A/N: Sorry this has been so long coming. And I know it's short, but this was a good place to leave things.

Please vote in the poll on my profile page! This story was only going to have 40 chapters (nice round number, me being a Libra and all!) but I can see that it'll go to at least 41. So we're almost at the end of the beginning…

Happy reading!

Chapter 39

I woke the next morning before the alarm and rolled over to cuddle with Edward…except his side of the bed was empty. I tried not to jump to any conclusions but couldn't get past the knot that had formed in my stomach. Reaching out, I cancelled the alarm as I climbed out of bed and stuck my feet in my slippers. I crossed the room to my door and opened it quietly, listening for him. Nothing. No cooking smells, no music, no running water. The knot in my stomach grew bigger as I shuffled out to the kitchen.

I didn't realise I'd been holding my breath until it all came out in a rush when I saw the note on the counter. I picked it up and smiled;

Bella,

You looked so peaceful and I didn't want to wake you. I've gone out to get breakfast, I will be home before ten.

Love Edward.

I was placing it back on the counter when I heard keys jingling outside the door. I walked over and took a peek through the spy-hole just to be safe then opened the door.

"Morning gorgeous!" I said as Edward's face lit up.

"Morning gorgeous yourself!" he replied, dropping a quick kiss on the top of my head as he moved past.

"Whatever you've got in that bag, it smells fantastic!" I felt like I was drooling from the smell.

He moved into the kitchen and started unpacking. "Two extra large French vanilla coffees and two all day breakfasts from Jacob's!" he announced, pulling the Styrofoam boxes from the bag and setting them down.

We sat at the kitchen table and ate, both making little mmmphing sounds.

"I'm going to put on so much weight when I move here if I keep eating like this," he said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin before throwing it in his now-empty breakfast box and closing it.

I drained the last of my coffee and took his hand across the table. "Well, maybe you'll just have to exercise more," I suggested with a wink.

His eyes twinkled as he replied, "But exercise makes me sweaty."

I couldn't help it – I took the bait. "Well maybe you should exercise in the shower?"

"You are a dangerous woman," he growled, coming around the table and lifting me out of my chair. "Bathroom. Now."

When we emerged from the shower half an hour later I had a text from Jasper;

Bella, Alice wants to know if you want us to come to the airport with you.

"Typical Alice, not wanting to intrude but tricking Jasper to do it for her," Edward commented, reading over my shoulder.

I quickly messaged back;

J, it's ok. After I say goodbye to Edward I'll be coming home, eating, and going to work. Tell Al not to worry. xB

After we were dressed and Edward was packed we curled up together on the couch.

"You look deep in thought," he said softly.

"Just thinking about the next three weeks, wondering what life has in store for me before you come back," I replied with a smile.

"Nothing but good things, baby, nothing but good things."

We snuggled for a while longer until it was time to go. Edward threw his bag in the bed of my truck and we headed once more for the airport.

"Are you excited?" I asked him.

"Not really, I'm leaving again," he said, looking sad.

"But this time is the last time you'll be leaving!" I couldn't believe how happy I was feeling.

Edward turned his head towards me and I saw him smile out of the corner of my eye. "You have a very good point there."

"Of course I do! Did you expect any less?" I teased.

He shook his head and laughed. "I love you, Bella Swan."

"Love you too!" I shot back as I turned into the parking lot at the airport for the last time.

Our farewell was quick and tearless, both us holding on to the fact that this was the last goodbye.

"I'll call you when I get back to Chicago," Edward said.

"Have a safe trip home," I said back, stretching up to give him one last kiss before he left.

"I'm home when I'm here," he whispered to me.

I pulled back and smiled. "Damn straight you are. Now get that sexy butt moving so our three weeks can start, and then end sooner!"

We laughed together and shared a final kiss before he headed for his security checkpoint. He waved at me as he passed through and I headed back to my truck.

When I got home I found Alice and Jasper watching re-runs of Friends.

"How goes it?" she asked as I flopped down in one of our arm chairs.

"Goes good – the three week countdown starts today!" I replied, flashing a smile.

"I bet you can't wait," Jasper commented.

"I bet I can't either!" I shot back, still smiling. "I gotta get ready for work."

I headed for my room to get changed. My attention was immediately drawn to the bed when I walked in. Propped up on my pillow were a CD and a small, stuffed green elephant.

I opened the CD case and a note fell out;

To my Bella,

These are the songs we listened to together – hopefully they make the next three weeks a little more bearable. And the elephant? Well, he can't do for you what I can, but he'll stop us from avoiding the elephant in the room when we're together again.

All my love, Edward.

I quickly put the CD in the small CD player next to my iPod dock and let Edward's music fill my room. I picked up the elephant and gave it a quick squeeze, smiling as I thought of the events that followed my elephant comment when Edward was here. I pulled on a black long-sleeved t-shirt and my scrubs and pulled a light jacket out of my closet. The nights weren't too chilly but leaving at work at midnight you could never be sure.

I waved goodbye to Alice and Jasper as I headed out the door, promising to help Alice hand-sew tags into her clothes over the next few days.

My shift passed slowly with only three patients on the floor. Edward called me when he got back to his house to let me know he was there and we chatted for almost half an hour.

Long phone calls became a trend over the following three weeks. I emailed Edward a copy of my roster so he knew when I was working and when I was likely to be sleeping and we scheduled phone calls around my work and sleep patterns.

