Disclaimer- The characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, not me.

BPOV

While I walked down the hill to the student center, I anticipated getting some coffee for once- from a clean cup that hadn't been washed in a dishwasher. I saw a familiar head of bronze hair glinting in the sunlight. Anxiety rose in my throat. He was talking to a girl, though, and she looked like a medical school student. I decided not to bother him. My good camera was weighing down my backpack, and I wanted to get it out and get a few pictures before class. That always calmed me down.

I passed them, trying to avoid his gaze. I went up to the coffee counter. "Can I have a venti dark roast?" I asked, setting down three dollars. The clerk quickly got my coffee. I saw that Edward was gone, luckily. The anxiety lowered itself. I ran down the stairs outside, only to trip and splash really hot coffee all over myself. And my camera!

I screamed out in pain. I realized it wasn't just the pain of the burn, but twisting my ankle, too. A few people rushed over to see if I was OK.

"Bella?"

I realized it was Edward. Of all people, Edward found me covered in coffee and sprawled on the ground. I pulled my burning hot shirt off of my skin, but not off of myself. I wasn't going to stand there in my bra in public. My arms and neck were turning red.

"Hi," I said. "What are you doing here?" I asked. He helped me up, but I couldn't put weight on my ankle.

"I work at the University Hospital," he said. "Come on, I'll take you to the ER."

"No, I'm OK," I said. "My camera!"

"It looks like a really nice one, too," he muttered. "I'm sorry."

"I've got another one at my apartment," I muttered. Although this one cost almost 800 brand-new. I sighed.

"You can't put any weight on your ankle, and I think your skin is going to blister," he said. "You need to stop by the ER to make sure it's not a serious burn."

"I will," I said.

"Do it now," he said.

"You order me around too much," I said.

"Here, I'll drive you," he said. "I'm parked really close by."

He picked me up and carried me over to the Aston-Martin and set me inside. "Look, you don't have to do this for me," I said.

"I could have called an ambulance for you," he offered.

"OK, fine," I said.

He got in the car and began to drive me to the University Hospital. "Sorry," I said.

"For what?" he asked.

"You were in a meeting or something," I said.

"No, I was just catching up with an old friend from medical school," he said. "I saw you trying to sneak by." I felt worse. "Bella, really, you're not really such a pain as much as you think you are," he said. "You'd be OK if you'd acted like you were."

"Alright, fine," I said. "Be my therapist."

"OK, it's none of my business, I'm sure," he said.

I realized I had just been really rude. "I'm sorry," I said.

"No, it's alright," he said. "Really, I don't know you that well. Here we are. I'll help you in."

"Thanks," I said.

Edward helped me out of the car and into the ER. They almost immediately took me in, once Edward returned my papers to the Triage nurses. "Thanks," I said.

"Take care, Bella," he said. "I have to go back to work."

"Thanks, Edward," I said.

Alice picked me up after they made sure I only had minor burns and my ankle was just sprained and not broken. "How did you do this?" Alice joked.

"I was trying to avoid Edward Masen seeing me," I said. "And I tripped with a cup of full coffee on hand and probably ruined my good camera."

"Oh, I'm sorry Bella," she said.

"Edward brought me to the ER," I said.

"Well, that was nice of him," she said.

"Yeah, but he tries to give me advice every time I see him," I said.

"Well, Bella, you keep getting paranoid," she said. "You keep acting like people don't like you."

"Well, they don't," I said.

"That's because you think they don't," Alice said. "It's a vicious circle. Look, Jasper and I are going out to dinner tonight, you want us to bring anything back for you?"

"No, that's OK, I'll fend for myself," I said.

"Alright," Alice said. "Just promise me that you'll try to eat dinner."

"I will," I said.

I spent the night hobbling around the apartment, cleaning, instead of making myself dinner. I tended to do this to myself. Nesting, as people called it. Even Dizzy got in on it, curling up in her favorite corner.

"You're improving, Bella, but maybe not as much as I'd like," my therapist, Amy, said. "I'd like to start you on Zoloft. Fluoxitine isn't doing it anymore. You're not gaining weight."

I ran my fingers over my forearm. "Another antidepressant?" I asked.

"I think it's time to try something new," she said.

The meds were getting less and less effective. My body was becoming more and more immune to them. They had been lifesavers when I started them, now the symptoms were coming back. I worried I'd be back where I was when I started them at the age of sixteen. I wasn't sure if I could tell Charlie. I was ashamed. I felt like I was failing.

Again.

I limped up to my apartment door, and went to unlock it. I heard voices conversing. I thought it was Jasper and Alice talking at first, but I realized it wasn't Jasper's voice. It was musical and rich. I unlocked the door.

