A/N: Thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed. I love reading your comments!
Thanks to MrsKatyCullen for betaing this for me.
Chapter 3
Walking out to her car, Bella turned on her phone and saw the messages waiting for her. There was one from her father, another from Alice and five from Jacob. Too tired to bother answering right now, she decided to stop at her father Charlie's place before heading home.
Grabbing a bbq chicken from the takeaway and some salad items from the grocery store she drove to Charlie's. He was now the Chief of Police in Forks but he still didn't look after himself properly. Bella knew there wouldn't be much in his fridge that would be considered nutritious. She doubted crisps and beer would be listed in recommended dietary guides.
Bella felt more like Charlie's mother than his daughter most of the time. Since she'd moved to Forks at sixteen, she had taken it upon herself to look after Charlie. She had done the cooking and cleaning and had run their household.
When she moved away to college, Charlie had been forced to take care of himself again. Bella had convinced him to get a cleaner to take care of the majority of the cleaning. Charlie had kept himself fed by eating at the local diner or at friends houses.
On her return to Forks, Bella had lived with Charlie again for a short time but soon found herself an apartment in the town. She'd developed a taste for having her own space and found living with her father too constricting. Bella didn't want to be questioned about the time she got in from a night out, or who she was with. She wasn't a teenager anymore but Charlie couldn't let go of the overprotective father bit.
Regardless of their living arrangements, Bella still saw her father several times a week. More often than not, they had dinner together, Bella doing the cooking as usual. Tonight, she was just going to cut up the bbq chicken and make a salad. She wouldn't stay long as the long day was starting to catch up with her.
She smiled as she thought about the Evans and their baby. Bella loved a happy ending and they were such a lovely couple who deserved their happiness. She knew that little Danielle would be adored and pampered by her loving parents.
Her thoughts turned to the new doctor. Now that she was no longer in his presence Bella began thinking she'd imagined her reaction to his nearness. It must have been the heightened emotions of the birth and its circumstances. He couldn't possibly be as good looking as she'd thought. His image popped into her mind, giving lie to her thoughts. Edward Cullen was only a colleague and that's how it was going to stay, thought Bella sternly.
"Hi Dad," she called out as she let herself in the house.
"Oh hey Bels," replied Charlie. "Just finished work?"
"Yeah. Mrs Evans came in this afternoon and I wasn't leaving until the baby was born," said Bella, walking into the lounge room. Charlie was watching a football game, as usual.
"What did she have?"
"A little girl. Danielle Bella," called out Bella, taking the food into the kitchen. "Have you eaten?" She knew what the answer would be but she always asked anyway.
"Nah, not yet. I'll have to congratulate Dave next time I see him," said Charlie coming into the kitchen. "Got another baby named after you. The place will be overrun with Bellas at this rate," he teased.
Bella laughed. "There's not that many, Dad. And most are middle names, which rarely get used anyway." She prepared their meal while she talked.
"Well at least your name's not Muriel or something like that," quipped Charlie, sitting down at the table as Bella gave him his plate and sat down.
"Thank god for that," chuckled Bella.
"Leave the plates, Bels," said Charlie when they finished eating. "I'll wash up after the game."
"Ok. I'll head home. I'm pretty tired," said Bella as she stretched. "Oh, guess what? The new obstetrician started today. He's Edward Cullen, Carlisle's son."
"Is that so?" asked Charlie. "Hope he takes after his father. Good man, Carlisle."
"He helped deliver the baby today and he seems to know his stuff but I guess time will tell."
"What's he like?" asked Charlie.
"He seems pleasant enough and I think he'll prove popular with the moms," said Bella. Not to mention the female staff, myself included, she thought.
Once back at her apartment, Bella wasted no time getting in the shower, letting the hot water soothe her tired muscles. Dressing in her sweat pants and old college sweat shirt, Bella settled herself on her couch to watch a bit of mindless tv. She needed to wind down so that she could get to sleep.
Remembering she had messages on her phone, she grabbed it and scrolled through them. Alice's message was about her brother starting at the hospital. I wish I'd seen that one earlier, thought Bella ruefully. She would ring Alice tomorrow.
The other messages were from her friend Jacob. He was from the Quileute tribe and had been her friend since she came back to Forks when she was sixteen. His father, Billy Black was her father's best friend. Jacob was tall and well built and set many hearts aflutter in Forks but so far none of the girls had taken his fancy. Bella and Jacob had tried dating years ago, but found that their friendship got in the way. They'd agreed they were meant to only be friends. They enjoyed each other's company and were handy when functions required them to take a partner. Jake was a skilled mechanic and had overhauled a couple of Bella's cars.
