands to resume the sun-blockage.

He was real. I remembered him. I liked him. I'd talked and drank with his friends. I'd kissed his sister. We'd danced in the street and I'd bought him that horrid shirt. And I was pretty sure I was now wearing his clothes.

"I thought I'd lost it there for a moment." I peeked through my fingers at him; he still looked ill at ease. He probably thought I'd lost it as well. "Sorry for freaking you out, Edward."

He sighed deeply, the set of his shoulders relaxing. "I was more worried that I was freaking you out," he admitted, rubbing a hand through his gorgeous head of sex-hair. Had I done that? It was probably the best night of my life and I'd blacked out. How typically Bella.

"Nah," it was the best I could do at reassuring him in my current state. "I think maybe St. Patrick hates me," I sighed. Even that small gesture killed my throat.

Edward chuckled. "Maybe try drinking a little less next year. A few beer as opposed to a few cases?" he shrugged his shoulders, a smile in his eyes.

"I'll keep that in mind." I clapped a hand over my mouth and felt my eyes widen. He was close enough that my putrid death breath was wafting over his face. It was a wonder that he was still conscious. "Er… you wouldn't happen to have a spare toothbrush around here, would you?" I asked between clenched teeth and from behind my hand.

He smirked at me, clearly amused by my horror. "Um…. probably around here somewhere," he mumbled, crawling out of the bed and padding towards a small door on the far wall.

My eyes widened further when I took in his state of, well, undress. All he was wearing were a pair of forest green boxer shorts. My heart began to pound frantically as I studied his wide shoulders, slim waist and long, muscular legs. I couldn't believe I'd slept with this perfect specimen of manhood, and it was pissing me off that I couldn't remember any details. I almost wished he was still naked, but I wasn't sure I wouldn't have died from embarrassment, so it was probably better that he was at least partially dressed.

I could hear him still mumbling from the small room he'd entered. I furtively checked myself under the blankets to be sure I wasn't naked. Reassured, I crawled, somewhat painfully, out of the big bed and stumbled towards him.

"There has to be one around here somewhere," he was saying. "My sister always over-packs and we usually have extra supplies lying around."

Huh? I leaned against the doorjamb of the small bathroom to steady myself. "Packs? Don't you live here? You said this was your house."

He finished ripping apart the medicine cabinet over the sink, then turned to face me. "It is my house, but I don't live in it." He turned away again and began rooting through a drawer. "It was my parents' house. They died when I was young and I inherited it. I only come here a couple of times a year, but I can't bring myself to sell it."

Way to open a wound, idiot. "Oh God, I'm so sorry," I stuttered.

He shook his head and smiled before slamming the drawer shut and diving under the sink to continue his search. "Don't be. I was very young, as I said, and Carlisle and Esme adopted me right away."

He leaned farther under the sink and I had to crouch down slightly to make out his muffled words.

"They were close friends of my parents and couldn't have children of their own. They adopted Alice too; we're actually the same age."

He shuffled around for another moment before a triumphant "Aha!" came from his prone form. He pulled himself upright and waved a brand new Oral B toothbrush. He looked so adorable with his crooked grin and a big dust bunny in his hair that I started to giggle like a fool.

"What?" he said and looked at the toothbrush in confusion.

"No, not that," I giggled again. "You've got a dust bunny… just here."

I reached up and brushed it away, my hand lingering in his silky locks. His green eyes locked with mine and I stared back, feeling my face flood with warmth. I jerked my hand away, along with my eyes. If I didn't know better I would have almost called his gaze lusty. I began to feel uncomfortable about the night before.

"Um… Edward. About last night…" I met his eyes and saw him gulp noticeably. He looked worried again.

I continued on with all the bravery I could conjure. It was apparently not enough for me to keep eye contact; I took a deep breath as I studied my bare feet.

"It's just… well, I'm not usually like that. I don't – I've never –" I sighed. Very coherent, Bella. "I'm not usually so… aggressive. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I don't want you to think that I'm a –"

"No –" he said loudly, cutting me off. I glanced up to see him shaking his head and moving his hands about in a gesture of refusal. "Of course I don't think you're… I mean… I'm not like that either." He bugged his eyes out to accentuate the point. "I would normally never bring someone home like that. I just… you're just… I really, really like you." He cringed at his admittance. It was adorable.

I smiled, feeling immediately more at ease. "I really like you, too. I don't know what it is, but I feel comfortable with you. There's this feeling of…" I searched for the right word to express myself.

