A/N: Ok folks, since the site has started letting people in I'm going to give you two in one day since they're ready and it's been delayed. I'll try and get back to the every-two-days thing again now, I promise!

Happy reading!

Chapter 24

I stirred when I heard Alice get in the shower the next morning and again when I heard her leave, but I managed to sleep until 10am when my phone rang.

"'lo?" I mumbled when I finally got a grip on it.

"Bella? Are you awake?" Jasper's teasing voice came down the line.

I grunted in response then slurred out, "I think so. What time is it?"

He laughed and replied, "It's just past ten. You've got the graveyard tonight, right?"

"Mmm hmm." Why was he waking me up if he knew I had the graveyard?

"Well, how about we go to lunch? It's been ages since you and I had some us time." He sounded almost sad.

"Ok," I agreed. "Pick me up at 12?"

"See you then…and don't go back to sleep!" he joked before hanging up.

I threw my phone onto the other side of the bed as I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. Jasper was right about the us time thing. We'd been inseparable since we were little. Going to different colleges had been difficult but it had been a good experience for both of us. Neither of us had dated much in high school and everyone kind of just assumed that we were together. Jasper was more like my brother than anything else – yes, he was hot, but I'd never felt anything for him. We'd both dated during college, my relationships always ended fast because my studies were important, Jasper's tended to last a bit longer because he made the effort.

Living together during med school had been wonderful – we both had the same classes and we just knew each other so well. I hadn't dated at all during med school aside from the odd coffee or drink here and there, and Jasper was totally focused on being the best – he just didn't notice girls.

After med school when I moved in with Alice I felt bad for him, but he was happy being his own person. He could play his guitar at all hours without disturbing anyone and his apartment reflected his personality perfectly. We'd hung out a lot and I guess it was inevitable that he and Alice would eventually notice each other.

As I dragged myself off to the shower I thought back to the day Alice had asked me about Jazz. We were eating lunch in the cafeteria at the hospital. That in itself was strange – Alice hated hospital food more than I did. Out of nowhere, she asked, "So what's the deal with Jasper? How do I get him to notice me?" I'd laughed aloud at that because I knew that he thought she was amazing…but he was too scared to make the first move. I'd given her some subtle hints then my pager had gone off.

The following weekend I was rostered off and was planning on going to visit my dad in Forks. I hadn't told Alice or Jazz that I was going so I set them up. Alice was waiting tables and working weekends, so I told her I'd cook her a nice dinner on the Saturday night when she finished work. I gave Jasper a similar story, only I invited him over and told him to bring Turkish with him, listing Alice's favourites. After Alice left for work that morning, I cleaned the apartment quickly and then left her a note, letting her know I'd decided to go and visit dad, and that dinner would be delivered at 7. It obviously worked a treat because when I got home early on Monday morning Jasper was stumbling out of Alice's room in his boxers.

I smiled at the memory as I got dressed. They were perfect together. Almost 6 years later and they were still going strong. Must be something about the Cullens, I mused. They seem to mate for life. I thought about Emmett and Rosalie – they'd been together for close to ten years now. Alice and Jasper were coming up to six. The thought made my smile wider as I imagined Edward and I being together for ever.

My day dreams were interrupted by my phone ringing again. It was Edward.

"Hey there good lookin'!" I greeted him.

"Hey there yourself!" he replied. "You sound chirpy today!"

"I guess I am," I said thoughtfully. "I slept well and slept in, I'm having lunch with Jasper, and now I'm talking to you!"

"Will you be going to work tonight?" he asked.

"I still don't know. I haven't heard anything from the hospital and I haven't had the news on," I told him. "I'm doing a usual day for the day of a graveyard though – I'll have a nap this afternoon."

"That's so cute – a nap," he teased me. "Do you nap often?"

I blew a raspberry down the phone before I answered him. "I always have a nap when I go onto graveyards. If I have a few of them in a row it's not too bad, I generally sleep all day and then it starts again. But the first one is always hard so I try and have some extra sleep before I go in."

There was silence on the other end of the phone and then Edward sighed. "I miss you so much Bella. Last night after we hung up, all I could think about was the fourth. I couldn't sleep so I booked my flights,,,"

I cut him off. "Yay! When are you flying in?"

He laughed and replied, "My flight gets in at quarter past ten on the Thursday night, then I fly out again at ten am on the following Wednesday."

"I'm so excited!" I told him. I was busting to tell him I'd be in Chicago right up until the day before he was flying to Seattle, but I managed to hold it in.

"Me too baby. I hate to do this again, but I've got to run to a meeting. Call me tonight?" He almost sounded like he was pleading.

"I'll probably call you before I go in to work, that way it's not too late there. Don't argue," I cut him off as he went to interrupt. "Go to your meeting and I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"You better. Be safe," he said wistfully as we hung up.

I wandered into the dining room after that to see what Alice had concocted the night before. My jaw dropped as I looked at the hangers in the room. There was the camisole, complete with silver straps and the gorgeous lace, and the nightgown in the beautiful flowing silver satin. I had no idea what time Alice had gone to bed though because the bikini briefs, g-string and boyshorts were laid out on the table as well. The bra looked half-finished too. I grinned like a fool as I imagined how Edward would react.