All the messages were asking Bella to call him. Jake wasn't one for leaving multiple messages so Bella decided to call him straight away to see what was going on.
"Hey Jake, it's me. What's going on?" asked Bella when he picked up.
"Bella. Thanks for calling. Are you busy? Can I come over? I need to talk to you," said Jake, his voice subdued.
Worried now, Bella readily agreed. She got some coffee percolating while she waited. Ten minutes later, the doorbell sounded. Opening the door, Bella was shocked at Jake's haggard face.
"Jake! What's happened?" she asked urgently, pulling him into the room. Walking slowly, Jake flopped onto her lounge, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. He didn't say anything for a couple minutes. Bella waited for him to speak, worried for her friend.
Finally, Jake lifted his head and turned to look at her. There was a world of pain in his eyes.
"You know how Dad's been having those headaches?" he asked huskily. Bella nodded. "We found out today that it's a brain tumour and it's inoperable. Dad's dying, Bella." Jake's voice cracked on the last words.
Her eyes filling with tears, Bella hugged him tightly, trying to impart some comfort. "I'm so sorry Jake. Is there no hope?" she asked, knowing what the answer would be.
Jake just shook his head. "They don't give him much time. Months at the most." He covered his face with his hands and cried quietly. Bella just put her arm around him, offering comfort as well as she could.
After several minutes, Jake wiped his eyes and leaned back against the couch. Bella got up to get them a cup of coffee. As she got their drinks, she reflected sadly on the fact that as one soul entered the world, another left it. So much joy earlier and now so much sorrow. The two emotions so intertwined.
"How is Billy taking it?" she asked as they drank the coffee.
"Better than me. I wanted to go and get other opinions, research our options, see if there's a treatment but Dad said no. He says it's his time and that he's ready for it. Dammit, I'm not ready for it!" he cried out, banging his fist on the couch.
"I know you're not but it's his choice, Jake," said Bella gently.
"I know," sighed Jake. "It's just...I don't want my father to die, Bella." He closed his eyes in pain. Bella took his hand and held it tight.
They sat silently, both lost in their thoughts. Jake was the first to move.
"I'd better go. You're probably working tomorrow."
Bella nodded. "Charlie never said anything earlier, so I take it he doesn't know?"
Jake shook his head. "No. Dad wants to tell him himself. He wants me to drive him to Charlie's tomorrow."
"Dad's going to take it badly," whispered Bella, worried for her father. "They've been best friends a long time."
"Yeah." He stood up to leave, Bella following him to the door.
At the door Bella hugged him again. "Please give my love to Billy. I'll try to see him as soon as I can."
"Sure, sure. Thanks for listening, Bels," he said sadly.
"You're my friend. I'm always here for you. Please, anytime you need anything, call me. Even if it's just to talk."
When Jake left, Bella went to bed, weary with sadness. Poor Jake. He and Billy were very close and it would be really hard for him when Billy was gone. His sisters were married and interstate, so Jake would bear most of the load.
Shedding a few tears for Billy, Jake and her father, Bella went to sleep.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Walking into work the next day, Bella was feeling heavy-eyed from her poor night's sleep. Her mind kept worrying about Jake. She knew there was nothing anyone could do but support both Jake and Billy.
She was reading some notes when she heard footsteps behind her. "Hello."
The sound of his dulcet tones sent a shiver down her spine. Turning around, Bella looked at him, her heart skipping a beat when she saw him smiling down at her. Ok, so my memory definitely didn't do him justice last night, she thought. "Ah...hi...Dr Cullen," she stammered, mentally kicking herself for sounding like a teenager with a crush.
"How are you, this morning?" he asked, leaning against the desk.
Bella tried to ignore the fact that his groin area was almost directly in her sight due to his height. "Fine, thanks," she replied as normally as she could. To stop her eyes wandering to his nether regions again, she stood up. "You're in early."
"I wanted to read up on the histories of the c-sections scheduled today. What time is Dr Haas due in?"
"He normally gets in around eight unless he's had to come in during the night," she told him.
Edward nodded, his eyes wandering over her face taking in every detail, it seemed. "Are you ok, Bella?" he asked suddenly.
Surprised, Bella's eyes met his. "What do you mean?"