"Kinship," he finished for me.

"Yeah, that," I grinned up at him. "Only, you know, not the family-like sort."

"Um, no," he agreed with a laugh. "Not that sort at all."

An embarrassingly loud rumble originating in the vicinity of my tortured stomach interrupted Edward's laughter. It was my turn to cringe.

"Ew… my stomach is angry with me," I mumbled, red-faced. "I'd better get something to eat."

"Don't worry – Emmett is cooking up a storm right now, I can smell it. He always makes a feast after a good night of beer drinking."

"Er – he's here?" God, I was going to have to do the walk of shame after all; and here I thought I'd gotten off scot-free.

"Yeah, they all are. He always tries to convince me to come stay here for St. Paddy's Day, and this year I finally gave in." He rolled his eyes, but I could tell he didn't really mind. "He gets excited about the stupidest things, but what can I say? He's my best friend." He shrugged his shoulders and handed me the toothbrush.

I tore open the packaging with a smile. "He seemed like a good guy."

"Yeah, he is," Edward smiled back. He reached for his own toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. "We've been friends since my very first day of school. He helped me carry Alice to the nurse when she fell down and twisted her ankle." He flashed his crooked grin my way again, then leaned forward to squeeze toothpaste onto both of our brushes.

I pictured the two of them as children, carrying tiny Alice together. I simply couldn't imagine her any smaller than she already was, however. "That's adorable," I smiled, before plopping the toothbrush into my mouth and waging war on my nasty case of halitosis.

"Well, don't tell Emmett that," Edward said. "I doubt he'd appreciate the sentiment."

Over the next several moments, there were no other sounds in the room besides the scritching of toothbrushes. It was strange, never before in my life had I brushed my teeth with a man like this. It was sort of nice. Comfortable.

I spit in the sink and ran my brush under the tap. I voiced my thoughts aloud without thinking. "Edward, this is really nice."

He pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth. "The toothpaste?" he asked in confusion.

I laughed lightly and shook my head.

"Oh… this," he said shyly, his cheeks pinkening slightly. "Yeah, it is."

He rinsed his brush and placed it into the holder by the sink. I was staring down at my borrowed brush, unsure as to what to do with it. He took it softly from my hand and placed it beside his in the toothbrush holder. He smiled at it for a moment before turning to face me.

It did fit there very well – if only I could stay with it. I frowned slightly. Only I would meet such a wonderful guy on the other side of the country while away for a drunken weekend.

I followed Edward back into the bedroom and searched the floor for my jeans. Our clothes were scattered all over the place; his shirt was even hanging over a lamp. "This room is really lovely," I said, more to make small talk to hide my embarrassment than anything else.

"It was my parents' room; I've never changed anything about it. A bit out of date, really." He was pulling a pair of jeans out of a nearby dresser, his back to me. "Esme, my mother, always wants to redecorate this house, but I'd rather leave it the way it is," he shrugged his shoulders and leaned over to pull on his clean jeans.

Gah, I couldn't stop reminding him of his dead parents! I searched for a change of subject. Alice. "So, your sister… was she adopted before or after you?"

Aha! I'd found my jeans tangled in a blanket on the floor.

"Before. We grew up playing together. I used to wish that she were my sister. Afterwards -- after I went to live with Carlisle and Esme -- I thought it was my fault my parents died because I wished for Alice to be my sister. Children's minds work in such odd ways…" he was smiling fondly into space.

It was sweet and sad at the same time. He looked over at me as I was buttoning my jeans, his cheeks colouring slightly again.

"Sorry, I'm telling you my entire life story. I tend to babble when I'm nervous."

"You're nervous? Huh, you hide it well," I told him honestly. He'd seemed worried and perhaps a little embarrassed, but not nervous.

He chuckled. "Acting is a necessary skill in my line of work."

My stomach rumbled again, even louder this time. I flinched.

"Come on," Edward said with a smile, and led me out of the room and down the stairs.

I smelled the kitchen before I saw it; my stomach turned violently. When Edward had said that Emmett was cooking a feast, he hadn't been exaggerating.

All six and a half feet of him was standing over the stove, a spatula in each hand. He was flipping pancakes on one side, bacon, eggs and sausages on the other.

The Texan – Jasper? – was seated on a stool beside the counter, buttering a stack of toast. He waved at us with his butter knife as we entered the room.