"Hi, Alice," I said.

"Hi, Bella," she replied.

"Hello, Isabella Marie Swan," Edward Masen said, standing up. He had been sitting on the couch. He grinned at me with a sexy half-smile. He was in jeans and mint green polo shirt, setting off his bronze hair. I blushed. How did he know my whole name? That was embarrassing.

"Edward came by. You dropped your license in his car," Alice said, smiling.

Edward held up my driver's license with my lovely driver's license photo. The one where I looked surprised. "Here you go," he said, handing it back.

"Thanks," I said.

"Is your camera working?" he asked.

"No," I admitted.

"Sorry," he said. "Was it insured?"

"Yes, but the deductible was five hundred dollars," I said.

"Jasper's coming by with some Chinese for dinner," Alice said. "I invited Edward to stay for a beer, and then dinner and so..."

"Oh," I said. "OK."

"You don't want me to stay?" Edward asked.

"No, no," I said. "It would be nice if you'd stay, really. I'm just a mess right now." I had no make-up on, I was wearing an ugly, pilled sweatshirt with my paint-stained jeans with a hole in the knee.

"You look fine," Edward said. There was a knock on the door- I knew it was Jasper.

"I'll get it- Bella, sit down," Alice said.

I hobbled over to the couch and sat down. The cat avoided me and went straight to Edward's lap. I felt a little betrayed by my own cat! "So, Edward, you're really young to be a pediatrician," I said.

"I'm an intern in pediatric cardiology," he said. "I'm not quite on my own, yet."

"I see," I said.

"How's your ankle?" he asked.

"It's getting better," I said. "It was just sprained."

"That's good," he said. "So, your accent… you're not from around here… How'd you end up in Washington?"

"Long story," I said, quietly.

"Bella's from Riverside, California, originally," Jasper said, taking off his parka. He and Alice were getting plates out. "She grew up in Phoenix. She came up here in... fifth grade, was it?"

"Yeah, to Forks," Alice said. "That's where I'm from. That's where her dad lives." I was eternally grateful to them for saving my ass. I hated telling the story of how I came to Washington.

"Are you from here?" I asked Edward.

"No, actually," he said. "I'm from Chicago, originally. I came out here after medical school."

"So, your family's back east?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "My Mom and Dad are, at least."

"So, Edward, what got you interested in medicine?" Jasper asked, bring over a plateful of egg rolls and sauces. He set down a few fresh beers.

Edward chuckled. "I'm the fifth doctor in my family in as many generations," he said. Alice brought over the cartons of Chinese and chopsticks. "My father's a doctor, as is my grandfather, and so on. Plus, I like medicine."

"What made you want to work with kids?" I asked.

"I spent five years at a summer camp as a counselor," he answered. "Those little ankle-biters got to me."

"How do you know Emmett and Rosalie?" I asked.

"Ah, Emmett and Rosalie," he said, as if reminiscing. "They were childhood friends of mine. Emmett got a job out here, and Rosalie followed. I ended up a medical intern in Seattle, so…"

"You're best man in the wedding, right?" Jasper asked.

"Yes, that's right," Edward said. "You're going to be one of the groomsmen, too?"

"Yes," Jasper said. "Edward, you want another beer?"

"Not yet, I'm good," Edward replied. "So, Bella, what are you in school for?"

"I'm getting a master's in British Literature," I said.

Edward nodded. "My mother has a master's in British and Russian Literature," he said.

"Oh," I said.

"Bella, aren't you going to have an egg roll?" Alice asked, pointedly. I hadn't been eating like I was supposed to.

"What does she do with that degree?" I asked, steering the conversation back to Edward.

"She volunteers a lot," he said. "Her favorite place to work is at the battered women's shelter in downtown Chicago. I did a lot of work there, too, when I was in high school."

The conversation with Edward that night was nice. I found him interesting. I tried to stay as quiet as possible, to avoid annoying Edward, but I reminded myself that he told me that I was my own worst enemy. Alice had to go around pointing out my prints, pointing out that I had taken them.

At the end of the night, Edward had to go- he had a three day shift starting tomorrow. "I'll see you all later," he said.

"Take care," I said, hobbling beside him out the door.

"You too, Bella," he said.

I shut the door, and sighed.

I heard some snickering in the living room. "Yay, Bella's finally gone out on a date!" Alice cried.

"That wasn't a date!" I cried.

"Just you wait," Jasper said. "I think he likes you."

"Yeah, why else would he have stuck around for dinner?" Alice asked.

The very idea that Edward Masen, a successful doctor with a future who had his act together that actually liked me was kind of scary. That wasn't possible, was it?