"You just seem...sad, somehow," he replied quietly.
This man was not only gorgeous but he was perceptive as well, she thought. "I'm fine. I just got some bad news last night, that's all." She was getting uncomfortable under his scrutiny.
"Anything I can do?" he asked, tilting his head toward her.
As Bella looked at him, it seemed as if everything around them faded into the background. She could feel her breathing deepen as their eyes met. What was this effect he had on her? She'd only met him yesterday.
Shaking her head slightly to clear it, Bella broke his gaze. Looking down at the desk, she answered him. "No, but thanks for asking."
Edward looked slightly dazed himself. Bella wondered if he felt anything, then instantly dismissed the thought. A man like Edward probably had women beating down his door. He was every woman's dream man. Handsome, intelligent, rich. What was there not to like? She very much doubted some small town girl like her would hold any attraction for someone like him.
"Do you have the patient records for today's c-sections," she asked briskly, getting back to business.
"Yes, I got them from the nurse on duty when I came in. I've been reading through them and they seem fairly straight forward," he replied, equally business-like.
"Yes they are. All three have had previous caesareans and elected to have the same this time," she nodded.
"Will you be in theatre?" he asked.
"No, the theatre nurses usually assist with caesareans," she replied, shaking her head. "If we were really short staffed because of illness, I'd help out then, but it's not something I do often."
As they spoke, the elevator doors opened and a middle aged man with a briefcase stepped out and walked towards them.
"Hi, Dr Haas," greeted Bella with a smile.
"Good morning Bella," he replied, looking curiously at the young man in the white doctor's coat standing next to her.
"Dr Haas, this is Dr Edward Cullen. He's our new OB."
Dr Haas' eyebrows lifted in surprise then reached out to shake Edward's hand. "Cullen? Are you...?"
"Yes, I'm Carlisle's son," replied Edward with a rueful smile, shaking the other doctor's hand. "Nice to meet you, Dr Haas."
"Bernard, please," came the reply. "We didn't expect you until next week? When did you get here?"
Bella was the one to answer. "Dr Cullen decided to start earlier and came in yesterday to get acquainted."
"I'm sorry I wasn't here to show you around. It's been hectic around here the last few months."
Edward shook his head. "Bella did an admirable job of showing me around and introducing me to everyone. She even let me sit in on a birth," he teased, smiling at Bella.
Bernard chuckled. "We'd be lost without Bella here. The mothers love her and some have even had inductions scheduled to coincide with her shifts."
Edward looked at her again, a faint smile on his, oh so kissable lips. Bella felt herself redden under the gaze of the two men.
"Don't be silly Dr Hass. All the midwives here are wonderful."
"If you say so, Bella," replied Bernard. "Edward, let's go into my office and go through today's schedule, heh?"
"Sure. I've got the records in my office so I'll just grab them and meet you there," said Edward, moving away from the desk.
Flashing Bella a quick smile, Edward walked away with the other doctor.
Bella let go of the breath she seemed to be holding in Edward's presence. She felt her cheek and wasn't surprised to find it was hot. Edward seemed to have the strongest effect on her senses but Bella needed to ignore it as much as possible. She didn't want to be the object of gossip as all hospital romances invariably were. At the slightest hint of something going on between staff, the tongues began wagging. Bella hated having attention drawn to herself, being naturally a very private person.
She started on her morning rounds and decided to go and see Carol Evans first to find out how her first night of motherhood had gone. Walking into the room, Bella saw Carol lying on the bed, watching her baby lying next to her.
"Good morning Carol," whispered Bella, looking down at the peacefully sleeping baby. "How did you go last night? Get any sleep?"
Carol nodded, smiling serenely up at Bella. "She was awake for a long while but finally nodded off around two in the morning. She's been asleep since. I slept but kept waking up at every sound or whimper."
"That's normal, from what other moms tell me," smiled Bella. "Did you manage to feed her?"
"I tried but she didn't seem interested. She hasn't had a feed since last night. Is that ok? Should I wake her?"
Bella shook her head. "Sometimes babies are really tired from the birth and don't really want to feed for a while. The whole birth process is pretty traumatic for a baby, you know. If you're worried, you can try waking her up in a couple of hours and see if she'll take a feed. Don't worry too much, she'll start yelling for her food when she's ready."
Carol looked relieved at Bella's words.
"How about I check you out now and I'll look over Danielle when she wakes up?" asked Bella.
