Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Twilight characters or any information from the books. Stephenie Meyer owns it. I simply took the characters and some details and adapted them to my own storyline.
Thanks to my beta's Lmjohn and Teen123.
Sorry this chapter is short.
Review please!
On to chapter 5. Enjoy!
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Edward parked the Ultima in front of Carlisle's office at 7:45 the next morning. Dinner with Alice and Emmett had been nice; Edward always enjoyed spending time with his siblings. They had all lamented over breakfast with Carlisle, but agreed to go to Esme's art exhibit together to support Esme and to buffer Carlisle from each other. They had carefully navigated through life with Carlisle together. It had been more difficult before Esme came along. Their mother died when Edward was 8 and the twins were 10. Carlisle didn't meet Esme until 4 years later. Before Esme, Carlisle was a terror on the kids. They had to get straight As; they had to come home immediately after school; they had to excel in any sports and extracurricular activities that Carlisle chose for them. Every minute of their life was stringent and scheduled. When Esme came along, Carlisle eased a little bit as far as scheduling and when they were married, Esme began to direct Carlisle's attention away from the kids and their activities. Often if Carlisle didn't approve of something the kids did, Esme would step in a take the blame. She didn't agree with his treatment of the kids, but she didn't argue with him either. She simply stepped in when needed and loved all parties involved. She was in a difficult position as she loved Carlisle very much, but she also wanted to protect the kids as much as possible. She had so much love to give and was such a gentle soul; all of the kids loved her immediately and felt a connection to her. She never replaced their mother, but she did a wonderful job as a stepmom.
Edward opened the main door to the practices reception area.
"Good morning, Victoria," he smiled at the red-head behind the front desk.
"Hey, Edward," she smiled back and winked, "Carlisle just got here."
"Thanks," he said, grabbing the two cups of coffee she offered. He headed down the hallway to the left. He took another quick left and a right and was in Carlisle's private alcove. "Good morning, Kate," he greeted Carlisle's personal secretary.
"Good morning, Mr. Cullen," she smiled.
"Kate, it's Edward," he corrected her.
"Sorry, sir," she smiled apologetically, "Carlisle is waiting for you."
"Thank you," he said, walking through the door behind her. Carlisle was sitting behind a huge oak desk, studying some paperwork. Edward set a coffee on the desk and took a seat in one of the plush leather chairs.
"Edward," Carlisle nodded to him, "Thank you for bringing that paperwork to me yesterday. I was here at 7:00 and pleased that it was here waiting for me. I've been perusing it and am satisfied so far." Edward relaxed a little.
"I went over it with a critical eye. I'm glad you approve," Edward replied.
"I'm not done looking yet, but I will finish later," Carlisle said, "For now, I need you to help me go over last month's projected and actual budgets. We went over budget again and I need to know where we can make cuts and improvements. Pull up a chair."
"Okay," Edward moved a chair behind Carlisle's desk to sit next to him and look at the papers organized on the desk. The budget was very familiar to Edward as he had developed it, but every two or three months, Carlisle wanted it changed. Sometimes he wanted more money added to different places or more money to go to charities; sometimes he wanted to make cut backs as far as supplies and people. The budget changed like his moods. Edward just went along with it.
It was Bella's first day at her internship. She hadn't slept very well the previous night – for various reasons – but she was trying her best to stay focused. Her morning started well because she had woken up about 30 minutes before she had planned, due to an FMH dream. This time he had taken her in a back room at the grocery store after he felt her up in front of the old couple in the bread isle. After she woke up, just before the glorious finale', she jumped in the shower and had a leisurely breakfast, mentally gearing herself up for the day. She was ready to face whatever was thrown at her, until she pulled into the parking lot of the Cullen Family Medicine building. The building was two stories and housed several sections. The pediatrics area took care of everyone under the age of 18; the general practice took care of everyone 18 and over. There was an obgyn area and a cardiology section. Bella had heard that the second story was empty except for a few offices. She also heard that there were plans in the works for a cancer wing with all of the necessary equipment. She could not wait to get inside and begin working with the physical therapy department, but part of her also wanted to turn her car around and leave.
"Suck it up, Swan," she took a few deep breaths and turned her truck off, depositing the keys in her purse and exiting the vehicle. On her way to the sidewalk, she looked back and laughed. Her truck looked ridiculous next to the black Mercedes and silver Ultima parked next to it. Even the "normal" cars made her truck stand out. There was a silver Malibu, a red Taurus, and a blue Caravan, but her truck stuck out – much like herself. She shrugged her shoulders at the comparison and headed into the building.