Emmett, noticing Jasper's motion, turned quickly and grinned, eyes zeroing in on me. "HAHA!!!" he bellowed. "I told you she was here! Jasper, you owe me fifty bucks!"

I felt my body flush with heat and stared down at my hands, which I hadn't realised I was twisting around nervously in front of me. "Um… good morning," I said quietly.

"You know what they say – a good morning can only follow a good night," Emmett winked.

Somehow, impossibly, I got warmer.

Edward sighed and walked over to Emmett. He took a spatula out of his hand, flipping the burning pancakes.

"Em," I heard him whisper. "Leave her alone, all right? She's kind of shy."

"Whatever you say, my brother," Emmett replied at a normal level, clapping Edward on the back with his newly free hand.

"So, Bella," he turned back to me and I cringed internally. "What would you like to eat? Grease is the perfect cure for what I'm sure is ailing you. You were pretty plastered yesterday."

I couldn't argue with that, though the thought of eating anything greasy made me want to gag. I grinned at him quickly before going back to studying my hands. "Yeah, I suppose I was."

I wished I hadn't been, then maybe I would remember my night with Edward. I sighed, watching my fingers twist back and forth together. I had green dye under my right thumbnail. That was weird… green dye.

Edward! The water! He'd put food colouring in water so I would drink it! We had walked back here from a bar or something…. And I'd attacked him on the street! I gasped and lay my head in my hands.

What happened next? In the house… more green water… to the bedroom. God, I think I'd flashed him or something. We'd fooled around; I was glad to have that happy memory back – sweet lord, his mouth… Clothes came off, mostly my doing, and we'd kissed some more. And then…

I scrunched my eyes up in concentration. Think, Bella. Think. Remember the best bits.

But there were no other bits. Neither his bits nor my bits. He'd said we should stop, wait until we were both sober, sweetly including himself in the "not sober enough to make rational decisions" club.

I don't want this to be a one-time thing, he'd said.

"Bella, is something wrong?" Edward's worried voice asked.

I pulled my head out of my hands and walked swiftly towards him, grabbing his wrist and dragging him into another room.

When were we far enough away from the others I dropped his arm and turned to face him.

"I'm glad to know you still do that when you're sober," he joked, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

I stared at his face for half a second, before launching myself at him and wrapping my arms tightly around his neck.

"Thank-you, Edward, thank-you for being a gentleman last night. I've thought all morning that we…well… last night – I wasn't upset, just disappointed that I couldn't remember. But now I've just remembered, and we didn't, and you were so sweet. Thank-you." I ended my incoherent ramble, and pulled back slightly to look into his face.

"Of course, I wouldn't… I mean… I couldn't take advantage of you like that. Not that I didn't want to –" he stopped, mortified with his slip, his face reddening.

I grinned at his blushing face and leaned in, planting a kiss square on his lips.

"Oh!" I heard a chirpy little voice exclaim. "Oh God, so sorry. We didn't mean to interrupt. Er… carry on."

I glanced up to see Edward's tiny sister, Alice and Emmett's tall, blond wife walking swiftly from the room.

I disengaged myself from Edward and bit my lip in embarrassment. He shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. "Difficult to have any privacy in such a full house."

I smiled at him and was about to respond when Emmett's voice boomed through the house. "Edward! Get your ass back in here! You ran off with my spatula!"

Edward and I looked down at the spatula still clutched in his right hand. "Oops," he muttered, and we both laughed.

Breakfast was fairly quiet and uneventful. Though Emmett tried to force-feed me all varieties off greasy breakfast cuisine, I turned him down in favour of Jasper's towering stack of toast.

I did, however, accept Emmett's offering of Advil, which he handed me with a grin and a glass of orange juice.

"You should really be taking those with water," Edward told me, as I was about to gulp down the pills with OJ.

"Maximum absorption… blah, blah, blah… You're supposed to be on vacation, Doctor," Alice scolded.

"Yeah, let the poor girl drink her juice, Edward," Emmett said. "Unless you'd rather a beer, Bella. Hair of the dog that bit you?"

He laughed loudly at my violent shudder -- the very thought of beer made me nearly gag on the pills that were still resting on my tongue. They had been there so long that the coating was beginning to disintegrate; I could taste the vile, bitter flavour of the drug.

I threw Edward an apologetic look and downed the pills with a gulp of juice. The acid burned when it hit my stomach. I swallowed a mouthful of air and sat very still for a moment.

"You're a doctor?" I asked Edward quietly, after the churning of my stomach had calmed down to a mere sloshing and I was fairly certain it wasn't about the reject the juice.

