You're pretty and I had wine for dinner. Thanks for reading!

Blind Ambition – Chapter Six

"What are you doing up so early?" Bella asked sleepily while slipping into the kitchen behind Edward.

"Oh, Leah needed to change my session time. Don't worry, Jasper is taking me," Edward explained. He reached for coffee in a tall cabinet, happy to be back on his feet for the time being. It had only been four weeks working with Dr. Clearwater, but his chair had been replaced with crutches, and he already felt stronger. Of course, maneuvering crutches while blind wasn't the easiest thing in the world, but Edward was a fast learner.

"Huh. She didn't call me to let know…" Bella muttered. He imagined her frowning as she slid some bread into the toaster.

"She called me yesterday. Said she'd left a message with you last week and you never called her back," Edward said with a shrug. He carefully filled the coffee machine with the special measuring spoon they kept in the can, and then limped his way to the sink to fill the pot up with water. After he'd started to lose his sight, his parents had bought him a fancy coffee maker with the tiny cups, which was easy to work as long as someone kept it full of water for him. Of course, there was something incredibly satisfying about being able to make your own coffee.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. Edward shrugged again and held his hand out to her. She took it and he squeezed softly.

"It's fine. I know you're busy with work."

"I know, I hate that things are so crazy lately," she said, and Edward could tell she was chewing on her lip. It was one of the things that had attracted him to her at first. He would watch her across the library at NYU: studying, thinking, and chewing.

"They'll slow down sooner or later. Then the wedding will be here…and the honeymoon…" he trailed off and tugged her closer, dipping his head to kiss her. She kissed him back, though reservedly, like she was still using kid gloves with him. Lucky for her, a knock on the door caused him to pull away with a kiss to her forehead. Edward grabbed his crutches and made his way to the door. A moment later Jasper followed him into the kitchen.

"Hi, Jas," Bella greeted him dully, "Sweetie, there's toast next to your coffee. I put it in a travel mug for you. I'll see you tonight," she said before giving him a quick peck on the cheek and exiting the kitchen.

"Such a ray of sunshine," Jasper muttered once she was out of earshot. Edward just shook his head and tossed a piece of crust in his friend's direction, though he couldn't help but think the same thing about his fiancée.

"Let's go, Alfred," Edward said, handing Jasper his coffee and waiting to hear the shuffling of his feet ahead of him.

"Why do I have to be the butler? Can't I at least be Dick Grayson?"

"Well, you are-" Edward started, but Jasper cut him off.

"Never mind! Forget I asked." Jasper shook his head, "to the Batmobile!"

It was half an hour later that Jasper handed him off to Dr. Clearwater with a relieved look on his face.

Jasper greeted the doctor, "He's in rare form today, Doc. Hope you can handle it," but Leah simply smiled and shrugged before stepping forward to Edward.

"He's always on his best behavior for me," she said as she reached for Edward's crutches and gently removed them from his grasp.

"That's because you terrify me," Edward muttered and looked around absently. "Not a lot going on today," he observed, listening intently.

"No, not too many early Monday morning appointments. Also, stop trying to impress me with your super hearing," she laughed and poked him in the chest with her finger.

"I'd never." Edward grinned and rubbed the spot on his chest, feeling Jasper's eyes on him the whole time before his friend finally cleared his throat and spoke.

Jasper whispered, "Terrified, huh?"

"A little," Edward admitted. He was starting to sway a little without the help of his crutches, but Leah was at his side quickly.

"Goodbye, Jasper," she said with a wide smile. Jasper nodded and tipped an imaginary hat to her before walking away. "He's fun."

Edward laughed. "Don't encourage him," he muttered, and let her lead him slowly toward where they'd been working for the past few weeks.

"He seems like a good friend to have," she observed while guiding Edward to stand on a platform. She took his hands and placed them on two bars at his sides, and Edward realized they were at the parallel bars that he'd come to hate. "I can't tell if you're frowning because of the bars or my comment," Leah chuckled quietly.

He smiled and took a deep breath while she stepped away. "Both."

"You're doing so great, Edward. I'm really impressed with your effort," she encouraged and he nodded. She was always encouraging, no matter how bad his attitude got.

"Thanks," Edward replied through his clenched teeth. Truth was, his attitude hadn't been that bad. He was excited about recovery and, in the past few weeks, had been looking forward to getting things back on track with Bella. He knew the only way that was going to happen would be if he were physically "fixed".

"One more time," Leah told him, so he nodded again and turned, but a loud noise startled him and he tripped over his own feet. Edward caught himself on the bars at his sides, but a hand was on his chest and hip, holding him in place. He breathed her in, vanilla and fabric softener, a scent that had become familiar with her. "You okay?"