Carol nodded her assent and Bella proceeded to check her over, proclaiming herself satisfied at the end. "Your uterus is contracting nicely and everything else seems good. You've done really well," praised Bella.
"Thank you for all your support, Bella. Dave and I didn't really believe we would finally have our baby until I was 36 weeks and we knew she would be fine if she was born. Before, it's like we were waiting for bad news," said Carol, her eyes filling with tears.
Bella placed her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "That's perfectly understandable after all the trouble and heartbreak you've been through. Now Danielle's here and perfectly healthy."
"Yes. She's our little miracle," she whispered, looking down at her beloved daughter.
"How's Dave?"
"Oh my goodness. He was as high as a kite when he finally left last night. He rang all his friends and they were all going to meet him at their favourite bar to wet the baby's head. Heaven knows what he'll be like this morning," she chuckled with Bella.
"I'll make sure I take a look when he comes in,'' laughed Bella.
"He'll be in this morning with our family. They're all as excited as us, so I hope we don't disturb everyone else."
"Just close the door if you're worried. As long as they're here during visiting hours, they should be fine," assured Bella.
"Can Dave stay during non-visiting hours?" asked Carol.
"Yes, father's only. New moms need a rest time, away from excited family. And it's a good time to show you how to bath the baby and any other things you want to know."
After chatting for a few more minutes, Bella kept going on her rounds. She chatted a while to the mothers, answering their questions.
She walked into Mrs Wolfe's room and saw her husband holding their baby, singing a lullaby in the Quileute tongue. She listened for a few moments, enchanted by the sound. Little Paul was swaddled in a native print blanket.
"Good morning." Both parents looked up and smiled at her. "Going home today?"
"Hope so," nodded Mrs Wolfe. "You've all been wonderful but I really want to get out of here."
Bella chuckled. "Of course you do. Either Dr Haas or Dr Cullen will come around and discharge you if everything's ok, which I believe it is."
"That's good. I think my milk's come in. I'm leaking like a tap," she grimaced.
"Make sure you stock up on those breast pads," advised Bella. "When you're at home, you can just use a nappy under your breasts to catch the leakage."
"Sounds like a good idea," agreed Mrs Wolfe. "They're so sore, though."
"I'll tell you an old wives tale that really does work. Get a cabbage, put it in the fridge and put the cold leaves into your bra. It really does help with the pain and cools the heat according to many moms I've spoken to."
"Do I cook them first?" she asked.
Bella laughed aloud. "No, don't do that! Ugh," she giggled. "Raw leaves only. You don't want sauerkraut in your bra."
They all laughed at that image, Bella still chuckling as she left the room.
She didn't see Edward the rest of the morning as he was in theatre with Dr Haas. She just grabbed herself a sandwich and a coffee and went back to Maternity, not in the mood to talk about the new doctor. Word had spread like wildfire about the gorgeous new doctor and Bella knew she'd be bombarded by questions by the female nurses. The thought of listening to other women possibly making lewd remarks about Edward set her on edge.
Early in the afternoon a call came from the Emergency department advising them that a pregnant woman had come in and was bleeding.
Bella went to find one of the doctors and found Edward at his desk writing up his notes. He looked up as she knocked, a smile of welcome on his face. Again, Bella felt the jolt of awareness.
"Edward, can you please go down to Emergency? It seems a pregnant woman's come in who's haemorrhaging."
Getting up in an instant, Edward followed her out of the room, his hand on her back as he guided her out. Bella felt the heat radiate through her from the point of contact, making her heart race. She walked faster, his hand dropping away, much to her relief.
"Do we know how far along her gestation is?" he asked, his face serious.
"No, they didn't give me any details."
"Bella, come with me please. If she's bleeding heavily she may appreciate a female nearby while we check her out. Plus, you can tell me how to go about transferring her up here."
Bella nodded her acquiescence and followed him to the lift. She felt nervous about being in confined space with him but his mind was already on the job ahead and didn't speak. Bella took the opportunity to look at him properly.
He was tall, with broad shoulders. His body was lean and she wondered what his chest looked like. She couldn't tell under his business shirt, his slim hips clothed in expensive looking trousers, worn with a red patterned tie. Teamed with the white coat, he certainly gave George Clooney's Dr Ross a run for his money. Edward Cullen was as sexy as hell.
In the emergency room, they found the young woman lying on the bed, her eyes frightened. Edward introduced himself and Bella and began asking her questions. She was nineteen weeks pregnant and began bleeding heavily this morning. Edward asked Bella to organise for her to be transferred to maternity where he would do a ultrasound. He needed to find the cause of the bleeding and see if the foetus was still alive.
