A/N: Ok, so this one is short. I'm sorry. But it's stupid hot and my brain isn't working.

Thanks for all the reviews – it's nice to know I'm not just writing this for me!

Happy reading! 

Chapter 17

I just slid in under the covers when my phone rang.

"Hello again," I purred when I answered it.

"Well, Doctor Swan, what a pleasant greeting," came the one voice I dreaded hearing – Mike Newton.

"Dr Newton?" I wanted to clarify just in case.

"The one and only!" he confirmed. He even made my skin crawl over the phone.

"Why are you calling me? I know it's not to swap a shift for tomorrow…" I hated to admit that I knew we were on the same shift the next day. He had something going with the attending who was doing our rosters and he rarely worked graveyard shifts…unless they were on with me. And lately, more and more of the "normal" shifts I had were with him as well.

"I'm merely checking up on a colleague," he oozed down the phone. "Doctor Whitlock mentioned this afternoon that your new friend was returning to Chicago today and I was worried about you."

Worried my ass, I thought. "I'm fine Mike, really," I told him, hoping that the use of his first name would get rid of him faster.

"Well, if you need someone to talk to, or go to dinner with…" his voice trailed off hopefully.

"That won't be necessary, Doctor Newton," I said snippily. This guy just didn't get the point. "I'll be going to visit Edward in a couple of weeks if all goes well, and he'll be back before I know it. Thank you for your concern, but I really need to get some rest for tomorrow. Goodnight, Doctor Newton," I said with finality, hanging up before he could say anything else.

I felt bad for the way I spoke to him, but he'd been after me since our first day as interns. I could still clearly remember him coming over and introducing himself to Jasper and me. As he walked across the locker room, I thought he was kind of cute. Dark blond, spiky hair, blue eyes and a friendly smile. His smile grew as he extended his hand, saying, "Nice to meet you, Mike Newton. And you are?"

I shook his hand and was forcibly reminded of the cadavers we practiced on during med school. I'd introduced myself, trying to stay polite, then turned and introduced him to Jazz. I remembered saying, "And this is my best friend and our fellow intern, Jasper Whitlock."

Mike's smile had turned to more of a sneer as he shook hands with Jazz, seeming to size him up. "Best friend, huh? Not boyfriend?"

I'd laughed that one off and replied, "I'm planning on learning, Doctor Newton, I'm not going to have time to date." I thought that was being obvious, but he just didn't get it. He invited me to the mixer that was to be held after our first month and I politely declined. He invited me to the end-of-year ball after our first year and I politely declined. Every year, without fail, he invited me to the ball, and every year I said no. We had just under six months until our residency was over, and I already knew he was transferring to the private hospital on the other side of town. They had offered to take him as a resident but he didn't want to go until he was an attending, and I had a horrible feeling I was part of that reason.

You were my strength when I was weak, you were my voice when I couldn't speak…

My phone ringing startled me out of my memories, primarily because it wasn't a ringtone I was aware I had. I checked the caller ID and it read Edward. Straight away I knew where it had come from.

"Your sister has been tampering with my phone," I told him as I answered.

"Oh really?" he sounded amused. "In what way?"

"Ringtones," I told him. "She's tarnished my phone with Celine Dion, and set it as your ringtone. I have no idea when she did it though…"

"It's Alice, she does things you don't even realise she's doing," he chuckled. "What are you up to?"

I told him about my cooking and how much food was now in my freezer, and about the call from Mike.

"Do I need to come back and break his leg?" he asked, his voice gravelly. "Or arrange for Emmett or Jasper to do it for me?"

"I hope you're kidding! I can look after myself," I shot back.

"I know you can Bella. I just don't like being here, knowing you're there with that…scumbag…hitting on you." The sweetness in his voice made me smile.

"It's ok Edward, I promise. Jazz keeps an eye on him at work for me, and there's only six months till he transfers out to another hospital," I assured him.

"Six months? That's forever Bella! At least I should be there soon to help keep him away." His voice lifted at the thought of living close.

