"In short Lauren, if someone comes in, they smell like a drunk, they look like a drunk, they are a drunk." I snapped and shoved my folder back in the folder by the main desk.
"And another thing?" I said as I spun around to point at her where I had been going to storm to my office, "I am a paediatrician; don't confuse me with one of the senior interns."
"You're the senior paediatrician." She said as though I was missing something very obvious.
I frowned and leant forwards so my face was only a foot away from hers.
"I appreciate that." I said firmly, "But in case you hadn't realised, a paediatrician treats children not intoxicated adults."
Lauren frowned and put another chart in my hands. I checked the age on it briefly, telling me that they were under eighteen, before flashing her a half arsed smile.
"Thank you." I said in my bed side manner and she smirked at me, picking up the ringing phone as I walked away.
I kept my eyes on the chart as I walked down the corridor and saw my father coming the other way. He put his hand on my chest and pushed me backwards so I stopped walking. I sighed and let my arms drop to my sides when he took the chart form my hands and read the front of it.
"How long have you been here?" He asked.
I pretended to think, "Four hours."
"Lauren?" He asked as she walked past.
"He was here when I arrived at nine." She said and smirked at me over his shoulder as she went to change the information on the white board which told us who was where.
Dad frowned and held his hand out and I looked at him like he was asking for something I truly wasn't prepared to hand over.
"Oh you're joking." I laughed without humour and rolled my eyes.
"God." I muttered like a teenager.
"Edward." He said firmly, like I was indeed adolescent once again.
I sighed and put my pager in his hand. He closed his fingers around it instantly and put it on his own belt.
"Edward..." He said gently and I looked up from where I had been glaring, half in embarrassment at the floor.
I looked up from tiles and he looked at me softly.
"I get it, okay I Know, I know how hard it is to turn off being Dr Cullen to just being a dad and Edward again... but you can do it Edward." He said encouragingly.
I ran a hand through my hair, "I'm just so scared of letting everyone down, not many twenty three year olds have a job, let alone a senior residency position." I muttered.
He put a hand on my shoulder, "You have it in you, to be a great, father husband, and doctor, and you are already, Edward you aren't going to let anyone down."
"But what if I let her down." I whispered, looking down again.
"You won't, you know that." He said and then straightened up.
"Now go home, pick your daughter up from school and cook dinner for your wife." He said firmly.
I tried not to scowl, and very nearly succeeded.
"Fine." I sighed and turned away from him to collect my bag from my office and make my way home. Actually it was a miracle that I had made it from nine until two o clock without being rumbled by my father. It wasn't that I didn't like being at home, it was just that as the senior paediatrician I had o work long hours, and I found it hard sometimes to relax when the hospital was just down the road, and there were only the new year residents on the children's part of the ER.
I had promised my wife the day before at Carlisle and Esme's that I would try and start taking more time of work. But she understood the problems I had with separating work from home, especially with the new pager I had to take everywhere.
I climbed up the porch steps and pushed open the door, softly treading through into the lounge to see my wife laying on the sofa, her head resting on the pillow from upstairs and wrapped in a blanket. I put my brief case down and took of my coat, crouching down beside the sofa and kissing her forehead.
She moaned and rubbed her eyes, opening them to smile at me tiredly.
"Hey baby." I whispered and kissed her cheek.
She flushed a little and stroked the back of my hair, "You haven't called me that since I was pregnant with Emma."
I laughed quietly, "Well that was five years ago love."
She sat up with some help from me as I rubbed her back and she relaxed back into the cushions, where I was sitting on the coffee table facing her.
"What are you doing back so early, I would have made dinner and..." I cut her off my leaving forwards to kiss her gently.
"I came back to do that." I whispered and she looked at me in confusion.
I sighed and sat back down on the table, "I'm not going to work as much. I'm only doing my shift and then I'm coming home, obviously with lee way for if things go wrong but..." I sighed, "I want to be at home more, and I meant it when I told you I would try and make it possible."
She smiled and kissed me in thank you, before saying that she had to go pick Emma up. We decided to both go, me driving while she sat and held my hand over the gear stick.
"What are you doing home anyway, I thought you would be working?" I asked.
Bella was a primary school teacher at Emma's school, but Emma wasn't in her class and never would be. Bella flushed and looked down, putting her hands-on her stomach.
My hand joined the other on the steering wheel, "Bella?"
She mumbled her words, "I wasn't very well this morning so I didn't go in, they said it was fine."
My head snapped around, and it took a conscious effort to remember I was driving, "What?"
She sighed, "Please don't start."
"Are you nauseous, dizzy?" I demanded.
She glared at me until I calmed down, sitting fuming in my seat while out daughter climbed in the back. They chatted about something to do with school while I sat in silence, do mad to even think about speaking.
"How was your day daddy?" Emma chipped from the back.
I unlocked my jaw to answer.
"Just great sweetie." My eyes flash to Bella and my voice hardened, "Just great."