so here is the first chapter. thanks to everyone who reviewed

disclaimer- twilight, new moon, eclipse and breaking dawn belong to stephenie meyer. the idea for this story doesn't belong to me either

"So Rosalie, did Nurse Simpson give you a flu shot?" Edward asked as he walked through the door.

Rosalie, the beautiful blond, just rolled her eyes and tried unsuccessfully to hide her smile. She looked at her watch and then glared pointedly at Edward.

"Look Doctor. I really have to get going soon or else Royce is going to be on a rampage. You know how he gets," she stated with a casual wave of her hand.

Edward just smiled at her. He knew exactly how Royce King got whenever Rosalie Hale was gone for too long or when she would forget to call him every hour. Edward had witnessed several of Royce's tantrums in the hospital hallways before and had always felt incredulous when Rosalie would just ignore them.

"When does Royce expect you for dinner?" Edward asked cautiously. "I wouldn't want to keep him waiting."

"It doesn't matter. I just want this checkup over with and done. You know how long it's going to last? Because I've got better things I could be doing." Rosalie grimaced.

With a wide grin, Edward pulled the stethoscope off of his neck. "Just the breathing exercises are left. I assume Nurse Simpson did the rest?"

She nodded, still grimacing. When Edward didn't move, she glowered at him and kicked at his leg with her dangerously high heels. Rosalie was known for her fits.

Seeing the movement, Edward gracefully dodged it. "Ironic how you're trying to injure the person who's supposed to help with injuries."

"Just hurry it up Edward. I'm not in any mood for your cheerful attitude today."

Edward didn't know how long he'd had Rosalie Hale as a patient. She was beautiful. There was no doubt about that but there was something about her that had infuriated him on that first fateful day. Rosalie wasn't exactly the friendliest person and when she'd told him her boyfriend of four years had proposed to her, Edward had to try very hard not to balk. Ice Queen was going to get married and rid the world of her hostility. Edward had felt sympathy for Royce at first but then at the time, he didn't know Royce's temper was just as bad as hers.

After many appointments with Rosalie though, somehow they had struck up a friendship. Edward couldn't help but compare her to his best friend Emmett. They both had sold exteriors but inside, there was some vulnerability.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on Ice Queen? You seem more like Rosalie than Rose today." He put the earpieces of the stethoscope into his ears and the chestpiece on her back. "Take a deep breath."

She inhaled loudly as Edward listened to the sound.

"Well, I went to a club today with Royce and a few friends. It was going great until this boy with curly hair came up to me and told me he was 'enamored' by me." She rolled her eyes again.

Edward nodded listening to her every word. "Exhale."

Rosalie let out the air. "I thought he was handsome and was about to thank him when all of a sudden, he got down on one knee and proposed. He said he knew we were meant for each other. I was going to laugh at his obvious attempt at a joke that no doubt his blond friend tricked him into but Royce came up and punched him in the face. It was so humiliating."

"You've got yourself an overprotective fiance."

"Royce needs to know that I can take care of myself."

"Why don't you tell him to stop being himself?" Edward winked while scrawling some words onto a sheet of paper. "You could get yourself a better man with your looks but I think you need to manage your anger somewhat."

"I'm not about to take anger management classes," Rosalie seethed and stood up from the exam table. "Are we done?"

"All clear as always. Just hand this sheet to the nurse on your way out." Edward said. "I hope things work out between the two of you."

Rosalie turned and grinned genuinely at Edward. "Thanks. You're the only person I can tell this stuff to and I know that sometimes you get tired of all my rambling."

"Well, you do have a pretty boring life. It gets tedious after awhile," Edward joked.

"Very funny." With those words, she walked out the door.

Edward sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Now to begin the night shift, he thought with a frown. It wasn't as if he hated being a doctor. A person could only handle so much blood at the time, though. He strode through the halls, always amiable with his patients. Around two o'clock in the morning, Doctor Snow told him that he was no longer needed for the night and had the next two days off of work. Edward, too tired to rejoice, thanked the doctor and headed to his Volvo in the cold October night.

He drove through the dark streets. The thought of home cheered him considerably, that is until he felt his car stop working on its own. With a groan he stared at the dashboard only to see that the car was out of gas.

Sometimes Edward wondered what he had done in his past life to deserve such a fate as this. He awoke in the morning to find that his alarm hadn't gone off but thought nothing of it. He had rushed out of the house and was only two miles away from the hospital when he realized he had forgotten his license but didn't think too much of it. Then on the way home his Volvo ran out of gas in the middle of a deserted street during a rain storm. Edward knew his patience was being tested.

He pulled the silver phone out of his pocket and dialed the first number that came to mind.

"Hello?" a male voice asked.

"Emmett, I need you to come pick me up."

"School's over already?" the voice asked in a joking tone.

It was then that Edward realized he was talking to Jasper. "Jasper? What are you doing on Emmett's phone? Why are you even at his place?"

"Emmett's not in the mood to speak right now. I think he needs some support from a friend."

Edward chuckled for the first time in hours. Emmett's must've been having one of his mood swings again. This he could not miss. "What happened?"

"Long story, dude. I'll tell you when you get here."

"I need a ride home Jasper. My car broke down at the corner of Yorkshire Road. Bring along Emmett if he still needs more emotional support." He ran his fingers through his hair again. "While I'm waiting, tell me the epic."

"It's a classic, haven't you heard?" Jasper asked, laughing. "We were at that new club and there was this really hot girl on the dance floor talking to some friends. I dared Emmett to propose to her which he did of course. I think he used the word 'enamored'. Everything was going perfectly fine until her fiance jumped into the picture and punched him."

Edward, wide eyed, stared through the wet wind shield at the winding road. He was shocked to the point of being frozen. First, that was the most he'd ever heard Jasper speak. Second, he'd just heard the same tale from a different perspective. Without noticing it, Edward was doubled over in laughter.