"He didn't brag about that last night?" Jasper laughed. "Edward, Edward, Edward. If I was a doctor, I'd be telling all the ladies."

Alice smacked him playfully and he feigned a sore arm.

"You really didn't do much talking last night, did you?" Emmett chortled.

I felt my face turn scarlet, and glancing furtively at Edward, I could see that we matched.

"He's a baby doctor," Rosalie cooed.

"Rose, I'm a paediatrician, my patients aren't all babies," he corrected her sharply.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm just trying to help you out, moron. Girls dig guys who care about babies and animals. It makes you seem all caring and compassionate. Go with it."

"I really don't think he needs any help in that area," I muttered, then quickly bit my lip, trying to grab the words from the air and force them back into my mouth.

Edward regarded her smugly. She tried to look angry, but she was smiling.

Emmett was grinning at the both of us, rubbing his hands together like an evil overlord concocting a diabolical plan. I didn't really know Emmett, but I was pretty sure that was a bad thing.

Apparently, Edward agreed. "Er… Bella? Are you finished with your breakfast?" he asked, eyeing Emmett warily.

"Yep!" I jumped up quickly, instantly regretting my hasty leap out of my chair. I stumbled slightly, woozy, and whacked my knee into its high, wooden back.

Edward caught me easily.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

I nodded, embarrassed.

"Bella, we're having spa night tonight, so you have to stay, okay," Alice said. It didn't sound like a question.

I smiled vaguely and allowed Edward to rescue me, leading the way up the stairs.

"Would you like to take a shower?" Edward asked once we were in the safety of his room.

He immediately reddened. "I didn't mean… Not as in…" He motioned between the two of us and ran a hand through his hair. His little nervous expressions and compulsions were so adorable.

"I'll just get you a towel." He practically sprinted from the room and I stifled a laugh.

When he came back in clutching a big, fluffy towel, I was tempted to tease him and ask him to join me, but seeing the uncomfortable expression on his face stopped me short. That and the fact that I wouldn't have been teasing, not completely, if I was being 100% honest with myself, and I was terrified that he would reject me.

I plucked my St. Patrick's Day shirt from the floor and grimaced at the smell. "But what am I going to put on once I'm clean, that is the question," I thought aloud.

"I'm sure Alice has something that would fit you. Or I could take you home if you'd rather," Edward said somewhat dejectedly.

I liked that he sounded that way. -- far too much.

"Home… well, that would be an awfully long drive," I laughed. "I'll borrow something from Alice for now, if that's okay with her. My clothes from yesterday are pretty nasty."

I held out my shirt as evidence and Edward pulled a face.

"But if I'm staying over for 'spa night' I'd probably better go over to my hotel and get some supplies."

"Hotel? You don't live here in Chicago?" He looked confused and maybe… hopeful?

"No, I came with friends for the party."

Shit, Angela!

"Speaking of which, I should probably call them. They likely think I'm lying in a gutter somewhere." My eyes searched the room, looking for any trace of my phone.

"Where do you live then?"

"Um…in Seattle. You?" Damnit, where is my phone? Don't tell me I'd gone and lost it!

I looked up at Edward, hoping he knew where it was. His eyes were slightly glazed and a wide grin was spreading across his face. The next second, I was in his arms and he was spinning me around.

"Woah, hangover here," I gasped half-heartedly.

He placed me back on the floor with a laugh. "Seattle? You live in Seattle?"

I nodded my head, confused by his sudden exhilaration.

"I also live in Seattle," he said matter-of-factly. He placed his hands on either side of my face and stroked my cheeks with his thumbs.

I felt my eyes grow wide. "Seriously?"

He nodded, still wearing the same silly grin.

I smiled dopily back, then grabbed his face and planted the biggest, loudest, sloppiest kiss ever on his beautiful mouth.

He threw his arms around my neck and pulled me to him, squeezing me gently. I was sure I heard him whisper, "thank-you, karma", but when I pulled back and asked him what he said, he only smiled and shook his head.

On second thought…

"So, will you be joining me in that nice, hot, refreshing shower, Baby Doctor?"

He looked shocked for a second, but grinned and arched his brow when he saw that I was serious.

He slammed the door with one push of his palm, and then deftly flipped the lock.

He grasped me by the elbow and all but dragged me to the bathroom.

~*~

I know, you want to kill me for leaving off there. Next chapter, promise! You can send me hate mail if you want, or just review. ;)