As the porters came to transfer her, Bella and Edward walked behind, Bella having organised for the ultrasound machine to be readied for them.
"Any ideas?" she asked quietly, having a couple herself.
"My first thought is placenta praevia, or that the placenta is pulling away, which means we can't do anything. Hopefully, the sonogram will tell us," replied Edward.
They took the patient to one of the treatment rooms and wheeled the ultrasound machine in. Bella readied her, smearing gel over her still small stomach and checking the machine was working properly.
Edward took control and performed the test, looking at the screen with the outline of the tiny foetus. Frowning slightly, he manoeuvred the Doppler wanting to check every angle. While he worked, he pointed out the foetus, moving around. The mother sighed with relief at realising that her baby was still alive.
"Mrs Chan, the reason you're bleeding is because you have a condition called 'placenta praevia'."
"What's that doctor?" asked Mrs Chan worriedly. "Will my baby be all right?"
Edward patted her hand in encouragement. "Well, it's not a good thing unfortunately. What it means is that your placenta has attached itself very low in your uterus. It's actually over the birth canal which means there's no way you can have a vaginal birth as it's blocking the exit, so to speak. If you were to go into labour, it would be very, very serious as the placenta would detach itself first, cutting off your baby's oxygen before it was born."
Mrs Chan's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. Bella took hold her other hand. "So I have to have a caesarean?"
Edward nodded. "Yes, but the problem is that the placenta is in a very vulnerable position and if you had any contractions, even mild ones, it could detach. Therefore, you will need to be virtually bedridden for the rest of the pregnancy."
"Oh God," she gasped, crying in earnest now. "What do I need to do?"
"Where is your husband?" asked Bella gently.
"He's away commercial fishing for another three weeks," she sobbed.
"Do you have any family, friends around? Can you contact your husband?" asked Edward.
"Yes, my mother lives in town. I can contact my husband but he's at sea and can't get back."
"We'll assess you over the next few days but you may need to stay in hospital for the rest of your pregnancy. You need complete bed rest until the baby is old enough to survive outside the womb. The earliest we can cater for here is 28 weeks. Any earlier and we'd have to transfer you to Seattle. If contractions were to start, we'd give you drugs to try and stop the labour. I'm sorry about the bad news but if you follow instructions hopefully we can avoid an early labour and your baby will be fine."
"I'll do anything, doctor," she pleaded. "Anything if it means my baby will be ok."
Edward smiled sympathetically and turned to Bella. "Can you organise a phone so Mrs Chan can contact her relatives?"
Bella nodded and grabbed the phone.
"Firstly we need to get the bleeding stopped. We'll do our very best to get a happy ending," he smiled. "Call your husband and mother. Tell them I'll speak to the them when they get in or call."
Bella left the room to organise Mrs Chan's admission. She asked a junior nurse to go and fill out the paperwork. Further tests would be carried out the next day but it looked like she wouldn't be going home soon. Unfortunately for Mrs Chan, the fate of her unborn baby was in the lap of the gods. Medicine could only do so much and if she started bleeding heavily or the placenta detached, there would be nothing Edward or anyone else could do.
When Mrs Chan was settled in the ward, Bella returned to the treatment room to tidy up. She was putting equipment away when Edward entered the room. She turned to see him leaning a shoulder against the doorjamb, watching her work. Frowning slightly, she asked a bit tersely, "Is there something you want, Dr Cullen?"
Edward's lip lifted slightly in the corner, as if something were amusing him. "Edward. There aren't any patients here, Bella." As he spoke, his eyes wandered over her, taking in her appearance, his green eyes giving nothing away.
"Ok... Edward," she said. She felt that tension she always felt in his presence. The awareness. "Can I do something for you?"
He shook his head. "No, I just wanted to thank you for helping me with Mrs Chan."
"It's my job," she replied. "What are the baby's chances, do you think?" she continued in a softer tone.
He shrugged a shoulder, a masculine movement that Bella enjoyed way too much. "Who knows? The placenta is in a really bad position."
Bella nodded sympathetically. "All we can do is hope, I suppose."
"You really care about the patients, don't you," commented Edward.
"Of course I do. Why do you think I do this? It's certainly not for the money," she retorted.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I have met some nurses and midwives to whom the patients aren't really people, just another case. Why did you become a midwife?"
