A/N: Ok, so it's a two-fer weekend. It's hot, I can't be bothered doing anything because I feel like I'm going to melt. So you guys get two chapters in less than two days.

For those Aussies reading, some of the names will be familiar. Yes, I'm watching the cricket while I'm writing.

Happy reading!

Chapter 18

Once I knew Alice was out of bed I headed to the kitchen for breakfast. I pulled the Chocco Balls out of the cupboard and filled a bowl, then drowned them in milk.

I was just about finished when Alice came into the kitchen, looking gorgeous in a cream skirt and pale pink ruffled blouse. "Wow Al, you look beautiful!" I told her.

She beamed as she put my cereal back in the cupboard and pulled out the Cheerios. "Thanks! Pink's never really been my thing, but I loved this shirt as soon as I saw it. Plus, I'm having lunch with Jazz today so I thought I'd dress up a bit more than usual."

"I forgot he was off today," I mused. "Why don't you invite him over for dinner since I'm cooking?"

"You don't have to cook Bells!" Alice giggled. "But I still get to pick out something racy for you!"

"I'd like to cook though," I replied. "And that way you and Jazz can spend some time together while I get dinner ready…if you don't mind waiting till 7ish?"

"It's a date!" she chirped as I put my bowl and spoon in the dishwasher.

"We're leaving in twenty minutes – be ready," I teased as I headed to my room to get dressed for the day.

"Yes mum!" she said playfully to my retreating back.

Twenty minutes later we were in my trusty truck and heading towards the hospital.

"You're going to be early," Alice commented.

"Yeah, I know," I sighed. "There's a couple of patients I want to spend a bit more time with this morning though and it's been four days since I've been in…who knows what's happened!"

"I still don't fully understand what it is you guys do," Alice said. "I know that cases go into your ER, then some go into surgery and some get fixed up and go home…what's the trauma centre actually for?"

I smiled at Alice's question. Jasper didn't like talking work with her and we generally didn't talk about things with Alice around either – we'd managed for a long time to keep work and home separate.

"Well, we're kind of a dumping ground," I told her honestly. "The patients that are treated in the ER who don't need surgery but need specialist care come to us. Like last month, we had a guy whose leg was broken in three places. None of the breaks were that severe, but he left it three days after he fell off his motorbike to come and see us. They set the breaks in the ER, but because of the swelling he had from infection they couldn't put him in a cast and send him home. So he spent a few days with us until we could put him in a cast. The general wards couldn't look after him because of the nature of his injury."

"Wow," Alice breathed, her eyes wide. "You sound all doctor-y. So you guys are like intensive care, but for patients that are kind of between being a really serious case and being a send-home case?"

I smiled at her appraisal of our work. "Something like that," I told her. "It's rewarding, that's why Jazz and I love it so much. We don't have to deal with the really bad cases like the surgeons and ER do, but we still get to practice some pretty cool medicine."

We traveled in silence for a few minutes before Alice said, "I really respect and admire what you guys do. I know I could never do it – especially if it was one of my friends or family."

I grimaced at the innocent reminder of my dream. "Funny you say that Al," I replied. "I had a dream last night that you and Emmett and Rose were all hurt and in the hospital. Edward was there and so was Jazz, and some blonde woman I didn't know."

"Why didn't you come and wake me?" she screeched. "That must have been terrifying!"

"It was," I admitted. "I ended up getting up and going to the bathroom, and I stopped outside your door. I could hear you snoring though so I knew you were safe."

I pulled into the employee lot at the hospital and we both climbed out of the truck. Alice walked around and gave me a hug. "Well, we're all safe, and now the only thing you have to worry about is not stabbing Newton with a scalpel," she joked.

I laughed out loud and replied, "Don't go giving me any ideas!" I quickly filled her in on the phone call I'd had from Mike the night before.

"Ew!" she exclaimed, wrinkling her nose. "If he does it again, hand me the phone and I'll deal with him."

"Yes ma'am," I giggled. "I'd better get in Al. See you at home tonight!"