"I'm good," he said, breathless. Though he couldn't really decide why he was out of breath: the noise or the fact that she was so close to him. Leah helped him straighten himself up, her hands still on him. He hoped she would think the pounding of his heart was because he nearly face-planted, and not because she smelled so fucking pretty.

God, he really needed to get a grip. And get laid.

"Let's take a break," Leah said quietly. Edward felt her slowly take her hands away and heard her footsteps leave and come back, before she handed him his crutches. He'd been in the room enough to have learned where things were, so he guided himself to a bench, and a moment later Leah placed a water bottle in his hand.

"Sorry about that…everything is so much more sensitive since I've started going blind. It's like I can hear…everything."

"I can't imagine that's easy for you," she replied, and Edward shrugged.

"Sometimes it comes in handy. Like when a customer comes to the store and we're in the back room, or when I'm crossing the street…" he trailed off, feeling Leah's body shake with silent laughter next to him. "Okay, not the best example I could have used," Edward laughed. "In my defense, she really did come out of nowhere."

"I bet you'll give your kids a run for their money when they get to be teenagers," she said with a laugh. "They'll never get away with anything."

Edward gave her a soft smile. "We haven't really decided if kids are in the cards for us yet," he admitted.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, Bella's in advertising and is trying to climb the corporate ladder and I'll…never be able to see my kids' faces," he finished lamely, and Leah felt her chest tighten. In their short time working together, she had imagined that he couldn't wait to have kids, especially the way he talked about his fiancée.

"Oh…"

"I never thought I'd have to consider that, you know? I try my best to be positive, but there are some things that I just don't know I'll be able to live with."

"It makes sense." He felt her shrug and smiled.

Edward laughed. "I'm glad it makes sense to you, because sometimes it feels like I'm losing my fucking mind."

"It does," Leah replied, taking the water bottle from his hand and lifting him to his feet. "Now, let's get you back on those feet, huh?"

"Yes, ma'am."

For the rest their session they only talked about the movements they were working on or how Edward's muscles felt. Edward couldn't help but feel embarrassed that he'd just told Leah something so personal that it hadn't even left the bedroom he and Bella shared. Even when their families asked about children, they still talked like it was a possibility.

He was also reeling from whatever happened to him when she caught him. It wasn't like she hadn't touched him before; she'd had her hands all over him for weeks now. Something about the way she had this time was different, though, like a protector, a friend, or someone who cared about him.

It wasn't like Edward didn't have people who cared about him, but it was always nice to find new ones.

"Hey, Doc, you finished yet? I'm starving!" Edward heard a voice from behind him and instinctively turned toward it. He half expected to hear Jasper's shuffling feet, but instead heard the sound of wheels on the carpeted floor.

"Sorry, Edward. It looks like we went a little over our time," Leah explained before handing Edward his crutches. "I'll be right with you, Seth."

He smiled. "I take it that's not your next patient?" Leah shook her head before remembering who she was talking to.

She guided him to sit so she could help him stretch "Oh, no. My brother and father came to visit today, that's why I had to change our session."

"Yeah, we like to screw with things when it comes to Lee-Lee," Seth's voice was louder now, and Edward turned toward him. He heard Leah groan quietly. "You're one of her lucky patients?" The question was directed at Edward, so he nodded and smiled in Seth's direction, trying to make out his shape.

It took a moment for Leah to realize that Seth's hand was outstretched, so she gently tapped Edward on the elbow.

"Oh! I'm Edward. And yes, definitely lucky. Last month I was rolling around in a chair and now I can almost stand on my own," Edward joked, but Leah cleared her throat.

"That is lucky. I wish she could get me out of mine," Seth teased back, though Edward could sense the hardness in his voice. It took a moment for his response to sink in, and Edward's face began to heat up.

"Shit," he muttered. "I'm not really an asshole. I mean, sometimes I can be but-"

Edward could practically hear Leah rolling her eyes at her brother. "Edward. It's okay. I actually told Seth about you. He knows you're blind."

"You talked about me?" he asked, smirking in her direction.

Leah patted his shoulder. "We're done here."

Edward almost protested, but could hear Jasper greeting people in the large room. He pretended to sigh. "Okay. See you Wednesday. Let me know how the gift works out, okay?"

"You got me a gift?" Edward heard Seth say as he maneuvered himself through the room. He'd been in enough to familiarize himself with the equipment and the placement of everything, so it was easy enough for him to find Jasper.

As he led the way out of the building, Jasper asked, "Who's that with Dr. Clearwater? New patient?"

"No, it's her brother," Edward explained.

"Really? And he's…"

Edward shrugged, not needing Jasper to finish his sentence. "I guess so."

"Well, I guess we know why she does what she does, huh?"

Edward nodded, thinking that he gained a little bit of insight in that moment with her brother. Of course, underneath all that he couldn't help but think about the way it had felt when she'd caught him…or the fact that she'd been talking about him.