"Good morning. How may I help you?" a bubbly red-head greeted her in the reception area.
"Hi. I'm Bella Swan. I begin my internship in the physical therapy today," Bella smiled.
"Ah, yes, Ms. Swan, I have some paperwork for you to fill out and then we'll make your id and you can be on your way," she handed Bella a clipboard with some papers and a pen attached. "I'm Victoria. If you have any questions, just let me know," she smiled before directing Bella to a few chairs to the side.
It did not take long for Bella to finish the paperwork and get her id made. Once that was done, Victoria paged the young man who Bella would be working under. His name was Mike and he was tall with dirty blonde hair and striking blue eyes. He wasn't thin, but he wasn't fat either. He was chunky, but in a cute way.
"Hi, Bella. I'm Mike Newton – you can just call me Mike. Come on and I'll show you our lockers," Mike smiled, shaking Bella's hand before leading her through a door behind Victoria's desk. The door opened to a hallway off of which there were several rooms. As they walked passed, Bella notices small conference rooms and lounges. Mike made a left and Bella found herself in a large locker room. "There are showers on either side here," he pointed to the sides of the room, "Men on the left, women on the right. You're locker 214. Here's your combo." Bella took the small piece of paper that he offered. She deposited her purse in her locker before following Mike out of the room and down the hall. The exited a door and Bella realized they were in the physical therapy room. The room was large with several pieces of equipment, weight balls, bounce balls, mats, and various other apparatuses to help patients. There were also several small rooms off of the large room. These rooms were used for conferencing and more intimate one-on-one sessions. The back wall of the larger room was completely glass and overlooked a garden section of sorts with a gazebo and several small benches.
"Woah," Bella breathed.
"The first day is a little overwhelming," Mike laughed, "but you'll get used to it. Let's start with some charting."
"Okay," Bella agreed following him to one of the small rooms.
Edward sighed as he left Carlisle's office. Why Carlisle even had meetings with him, he never knew. Carlisle had everything figured out the way he wanted and simply met with Edward to "peacefully" tell Edward exactly what to do. Edward smiled at Kate on his way out. Carlisle had mentioned some upgrades to various area in the building, so Edward decided to take some time and check them out to see if they were really worth the money Carlisle spent on them. He walked to the obgyn area first, trying not to feel weird and perverted by being there. He wanted to see the results of the new 3-D ultra-sound machine.
"Edward, hey," he was greeted by a tall, dark haired man.
"Garrett, hey," he shook the man's hand. Garrett had been a doctor here since the second year Carlisle was in business. Garrett was a good doctor and a favorite with the females. "Ruggedly handsome" and "Bad boy" were phrases Edward had heard many nurses use to describe him. "How are you?"
"Great man, great. No complaints," Garrett said.
"Yeah, I heard that you and Kate are pretty serious," Edward said.
"Pretty serious, yeah," Garrett grinned, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a box that contained a solitaire, marquis cut diamond wedding set.
"Woah, congratulations," Edward said.
"Not yet, but this weekend we're going mountain biking. I've been carrying this around because I'm so afraid I'm going to lose it somewhere...along with my confidence," Garrett laughed.
"You'll be fine. That's awesome," Edward said.
"What brings you to my area?" Garrett asked.
"Carlisle told me about some new upgrades. I thought I'd see how they were working."
"Cool. Follow me," Garrett led him to an empty patient room. Edward looked over the massive equipment that he knew nothing about. "Here are the pictures," Garrett handed him a set of pictures taken from the machine. Edward admitted that the images were amazing; people could see their baby up close and personal before they could actually hold their baby. It was pretty amazing technology.
"Do you have anything from the old machine?" Edward asked.
"Sure," Garrett led Edward out of the room and to his office where he produced some images that Edward thought looked an awful lot like the ones he was already holding.
"They new ones are much clearer," Garrett said. Edward studied both sets of images, but could not see any real discernable differences.
"I'll take your word for it," Edward smiled, handing the photos back to Garrett.
"Okay," Garrett laughed, "Hey, have you seen the new PT intern? Everyone is talking about her. Apparently she is smoking hot."
