A/N: OH my gosh, I love this chapter. Call all your friends and tell them to read it. Is it sad that when I just read it over I laughed out loud? Whitney Houston says learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all. Don't judge me.

Thanks Twike, Profmom, and Daisy. You're all hot.

Characters are not mine.

Good Enough Chapter 8

Monday night my time as a patient at Seattle West was flushed down the toilet. I broke the news to Bella the next morning, and she looked like she might cry. I was glad to see that she cared for me at least a little bit like I cared for her. I'd become attached.

"Hey come on, we're still going to hang out right?" I said nudging her arm.

"Of course. You know what they say, don't you?"

"What do they say?" I thought she was going to tell me some proverb or beautiful quote about love and friendship.

"Sex is overrated and a good bowl movement's underrated."

I choked on the water I was drinking and couldn't stop laughing as I tried not to cough. "Ow! It hurts! It hurts!"

"Good. Maybe you'll bust something open and have to stay longer."

"What am I going to do with you Nurse Bella?"

"Something fun I hope."

Dr. Definitely-has-herpes came in for my last examination spoiling our fun. I sat up on the bed and planted my feet on the floor. He checked my wounds, asked me a few questions, and told me what to expect over the next few weeks. "Isabella, why don't you get me antiseptic from the cabinet over there?" he directed.

Bella went to the cabinet and bent down to get the supplies out. His eyes followed her, and he smirked at me after he watched her bend over. I didn't say anything. I didn't want to make Bella more uncomfortable, but I decided I couldn't just ignore it.

"Bella, would you mind if I talked to the doctor alone for a minute?" I asked trying to mask my fury.

"Sure." Bella looked at me quizzically and walked out of the room. Dr. Dies-next-time-he-does-that followed her figure with his eyes once again. As soon as the door shut, I stood up, slammed him face down on my bed holding his hands behind his back and growled, "If you so much as look at her again, I swear I'll arrest you and lock you up for being such a freaking tool."

"Okay, okay," the doctor cried out like a sissy. I released him but continued to stare him down. He grabbed his clipboard, scribbled something on the paper, and handed it to me. "Here. Here's your discharge papers." At that, he quickly turned and practically ran out the door. I sat down on the bed and tried to control my breathing.

A few minutes later Bella came in. "What in the world did you do to Dr. Newton? He rushed out of here like someone was chasing him."

"I just let him know in no uncertain terms that he's under investigation," I shrugged.

She eyed me suspiciously, but didn't ask any more questions. I was grateful.

"So you've got your walking papers."

I didn't like that she looked sad. I never wanted to see her sad. "So are you coming over to make me Jello later?"

She smiled, and I felt the weight lift from my shoulders. "I'll do whatever you want me to," she said barely louder than a whisper.

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, so I changed the subject. "Will you be going back to the Adolescent Unit now?"

"Actually, I worked so much overtime with you here that I'm going to be able to take off the week to finish studying and then take my test on Friday."

"Oh, you're welcome. Don't say I never did anything for you."

Bella just sighed and started to look sad again. Instinctively needing to comfort her, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me in a tight hug. I buried my nose in her hair and held on for what was probably a little too long. When I let go, Bella was red and wouldn't look at me. Great, I made her uncomfortable. That was exactly what I'd been trying to avoid.

"Alice and Emmett will be here soon. I should get dressed."

"Oh, okay," Bella said and glanced up at me from beneath her lashes. She held my gaze and started backing up toward the door.

"Bella?"

"Mmm hmm?" She looked like she was in some sort of daze.

I gave her an amused smirk and said, "If you keep walking backwards, I'm afraid you're going to trip and hurt yourself."

"Oh, right." She blushed again, turned around, and walked out the door. I chuckled to myself and got a pair of jeans and a t-shirt out of the closet. It felt good to be back in normal clothes, but I wasn't ready to give up going commando yet. I considered it part of my lifestyle now.

