WARNING: THIS STORY IS NO LONGER BEING EDITED FOR CONTENT. FULL DESCRPTION WILL BE INCLUDED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED…

Disclaimer: I do not own the character's names and a few of their attributes, but this plot line is all from my noggin! I also have no rights to the TNT show The Closer or the Rachelle Meade's Vampire Academy novel character.

Just for the record, the Caterpillar Plant in Joliet is not closed or closing anytime soon as of my knowledge, but I thought it would be perfect for my needs…so in my imaginary world it is. And before you ask, yes the defense lawyers are a play off of Rachelle Meade's Vampire Academy's Dimitri. I couldn't help it…when I used Dimitri, Felix, Alec, and Jane, I had to have a last name and I already used Volturi in the past…Belikov was the next name to pop in my head thanks to my love for that series as well. No Rose Hathaway or Lissa Dragomir though…LOL.

Thanks as always to the awesome Sihaya9 for her beta work and Sassenach Wench

Pressure

BPOV

"Edward, you have to go, sweetheart. You can't run a training facility if you haven't had the proper training yourself," I coerced my fiancé, kneeling in front of him on our bed, his head held firmly between my hands.

"It's only two weeks. Trager is dead, Sellers is in prison, and the Feds say I'm safer than most people in the city because Blagojevich wants to kiss my hand and thank me for getting rid of the man trying to usurp his dynasty. Not only that, but I think I've proven I am capable of defending myself in a pinch. You have to do this for your…no…for our future, but I will be here patiently waiting for you to get back."

He groaned, snapping his eyes closed and huffing roughly through his nose. "I know that, but I just hate being away from you. The longest we've been apart since you moved in was four days, and even then, I felt like I was going fucking insane. Not only that, I feel guilty for dragging Emmett away from Rose when she's so close to popping. Then if you add to it the fact that you're all stressed out getting ready for the trial and your internship exam, I just feel like this is the worst timing ever."

I moaned painfully at the mention of the trial. I was not looking forward to dealing with that mess at all. The last two and a half months had been pretty uneventful. After the Rock Band Battle, we didn't have a whole heck of a lot to fill our free time. Edward had put all of his time and energy into working out, getting his body back to pre-injury shape, and pulling things together for the new training facility.

Edward was worried at first, since the facility would have to be outside of the city, that one or both of us would have to commute. He searched every day for a month, getting more and more frustrated with his lack of options. He finally found a perfect place southwest of the city in Joliet. It had once been an assembly plant for Caterpillar heavy machinery. There were several massive and empty buildings along with a large open space, which had once been machinery testing areas. The property was huge and was not very close to other buildings or businesses on two sides, and flanked by a small river on a third. It was the perfect place to safely conduct training ops, with lots of areas to create different types of scenarios. The property was large enough to have two or three different groups undergoing major training ops at the same time.

The boys immediately got excited about planning training options and discussed turning one of the buildings into dorms that the trainees could stay in for training to mimic their experience in Minnesota, as well as office space. Emmett had excitedly joined the bandwagon of the facility soon after we got back from Lincoln, much to Rose's relief. Jasper and Andy were not far behind. They discovered a top notch intensive instructional program on the west coast that would provide them all the education they needed to start off with SWAT training and could return later to bring in more types of programs in the future.

There were definitely some major negatives to the location that we were all going to have to learn to live with. Joliet was an hour long Metra train ride from the city, and had to be caught at Union Station. This would mean, either Alice and I would have to travel in from Joliet for the next several years until we finished our Residency, or the boys would have to travel out at various strange times of the day and night to conduct their business at the facility. Either way, it wasn't going to be convenient for a very long time, if ever, depending on what we chose to do post Residency. Rose had less of a conflict, finding out quickly that she could transfer to a suburban hospital at any point she wanted.