"Because I don't think I'd get as much satisfaction anywhere else. Why did you become an OB?" she threw back at him.
"Same reason as you. I think obstetrics is one the happiest of the medical fields. Sure, we see tragedies and sadness, but on the whole, we're surrounded by happy people."
Bella could only agree. "Yes, I usually go home tired, but happy."
"Well it shows. You're wonderful with the mothers," he said gently.
Bella, to her annoyance, blushed brightly at his compliment. "Thank you. Speaking of home, I'm leaving soon."
Edward straightened. "Ok. Well have a good evening. I'm running my first clinic tomorrow. Who's rostered to assist?"
"I am. I'm on a late start but the clinic doesn't start until 1pm."
"Great, I'll look forward to it," he smiled his dangerous, sexy smile at her.
Feeling her pulse start racing, Bella turned to put the last things away and went to leave the room. Edward was still standing at the door and as she moved past him, he reached out and touched the bare skin of her arm. The surge of electricity she felt at the feel of his skin on hers was intense. Bella looked up at him sharply, noting the slight narrowing of his eyes. He removed his arm and Bella was sure she imagined that he caressed her skin as he did so.
"See you tomorrow," he said quietly.
Unable to say a word, Bella nodded and left the room hurriedly. She could still feel her skin burning where his fingers touched it. The whole episode only took a couple of minutes but it had a surreal, dreamlike quality to it.
As Bella gathered her things together she had to admit the truth to herself. She was wildly attracted to Edward. Everything about him attracted her. His looks, his voice, his way with the patients and the babies. She hadn't ever been this attracted to a man before.
As soon as this realisation struck her, reality intruded. Bella knew she couldn't let her attraction show. It would be too humiliating. Edward would not be attracted to her, so she would have to act as normally around him as possible. Bella could handle that.
That didn't mean she couldn't daydream about him in the privacy of her own home, though.
o-o-o-o-o-o
She stopped off at home before going to see Charlie. She'd received a message from Jake that Billy had seen her father, so she wanted to check on him. Bella knew he would be devastated at Billy's news, even if he didn't show it.
As she defrosted a meal she'd made on the weekend, Bella decided to ring Alice. She hadn't spoken to her friend since the weekend.
"Hey Bella, you got my message," said Alice brightly.
"Yeah. Sorry I didn't ring earlier but things happened."
"Don't worry about it. I know your job isn't nine to five. I rang you because I want to know if you're busy on Saturday night?"
Bella thought quickly. "Yeah. I'm working Sunday but Saturday's free. Why?"
"Jasper and I are having a dinner party and we want you to come," replied Alice.
"Oh. What's the occasion?"
"Nothing really. We just want to welcome Edward to town and I'd like you to be there, seeing as you work together."
Bella bit her lip. She wanted to say no but couldn't. She'd already said she was free so there was no escape by claiming a prior engagement. How would she cope sitting at the same table as Edward?
"Ah...ok," she said slowly. "Who else is coming?"
"Edward, of course and Jasper's sister Rosalie and her husband. Oh, and Mom and Dad of course."
"Won't I be intruding on a family dinner?" asked Bella, crossing her fingers.
"Don't be silly. So, what do you think of Edward?" asked Alice slyly.
"What...what do you mean?" stammered Bella, mentally kicking herself.
"Do you think he's handsome?"
Oh god! What is that pixie up to? "Well, yes. He's very handsome. It's obvious, isn't it?" she hedged.
"Mmm. Do you like him?"
"Huh? I only met your brother yesterday and we spent most of the time either delivering a baby or with him in surgery today. He seems very nice but I don't really know him. Why are you asking me this?" Bella asked suspiciously.
"No reason. I just wanted to know what you think of my brother, that's all. Maybe you'll get to know each other better on Saturday," said Alice innocently.
"What are you up to, Alice?"
"Nothing Bella. Don't be so suspicious, for goodness sake."
"Ok. I've got to go Alice. I've got to see Dad. He had some bad news today and I need to see how he's taking it."
"Oh, I'm sorry. What happened?"
"I'll tell you on Saturday," replied Bella.
"Ok. See you then. Around seven."
Bella rung off and got ready to see her father. She wasn't looking forward to it.
o-o-o-o-o-o
A/N: If you're wondering, the cold cabbage leaves really do work. I was given a whole cabbage after I had my first and my husband was about to cook it for me, not realising that I wasn't going to eat it!
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