"Why is he laughing?" Edward heard Emmett ask and then a car honk.

"Jasper, tell Emmett that he just proposed to Rosalie Hale also known as Ice Queen of America. She was my patient earlier today."

"What?" Emmett shouted. He had clearly heard Edward's words.

Edward chanced a glance at his watch which signaled it was almost four in the morning. He was tired and hungry but that didn't matter though. He hardly got a chance to hang out with his two friends. Maybe he would take up the opportunity.

"When you arrive, I'll tell you both all about it."

He watched as a roaring truck wound around the corner. It was so old that Edward couldn't help but wonder who in their right mind would drive a truck like that in a weather like this. Through his tinted windows he watched as the car stop right near his own and a woman sitting in the driver's seat.

Her face was streaked with tears. She wiped them off her face and Edward was surprised to see no mascara came off. He watched her face closer only to realize how beautiful this woman actually was. She had long brown hair with matching eyes so expressive that he couldn't help but feel as if he could look into them forever. Her whole face was pale except for the blush that came with her tears. No makeup, no painted nails. Just this girl who was suffering in pain.

Automatically Edward narrowed his eyes. He was angry at whoever had brought her her pain. Someone as perfect as her should never go through agony. It was wrong. It should have been impossible. He felt the sudden urge to help her and comfort her but he didn't know her.

His eyes followed her every movement as she rolled down the windows. She sat staring at the road until the rain stopped flowing. It was then that he heard her words.

"I can't." She whispered to nothing in particular. "This can't be happening to me."

Edward's heart tore in half.

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Bella Swan sat at the table with a disapproving look on her face as her dad, Charlie fidgeted with his fingers. She wasn't in the mood today. Again she had been rejected by an agent to read over her book. Alice, with all her optimistic lectures, wasn't exactly helping matters either so Bella's patience was on the edge right now.

"What's wrong?" she asked in an icy tone. "Why are you nervous?"

Seeing that her expression wasn't being effective at calming Charlie, she softened her tone. "Dad, is there something you need to say to me?"

Charlie studiously kept his eyes away from hers and rushed his words as if he was begrudgingly speaking them. "Bella, we think it's time that you settled down and we have just the right guy to set you up with."

It was silent for one second. One second that was enough time for Bella to think that her parents were crazy. It was enough time to think that she'd gone crazy herself. It sounded like her parents were setting her up for an arranged marriage. An arranged marriage that would be happening in the 21st century. Maybe she wasn't actually in the restaurant her parents insisted they have dinner with her. Maybe they were back in the olden days when the bride and groom had no say in their future because the phrase "arranged marriage" was never heard in her own time period.

"What?" Bella whispered and turned to look at her mom, Renee. "What's he talking about? What do you mean 'we have just the right guy to set you up with'? Are you trying to interfere in my nonexistent love life?"

Sure she wasn't exactly experienced in relationships but were her parents getting that desperate to have her no longer single? Were Renee's friends pitying her daughter?

"Look, Bella. We're just doing what we think is best for you. You've been single for so long. You're twenty seven years old. Don't you think it's time that you stopped being a bachelorette?" Renee told her.

Bella gritted her teeth. She wanted to shake her parents and put some sense into their minds. She wanted to scream in the restaurant which was surprising since she hardly ever did that. Instead, she spoke in a leveled tone. "Mom, there's a difference in what you think is best for me and what you know is best for me. Right now I'm content with my life. When I think I'm ready to get married I'll think about it because it's a huge decision. It's not something that can be done in a spur of a moment. For a second there, I thought you were going to arrange my marriage."

"We are."

"Actually, you're not."

"Bella we're not telling you to go ahead and marry him without even a meeting or two. All we're trying to say is that we've found a nice guy named Jacob Black for you and that you should go on a few dates with him. If you like him, you guys can have a wedding. If you don't then you can move on to other men. That's all there is to it."

"You make it sound like it's no big deal. It's not as if I'll really know the person after a few dates. That's not enough time to figure out whether or not I'm willing to spend the rest of my life with this guy," Bella argued.

Charlie looked up for the first time to watch Bella's agonized eyes. The guilt coursed through him invading his veins. "Just give him a chance Bella and if you don't like it, you can tell us and we won't interfere again."

"Bu-" Renee protested.

Charlie held up a hand to silence her. "That's enough. Bella's right and she has a say in the matter. So, what do you say Bella?"

"Only for you Dad but I'm not playing your games again. Did this Jacob Black agree?"

"He was hesitant at first but he's willing to give it a shot," Charlie admitted, the guilty look back in place.

"Fine then." Bella sighed. "I'll call you guys later."

With those parting words, she stood up and walked out into the rain that she welcomed gladly for the first time in her life. Her appetite was no longer there though her stomach felt empty. All she wanted was for Alice to be sitting at the edge of her bed shaking her awake from her nightmare. This was no nightmare, though. This was harsh reality that she was living through.

Bella was willing to try but she knew that not even fifty dates with Jacob Black would be enough to get her to say yes if there was a proposal from him. She didn't know him at all so how was she supposed to accept? The life that she had carefully sculpted for herself was now in a turmoil that Bella couldn't escape. She'd known earlier that day exactly was path she was going to take but now confusion replaced every single thing. Confusion that even Alice couldn't help with because she would never be able to understand.

It didn't matter though. Not yet at least. She would only consider the matter when the time came up again. Right now, if her book wasn't going to get published, she would continue working as editor of the Meyer Publishing House. She'd follow her schedule as if her life actually hadn't been thrown out of place.

The tears started to fall and she could do nothing to stop them. She knew she was being childish but what choice did she have at rational thought?

After all it wasn't as if her life was about to change for the better.

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