The weeks flew past. Alice's business took off like a rocket to the point that she advertised for people with sewing experience. She had officially registered her business and had a staff of four as well as herself. The four women working for her were all stay-at-home mothers who worked from home. Alice paid them for each garment they completed as well as paying for the maintenance, and in once case upgrade, of their machines. She had opted for printed labels once she realised how popular her lingerie was and had an order list a mile long.

She was also working on new creations, including silk pyjama sets consisting of button up, long sleeve tops and long pants. Rosalie and I had both been gifted pairs in "our" colours even though the weather was a bit warm still. She had also released a small men's range of boxers, robes and long pyjama pants and they were selling fast. We were planning another show for the colder months to officially launch the men's range which she anticipated would grow and to release the new garments in the women's range. Her plans included Edward, Emmett and Jasper modelling but we weren't sure how comfortable they would be with the idea.

The weekend after Edward flew back to Chicago, Carlisle and Esme moved back to Olympia and Carlisle started back at work at Virginia Mason the following Monday. By the end of the week he had been asked to act as Chief of Staff for the hospital pending permanent filling and he accepted.

Esme had decided to get back into her former career as an interior designer. Little did I know she was also a qualified architect and she immediately started looking for a place for Alice to establish a store to sell her clothing from, with room for a workshop for sewing. Alice, Rosalie and I spent a lot of time with Esme, designing plans, coming up with colour schemes and generally enjoying girl time.

Rosalie and Emmett were making wedding plans, having set a tentative date for June next year. Alice and I had been asked to be bridesmaids, which Alice only accepted on the proviso that she got to make not only Rose's wedding dress, but dresses for us, ties and vests for the boys, and outfits for Esme and Carlisle. Rosalie was left with no choice but to agree.

Lauren and Mike had both appealed their terminations and both had lost. There were whispers in the halls about them taking the hospital to court but no-one was taking it seriously. They both had so many breaches against them that were only just coming out that I was surprised they hadn't been booted out sooner.

Jessica seemed to have undergone a personality change. She wasn't exactly pleasant to me but the snarkiness was gone and she spoke to me without the grunts. The male doctors still got her undivided attention and I didn't really expect that to change. I was on the graveyard shift one night and she sought me out when she was going to get coffee. Most of the nurses would track down the doctors and offer but Jessica generally only tried to find the men. I accepted her offer and we spent some time chatting at the nurses' station.

Edward called me the Friday of the second week not long after I got home from work.

"Hey there good lookin'" he said.

"Not feeling so good looking," I replied as I flopped down across my bed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, all joking gone from his voice.

"Just a really shitty day. I had not one but two patients throw up all over me, and then one of the interns dropped a couple of blood vials on the floor and they shattered, then they changed our rosters for next week and I've got the graveyard shift from Monday to Thursday!" I complained.

"Think about this," he said softly. "After you finish your Thursday graveyard shift, you'll have three days off and I'll be arriving with all my stuff on Sunday afternoon."

I smiled and decided to spill my secret. "Actually, I don't have three days off." I managed to keep my voice serious.

"They've changed your days off as well?" He sounded pissed.

"Not exactly…" I couldn't hold it in any longer. "Carlisle told me you're not starting work until the Wednesday and then suggested I take a few days annual leave to help you get unpacked and settled in, so I asked for the week off that you arrive, and I got it!"

The silence from the other end of the phone was deafening.

"Edward?" I hedged.

"I'm here," he replied.

I waited to see what he said next.

"You're taking a week off just for me?" His voice was tender.

"I want to help you get settled, go grocery shopping, set up furniture, all that stuff," I replied.

"I'll call you the second we arrive with the truck on Sunday ok?"

"Mmm hmm. So why were you in such a good mood when you called?" I asked, trying to turn the tone of the conversation around.

"I got a letter in the mail today from the Washington Bar Association…" he said.

I knew because he was so happy that he'd passed. "Oh yeah?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah. I passed." I could see the gleam in his eye from the other end of the phone.

"Yay!" I cheered.

We spent a few minutes talking about what it all meant, then talked some more, about how Emmett and Jasper were flying out on Thursday morning so they could see some of Chicago before helping Edward load the rental truck. They'd planned where they were staying on the way and who was going to drive when. Emmett was the only one licensed to drive the truck so Edward and Jasper were going to take turns in driving the Volvo.

The following and final week was a strange one. Time would fly by and then it would feel like it was going backwards. By the time Wednesday afternoon rolled around I was fed up with graveyard shifts and the hospital in general and was looking forward to eight glorious work free days. I got off work on Friday morning and headed home for bed.

After I crawled under the covers, I sent Edward a quick text;

Can't wait to see you, drive safe! I'm turning my phone off so I can get some sleep. Call me tonight! xB

I'd spoken briefly to Alice when I got home and she told me that she was going site-hunting with Esme today. They'd found a small shopping centre with two vacant stores that Esme thought would be perfect for setting up Alice's business. I was also informed that since Jasper and Emmett were both now in Chicago and soon to be on their way back that Rosalie would be spending the weekend with us and tonight was going to be a girl's night in.

I turned my phone off, smiling at the thought of Edward being here in two days and at the thought of spending some quality time with Alice and Rosalie, and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.