"Have a good day Bells," she called over her shoulder as she set out on the short walk to her office.

I headed inside and dumped my stuff in my locker, put my lunch in the fridge then headed to the main desk to collect my charts.

"Morning Doctor Swan," Eric, one of my favourite nurses said as I approached. He was one of my favourites because he was always on top of things and never sleazy.

"Morning Eric!" I replied with a cheerful grin.

"Did you enjoy your days off?" he asked as he handed me a pile of charts.

"I did, thank you. What's all this?" I enquired, indicating the twelve charts in my hand. I was expecting six.

"Oh," he looked uncomfortable. "Doctor Newton called and said he would be in late today, and he told Doctor Warner that he'd like you to cover any new cases assigned to him because your work-ups were the best."

"I'll bet he did," I muttered under my breath. "Thanks, Eric," I said in my normal voice. "Can you please page me when Doctor Newton arrives?"

"Sure thing!" he said with a grin – he knew of my dislike of the good doctor.

"I'm off to have a quick chat with Warner before I round," I said with a tight smile as I headed to the Head of Trauma's office.

Of course, Doctor Warner wasn't in, so I headed back to the small resident's office to go over the charts in my hand. Three were existing patients of mine, two of whom I was pleased to see could be discharged this morning. The other would need to stay for a few more days. Three more were the new cases assigned to me and therefore my interns to cover. One was a woman who had poked herself in the eye with scissors trying to cut her own hair. Two days tops, I thought. One was a man who had dislocated his shoulder when he fell off his roof. Like the guy I'd been telling Alice about, he'd left it a few days before coming in. They'd reduced the dislocation in the ER but orthopaedics didn't want him, so he was with us. The last was a young boy who had been stabbed in the side of the neck with a butter knife – by his four year old sister. Welfare case, I thought bitterly. It seemed that any time a child was brought in hurt under fishy circumstances they ended up staying with us until Children's Services could finalise the case.

I had a quick look over Newton's new cases, all simple and much less complex than mine. I headed back out to the floor and rounded up my three interns as well as the four Mike was supervising.

"Morning folks," I said to them all. "Doctor Newton is running late this morning so I'll be overseeing his cases as well as mine until he gets in."

"Again?" one of his interns asked. "He was late the other day too and Doctor Whitlock covered for him then."

"And then he arrived with Doctor Mallory," someone else commented.

"While the arrival habits of Doctor Newton are interesting, we have twelve patients to visit people," I cut in, storing the information I'd just heard away for my meeting with Warner.

We rounded on my three initial patients first, then did three of Doctor Newton's new cases. We were just about to go in to see the woman who had stabbed her eye when my pager went off.

"Looks like Doctor Newton has arrived," I told his interns. "Good work this morning guys. Here's the charts for the three patients we already saw, and these three will need to be seen by Doctor Newton," I finished, handing over the six charts that I really couldn't wait to get rid of.

Mike's interns headed off down the hall and I took my three interns with me to see the three new cases. I assigned one of them to each case, running labs, taking histories and all that fun stuff, then started filling out discharge forms for our two patients that would be going home.

Before I knew it, I was one o'clock and my stomach was trying to eat me from the inside. I stopped by the nurse's station and was disappointed that Eric wasn't there. Instead I had to deal with Jessica – she loved all the male doctors but held a special form of disdain for me.

"Hello Jessica, how are you?" I asked, depositing my finalised charts in the basket.

"Hello, Doctor Swan. I'm fine thank you. Yourself?" She barely looked up at me.

"I'm well thanks. Look, I'm just going to grab my lunch, if anyone's looking for me I'll be in the cafeteria, ok?" I told her as I walked off.

I heard a non-committal grunt from behind me so I knew she'd heard me. I took my lunch from the fridge and headed downstairs to the dreaded cafeteria. I bought a lemonade from the vending machine and grabbed a newspaper to read while I ate. I set my pager on the table next to my drink and started eating and reading.

Not two minutes later, I heard the chair across from me being pulled out. "Mind if I sit down?" Mike asked.