I walked back to my bedroom and set out my clothes for work. I used the same scrubs from the day before since I hadn't made it into the hospital, and placed a black long-sleeved t-shirt and my work runners with them on the chair in the corner of my room. I checked the clock and saw that Jasper would be here in about twenty minutes, so I called work to see what was going on.

"Virginia Mason, Penny speaking. How may I direct your call?"

"Hi Penny, it's doctor Swan, how are things going down there?" I asked.

"They're looking a bit better, Doctor Swan. Let me put you through to Doctor Johns," she said.

I listened to the awful hold music for a few minutes before Dr Johns' gravelly voice came down the line. "Doctor Swan, how are you?"

"I should be asking that of you, sir," I replied. "How are things going?"

"It's looking better," he sighed. "The CDC will run another series of tests at four pm today, at which time we'll know if we can lift the quarantine on the building. Would it possible for you to call back around four-thirty?"

"Not a problem sir," I told him. "I look forward to hearing some good news!"

We said our goodbyes and hung up just as Jasper let himself in the door.

"That the hospital?" he asked.

"Yep – I have to call back this afternoon to see if I'm going to work tonight or not. So where are we going for lunch?" I was starving since I hadn't bothered with breakfast.

"Nowhere in particular – let's just head out and find somewhere?" Jasper suggested as I grabbed my bag.

"Sounds good!" I said, locking the door behind us as we headed for the lifts.

We walked out the front of the building and he held the door open for me. Even though Jasper hadn't lived in the south for long, his father was a long-standing southern gentleman and had forced manners in to Jazz from a young age.

"I was thinking maybe we could grab some take-out and eat near the water?" Jasper suggested as we drove.

We stopped at our favourite hamburger shop and bought lunch. Jasper got a burger with the works and a side of fries, I went a bit lighter and ordered a piece of crumbed fish with fries and tartar sauce. We drove a bit further along and stopped on the shore of Elliot Bay. We sat on the grass and ate like ravenous animals then relaxed in the sun for a while.

"So, about Edward," Jasper said, interrupting the peace and quiet.

I groaned as I shot him a death stare. "What about Edward?"

"I just don't want to see you get hurt, Bells! It's been so long since you've been with someone, and he seems like a nice guy, I just don't want to have to pick up the pieces if he hurts you," he explained.

"You're my best friend Jasper," I reminded him. "If I get hurt, it's your job to pick up the pieces!"

"Calm down, I'm just looking out for you," he soothed.

"I know, and I appreciate it." I threw him a smile. "Just be happy for me, ok? Edward is being so sweet, I really feel a connection with him, you know? And…" I blushed as I trailed off.

"What? You don't have to be embarrassed Bella. I'm your best friend and a doctor, remember?" He punched my shoulder playfully.

"It's not that!" I was mortified to think that Jasper thought I was going to talk sex with him. "It's a thought I had this morning…it's lame."

"It's obviously not so lame if you're blushing," he prompted me.

So I took a deep breath and told him about my whole 'Cullens mate for life' philosophy. I expected him to roar with laughter but he nodded when I finished.

"It's funny, I've thought the same thing for the last couple of years," he said. "Ever since we finished our internships and the hours got worse, I thought Alice would get sick of never being able to go out and stuff but she's still around."

"She loves you Jazz, of course she's still around!" I was shocked that Jasper thought Alice would leave him.

"But it just proves your point, Bells. Their parents have been married for almost forty years, Emmett and Rose have been together for ten, Alice and I are coming up on six," he paused. "And I bet in five years, you and I will be sitting here, eating greasy food, and we'll be talking about how Emmett and Rosalie are happily married with kids, Alice and I are married-"

"Alice and you are married?" I interjected.

"I love her like nothing else Bells." I was surprised to see his eyes filling with tears. "I'd ask her to marry me today if I could. But I promised myself I'd be an attending before I proposed. And I don't want to steal Emmett's thunder…" He slapped himself in the forehead. "Open mouth, insert foot much?"

"Hang on, Emmett's thunder? Is he finally going to propose?" I was so excited.

"You can't say anything to anyone, not Edward, not Alice, not anyone," he stressed. I nodded and crossed my heart so he continued. "He called me up a couple of weeks ago, before Edward even came to visit, and asked me to meet him for lunch. So I did, and he asked me to help him pick a ring for Rosalie. We went a couple of days later and he bought the ring – that's why Carlisle and Esme are coming for the fourth!"

"So they know?" I confirmed.

"Yep. That's why Edward was more or less told to come home that weekend. Emmett is planning on proposing during the fireworks that night," Jazz finished.

"That's awesome! I'm so excited for them!" I saw the look Jasper was giving me and retorted, "What? Just 'cause I could climb a tree better than you doesn't mean I can't still act like a girl!"

He let out that guffaw of his and shot back, "Yeah, and you fell out of them a lot better than me too!"

"Good thing my best friend is a doctor," I retorted as he pulled me to my feet.

"C'mon Miss Bella, I'd better get you home so you can get ready for work," he said as we walked back to his car.