I strapped my hip holster on and slid my Glock into it. I didn't carry a gun every day on the job, but Alice insisted I keep it with me until after the trial. Emmett and Alice arrived and helped me get my stuff together. Checking out of Hotel Hospital was bittersweet. I was determined to take the good part with me as much as I could, though I wasn't sure what kind of friendship Bella planned to keep with me.

"You ready to go slugger?" Emmett said slinging my bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I just need to say goodbye to Bella." I looked toward the door wondering if she was coming back soon.

"Oh, Eddie's gonna miss his little nurse who is extremely smart, funny, and sexy as hell, but he only wants to be friends with," Emmett said using baby talk.

"Shut up stupid."

"Pussy"

"Maggot"

"Bella!"

"Huh? Oh Bella, there you are," I said. "I guess we're ready to head out."

"Bella, everybody is going to meet over at Edward's in a little bit to help him get settled and have some dinner. You should come," Alice said.

"Thanks, but I've got to finish out my shift," Bella sulked. "Invite me next time?"

"Of course. Come here." Alice opened up her arms and Bella walked into them as they hugged and cried. You would think Alice was the one giving up her daily time with Bella. This was ridiculous. Bella was mine. I mean she wasn't mine, but I knew her first.

They finally let go and both started wiping tears from their eyes. Bella turned to look at me, and I wasn't sure what to do or say. I reached out my hand and wiped another tear off her cheek. "Don't cry, sweet Bella."

I glanced over and Emmett and Alice were both watching us with stupid grins on their faces. Things suddenly felt very awkward. "So I'll see you soon?" I asked.

"Okay," she shook her head yes and wiped her face on her arm.

I told her goodbye and left the hospital with Alice and Emmett. They'd done a thorough check of my house and everything looked clean. I doubted James would hide a bomb in a planter out front, but Alice wanted to be sure.

On the way there, Emmett started talking about Rosalie.

"I've never been in love before, I can tell you that much. But now I'm all Jerry Maguire with "you complete me" and crap like that. I mean she's the most amazing woman I've ever met. She laughs when I burp the national anthem. She can beat me in a spitting contest, and the things she can do with her tongue." Emmett's eyes glazed over, and I was extremely thankful I couldn't read his mind.

I tuned him out and tried to think about something else. My mind kept going back to Bella. I wondered what she was doing, if she had another patient already, what she was wearing. There I went again. I was no better than some of the creeps I profiled. If there was one thing I'd learned, it was that most people are basically the same. People are basically selfish and capable of doing terrible things. I had no doubt I was capable of becoming a monster. Bella though, Bella was different. Bella was good. I realized then why I was thinking about her so much. She was proof that there was good left in the world. I clung to that. It was my mind's way of coping with all the crap I had to deal with. I felt better after that knowing that Bella represented an archetype in my psyche, and that I wasn't just acting like a hormonal teenage boy.

My family smothered me for the rest of the night. My mom practically spoon fed me lasagna and brownies and doted on me every second. Alice kept pressing me to discuss the case. Jasper kept trying to get her to relax and enjoy my homecoming. Emmett was restless and wanted to get back to Rosalie, so he was being more obnoxious than usual. After a few hours of chaos, my dad got paged back to the hospital. Part of me wanted to go with him back to peace and quiet and Bella. I didn't have much time to think about her for the rest of the evening. By the time my family left, my mother had tucked me into bed, put a glass of water on the bedside table, and begged me for an hour to let her spend the night. I refused and assured her that I could call the officers stationed outside if I needed anything.

I had about five minutes of peace and quiet when my stomach started to grumble. Then it started to hurt. Then it started to hurt some more. Pretty soon I was in agony. I worried my intestines were dislocated or that something ruptured in my abdomen. I grabbed my phone and dialed Bella's number.

"Hello?"

"It hurts," I groaned.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"It's Edward. What other men call you when they're writhing in pain?"

"Oh you'd be surprised. What hurts?"

"My stomach. It hurts."

"Do you think it's something you ate?"

"I just had some of my mom's lasagna and garlic bread. Oh, and salad and brownies and ice cream."