Well, it's too late now, isn't it? I thought. "Have a seat," I said sarcastically, not looking up from my newspaper.

"I just wanted to say thanks for covering those patients for me this morning Bella," he started. "Something came up at home and I had to deal with it."

"It's ok, just don't make a habit of it," I said in a monotone, still not looking up.

"Well isn't this cozy," a nasal female voice interjected. I looked up now to see Doctor Mallory standing next to the table. "Mind if I join you?"

I rolled my eyes as I looked back down at the paper since the question wasn't aimed at me.

"Of course not Lauren," Newton replied. His tone made my skill crawl. "I was just thanking Bella for looking after some patients for me this morning."

"Really?" she simpered, dropping her tray on my newspaper.

"I'm done eating, see you two around," I spat out, picking up my empty lemonade bottle and container, leaving the newspaper on the table under Lauren's tray.

"I wonder what her problem is?" I heard her ask Mike as I walked away. I just shook my head, dropped the bottle in the recycling and headed back to the trauma floor.

I stepped of the elevator and heard Doctor Warner calling my name. I turned to my right and walked towards his office.

"Come in and have a seat, Doctor Swan," he directed as I reached the door. "I understand you wanted to see me this morning?"

"Yes sir," I replied. "I was coming to see you about Doctor Newton, actually."

"Really?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, "What seems to be the problem?"

"Not a problem as such, sir," I clarified. "Just a concern. When I arrived this morning, in addition to my own existing patients and my new patients, I was informed that I was taking all six of Doctor Newton's new cases this morning as he was going to be late. I don't mind," I rushed on before Doctor Warner could interrupt, "it's a good teaching experience and a good learning experience, but I'd like to be focusing on my own patients and the interns I'm supposed to be instructing," I finished.

"I understand, Doctor Swan, and I thank you for taking on those extra cases and extra teaching responsibilities this morning," he said with a small smile. "Your patient care is exemplary and your interns have nothing bad to say about you."

I was a little taken aback and muttered the obligatory, "Thank you, sir," while I stared at my hands in my lap.

"Doctor Swan, what are your plans when your residency here is over?" he asked.

"I was planning on staying right here sir," I told him honestly. "I enjoy the work, the challenges…it's why I became a doctor." I chanced a look up and saw him smiling at me from across his desk.

"Just what I wanted to hear," he told me. "Doctor Taylor is leaving us at the end of this year, and I was hoping you'd stay on."

Where is he going with this? I thought. Dr Taylor was the attending who did our rosters. The other two attendings, Dr Hussey and Dr White were both men in their late thirties and neither of them had an administrative bone in their bodies.

"I'd like you to consider taking on the rostering next year, Doctor Swan," he went on.

There it is, I thought. "Can I ask why me, sir? I mean, Doctor Hussey and Doctor White have been around for a lot longer than I have…"

"That's exactly it, Doctor Swan," he said with smile. "They're too susceptible to all the bullshit that goes on around here. You've just been through all that with Doctor Newton and his being late – I think you're just the person for the job."

I couldn't help the smile that came across my face at the boss' use of the word bullshit. "It's an interesting proposition, sir," I said slowly. "I understand that Doctor Taylor's roster is slightly different to that of the other attendings because of her added responsibilities, will that apply to me?"

He laughed. "Yes, Doctor Swan, it will. Only three graveyard shifts a fortnight and more day shifts than anything else. We're also getting a fourth attending next year, Doctor Angela Webber. Do you know her?"

"She may have been in our class at med school I think," I replied, wondering if this was the same dark-haired, quietly spoken woman who Jasper and I went to school with.

"Either way, she'll be commencing with us in January," Dr Warner continued. "I'd like you to consider my offer, I'd also like an answer by the end of August please."

"Not a problem, sir," I said, shaking his hand as we both stood. "And thank you for considering me," I concluded as I left his office.

I walked out with a big grin on my face and immediately called Edward.

"Good afternoon, Edward Cullen's phone, Tanya speaking," came the answer.