"Really? I haven't seen here. Of course I've been in Carlisle's office all morning," Edward said.
"Well, there are some upgrades in PT, so there's your excuse to go check her out – not that you really need an excuse," Garrett said, "I did hear one of the nurse's say that she is very pretty in a 'not so obvious' way, whatever that means."
"Maybe I'll make my way down there," Edward said, "I'm gonna stop at cardiology first though and check out their new stuff. I'll see you later. Good luck this weekend."
"Thanks, man. Later," Garrett waved as Edward left. Edward stopped by cardiology and saw how their machines were improved and necessary. He still didn't understand the several thousand dollar investment in that new ultrasound machine when the old one produced the same pictures, but Carlisle did what he wanted and Edward couldn't really question him without serious consequences. Eventually he made his way to the physical therapy area, simply for his own amusement. As soon as he entered the large room, he heard Mike Newton's annoying voice. Surely this poor new intern wasn't subject to Newton. Mike exited one of the smaller rooms with a brunette behind him.
"Poor girl," Edward mumbled.
"Edward, hey," Mike walked up to him. Mike always thought that he and Edward were good friends. Edward always did his best to stay away from Mike as he was a complete idiot. "Meet, Bella, our new intern."The brunette stepped out from behind Mike. Edward's eyes widened. Fate was on his side. When she looked at him, her jaw dropped. Edward smirked. "Edward, this is Bella. Bella, this is Edward, Dr. Cullen's son," Mike said. Edward rolled his eyes at Mike's introduction.
"Hi," Edward said.
"Nice to meet you," Izzie extended her hand to him. He smiled coyly.
"You two know each other?" Mike questioned.
"No," Bella said.
"Yes," Edward said simultaneously. There was an awkward silence.
"Um…," Mike said, "Edward, what brings you here?"
"Well, Mike," Edward had to think fast. He had to talk to Izzie, "Carlisle wanted me to check out the new equipment and he sent me with some paperwork for the new intern."
"Paperwork?" Mike questioned. Edward simply tapped his back pocket. Mike cocked an eyebrow. "Well, we've got about 15 minutes before our first patient. You can borrow a conference room."
"Of course," Edward smirked at Mike. Edward could borrow whatever he wanted and take as much time as he wanted and Mike knew that. He was simply trying to look tough in front of the girl. Edward led her into one of the conference rooms.
"I thought I filled out all the necessary paperwork already," she said.
"You did," he said after he'd closed the door, "I'm here to remind you about fate."
"Of course you are," she with unnecessary inflections.
"You did say if fate was involved, we'd see each other again," Edward reminded her, "Here we are."
"Here we are," she said, "What do you want?"
"Firstly, why did Mike call you 'Bella'? You told me your name is Izzie."
"My name is Isabella. Izzie and Bella are nicknames," she said. Edward looked at her. She huffed. "Izzie is the name I use at the bar. Do you really think I want people knowing my real name?"
"Makes sense, especially if you're going to use them for a night and never see them again," Edward said. Bella set her jaw. He was irritating her. "However, the way I see it, I've seen you twice since then, so now you owe me, Isabella."
"I prefer to be called Bella. I owe you nothing," she said, moving to leave. Edward blocked the door with his body. "Excuse me. You wouldn't want me to scream in daddy's workplace, would you?" she cocked an eyebrow and challenged him.
"That would be a pity because then 'daddy' would have to find a new intern for Newton," Edward smirked at her. Her jaw dropped and she huffed.
"What the fuck do you want from me?" she asked.
"A date. A real date. Friday night, 7:00, I pick you up, dinner and a movie," he said.
"Yeah, not cheesy at all. I don't date."
"Yeah, well, you also said you don't believe in fate, but I've changed your mind," he said. She crossed her arms. He did the same and leaned back against the door, "I've got all day, Bella."
"Fine," she finally gave in, "but no movie. Movie's are a ridiculous date. One date, that's all you get. Then will you leave me alone?"
"You act like I'm stalking you. Every time we've met has been pure coincidence. I make no promises, but we'll see how this date goes."
"Whatever. Can I go?"
"Of course. Friday at 7. Don't forget," he grinned as he let her leave. She was visibly irritated and Mike looked at him questioningly. Edward smiled back and waved. Several patients stopped what they were doing and looked at him. Jealousy sparked in Mike's eyes. Edward chuckled as he left.