"Edward! You've barely eaten anything for three weeks. You probably over did it!"

"It hurts. You need to come over here."

"I'm not going to come running every time you eat too much. Now take some Pepto and go back to bed."

"You'll miss me when I'm dead," I tried to sound even more pitiful.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Bella." It still hurt, but just talking to my Bella made me feel a little better.

The next day I woke up and felt fidgety. Emmett and Alice were at the office, and I'd been banned from coming in without a doctor's release. My mom had some volunteer thing she was doing, and my dad was at work. I messed around on the internet for a while before grabbing my phone and texting Bella.

I'm feeling much better. Thanks for asking.

-EC

She wrote back immediately.

Good you big baby.

-B

What are you doing?

-BB

Studying at a coffee shop.

-B

Can I come?

-BB

I'm studying!

-B

I'll bring a book.

-BB

Fine. 5th and Spring Drive.

-B

Be there in 10

-BB

I grabbed the first book I saw and jumped in my car. I ignored the speed limit and got to the coffee shop in six minutes. I jumped out and ran inside. Bella was there wearing jeans and a hoodie. Her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head, and she was wearing glasses. It was the first time I'd seen her without scrubs on. She was cute.

"Hey." I sat down in the chair across from her.

"Hey." She smiled at me. "Nice gun."

"Yeah, it's a big one." I winked at her, and she threw her napkin at me.

"I'm going to get some coffee. You need anything?" I asked.

"I'm good. Maybe you should get some tea. You don't want to overdo it again." She patted her belly and gave me a pointed look.

"Good point," I agreed and went to get some coffee.

I saw her as I was standing in line. She had long wavy black hair, blue eyes, and a body that belonged on a magazine. Her skin was slightly darker than mine making her exotic. She had the most amazing smile and her laugh caught my attention immediately. I watched her entranced and didn't even notice when it was my turn in line.

"Excuse me," the hot barista giggled. "Do you want some coffee?"

Oh I wanted much more than coffee. It was her. I was sure of it. We'd tell our grandchildren it was love at first sight.

"Hey," I smirked at her turning on my charm full force. I rested one hand on my gun. Most girls seemed to like that.

"Hey," she smiled back at me.

"You come here often?" I asked.

"Every day," she laughed. It was obviously love at first sight for her too. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bella slamming her things into her backpack with an angry scowl on her face. What happened? Had she gotten a phone call or had someone done something to her? I glanced around the coffee shop, but I didn't find any answers.

She stood up and started to march toward the door in a hurry.

"Bella, wait!" I called after her.

She ignored me and walked out of the coffee shop. I looked at my girl who was waiting expectantly behind the counter, and I had a decision to make. Did I stay here with the love of my life or go after who had recently become the most important person in my life. There really wasn't a choice to make.

"Bella, wait up." I ran down the street after her. I grabbed her wrist, stopped her, and turned her around when I caught up with her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I was just done studying and you seemed like you found something else to save you from your boredom."

I'd never seen her look so angry. It was kind of hot.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you. Please don't be mad at me." I gave her the look that always made women do what I wanted. I've been told I dazzle them. Apparently Bella was dazzle proof.

"I'm not mad. I'm incredibly stupid, but not mad. Why would I be mad? You can ask out whatever hussies you want. I just want to go home."

"But I wanted to hang out with you today," I whined.

"Sorry, I'm off the clock." She turned and started walking again. Her words hit me like a slap in the face. All I wanted was for us to spend the day talking and joking like we did in the hospital. I sulked back to my car forgetting all about my soul mate waiting back in the coffee shop.

A/N: It's always dumbest before the dawn. Belledujour came up with that, but I told her I was stealing it. Did you know this is a short story? It is. We are halfway through now. I'll just go ahead and tell you I want it to get 1k reviews. That's why I'm begging and pleading all the time and threatening and crying and moaning and groaning and well – we are just the teenyist bit behind. Come on team! I know we can do it. Action and fondling coming up next chapter. Yes, I said fondling.