"I can't wait," I said honestly, feeling that warm, bubbly sensation building in my stomach again. "But enough talk, you need to get some sleep! It's…" I quickly checked the clock next to my bed. "It's tomorrow there! And you have to work so now you have to say goodnight and get some sleep!"

"Are those doctor's orders?" he teased, his voice husky again.

"They will be if you're not careful, Mister Cullen," I joked back.

"You do have a point," he conceded. "Call me tomorrow night after your shift?"

"Of course I will!" There was no way that wasn't going to happen.

"And you'll call me during your shift if Doctor McSlimy hits on you?" While I was impressed with the Grey's Anatomy mockery, I was worried that he'd be distracted worrying about me the next day instead of focusing on his work.

"Edward, Doctor McSlimy has nothing on the hot lawyer. Besides, doctors aren't my type. Now if you don't say goodnight, I'm going to hang up on you." My tone made it clear that I wasn't kidding.

"You win," he gave up. "Sleep tight, my beautiful Bella."

"Sweet dreams baby," I replied.

"They will be if they're of you. Goodnight." He hung up after his goodnight.

I placed my phone on my bedside table and made sure my alarm was set for the next morning. I snuggled down under the covers and fell asleep facing Edward's pillow.

My dreams were vivid that night. They were full of Edward, Jasper and Alice, Emmett and Rosalie, Mike Newton, and a blonde woman who I didn't know, who seemed to know Edward.

One minute we were at a party in a club that I didn't recognise, then we were in the park Edward and I had our picnic in, then we were at Jacob's, and then at the hospital.

I woke with a start at the hospital scene. Alice, Emmett and Rosalie were all in beds, Edward was crying next to Alice's and the blonde woman was comforting him. Jasper and I appeared to be trying to restart Emmett's heart, and Rosalie had a bandage wrapped around her head like she'd had major surgery. My biggest fear was one of my friends being brought into the trauma centre. Thankfully it had never happened, but my dream had scared me.

I quietly went and got a drink of water and went to the bathroom, stopping outside Alice's door on my way back to bed. I could hear her light snoring through the door so I knew she was safe. I crawled back into bed and snuck a look at the clock. The red numbers showed it was 3:15am. 3 more hours sleep, I told myself, curling back up on my side.

I slowly drifted back off to more pleasant dreams, just Edward and I in the park, enjoying another picnic. I looked around in my dream and saw Alice and Jazz not too far away, and Emmett and Rose in the other direction. The unknown blonde woman was also there.

When I woke again just before my alarm went off, I couldn't get the blonde woman out of my head. I figured she'd been in the park dream because she'd been in my other dream and didn't think anything more of it.

I checked the clock again and had 15 minutes before I had to get up. I didn't want to get up early because I'd prepared so meticulously the night before, but I didn't want to stay in bed either because I was worried I'd fall asleep. I figured Edward should be on his way to his office, if not already there, so I sent him a text;

Morning gorgeous! It's sad waking up without u but I know it won't be long. Have a great day and I'll talk to you tonight. xB

His reply came back almost instantaneously;

Hey there beautiful. Waking up alone hurt but we'll be together soon. Can't wait to hear your voice. xE

There it was! The first sign of endearment in a text! My heat jumped and I threw back the covers as I leapt out of bed and ran to Alice's room.

"Alice! Wake up!" I yelled as I burst through her door.

"Rack off," she grumbled from deep in the covers.

"Al, this is important. If you wake up now, I'll drive you to work today, I'll cook you dinner tonight, not something frozen, and I'll let you pick something racy for me to wear for Edward." I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of my mouth, but this was important.

Alice rolled over and rubbed her eyes, then struggled into a sitting position. "Ok, spill. It's obviously something my brother has done." She rolled her eyes.

I thrust my phone at her and she squealed when she read it. "Ooh Bella, that's so exciting!"

"I know!" I told her. "Now get your butt out of bed so we're not late for work."