"Edward, Rose still has nearly four weeks until she's due, she's had no problems, nothing to indicate she will go into premature labor. She could even be up to two weeks late for all we know and end up being induced. Now is the best time you could go. If you wait any longer, Rose will be too close to delivery, or the baby will be here and you would have to deal with taking him away from his new baby. Rose is going to be here with me, only a few blocks from the hospital, with at least one, but most likely, knowing Alice, two doctors around her most of the time. If there is a problem, you've already arranged for a private jet to bring him home to be with her. All of our bases are covered. You have to do this to proceed with the next step in our future, and now is the time to do it."

I let go of his face, kissing his forehead before turning back to the suitcase lying open at the end of the bed, picking up the pile of folded shirts and laying them carefully in the left side. I heard Edward sigh beside me; he grabbed his pile of underwear and stuffed them into the mesh pocket of the lid, zipping it closed hastily.

We worked together to finish packing his bags for the trip then slid into bed together, cuddled closely, savoring the last few hours before a long, two-week separation.

All too soon, I felt his lips on my forehead, pulling me slowly from my drowsy stupor to say goodbye. I gave him one last kiss, pulling him back into bed with me. I wrapped my arms round him tightly, huffing his scent like an addict trying to suck up the last bit of cocaine.

"Be careful, Edward. Soak up all the knowledge that you can and come home to me. I'm going to miss you. I love you so much."

He sighed into my hair as his grip tightened around my shoulders and waist. "I love you too, my beautiful Bella. Stay safe."

Reluctantly, we finally pulled away from one another, neither of us wanting to let the other go, but knowing we had to. I walked him to the door to give him one last hug and a passionate kiss before waving him off to meet the boys. They were traveling together to Midway, catching a flight bound for San Diego.

o~O~o

"Bella, don't you have any good ice cream in this place? Where's the Hagen Daz, or the Ben and Jerry's? I'm a pregnant woman with needs. I need the high quality dairy here!"

I laughed as Rose continued to moan from the kitchen in front of the sub zero. Her svelte frame was now completely convoluted by her protruding stomach that pretty much looked like she stuffed a giant beach ball under her shirt. She had a little puffiness in the face, hands, and ankles, but was nothing like most of the pregnant women I had seen. As usual, Rosalie was nearly as perfect pregnant as she was normally.

After a few minutes, she waddled back into the living room carrying a fudgecicle, plopping on the couch next to me.

"So, have you heard from Dorkward lately?"

I sighed looking down at my unresponsive phone. "No, I haven't gotten to talk to him or even text with him in three days. He said something about highly intensive field training or something. Anyway, he said they're not allowed phones or any outside communication until Friday. You heard from Em?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course not, if the mastermind of this whole mess is on radio silence, then they all are."

She sucked the tip of the fudgepop to a sharp point before frowning over at me. "I just realized, if something comes up with the baby, we won't be able to reach them. Em won't have any clue!"

I smiled at her, patting her hand comfortingly. "Calm down, sis, Edward spoke to the big wigs. I have the numbers of their training officers. If something comes up, all I have to do is make one call and Emmett will be on a private flight back home to you. Never fear, we've got your back."

She sighed, melting into the couch, shifting a few times until she finally found a comfortable position. We watched a few minutes of The Closer, which, ironically enough, focused around the trial for the murder of a man who had taken a group of people hostage a few months before, getting off on a technicality. Soon after, the asshole turned up dead and Brenda Lee Johnson and her major crimes division had to find the vigilante, even though most of the team really didn't want to.

During the next commercial break, Rose turned back to me warily. "So, how are things going with the trial prep anyway? Do you feel like you're getting to a point in your therapy that you'll be able to testify without freaking out too much?"

I sighed with a shrug. "I don't know, Rose. I can talk about it freely with Dr. Kellison and Edward, but to tell the whole story from scratch to a bunch of people who weren't around to experience it themselves? I really don't know how I'll react. It's going to be hard no matter what, but I hope I do okay."

"You've heard about the attorney representing the other side, right?"

I groaned, "Unfortunately. From what I hear, he's one of the best in the state, possibly even the country."

Douglas Varner was known far and wide for being the most ruthless, cut throat lawyer in town. In his whole career, he had only lost a hand full of cases and was quite well known for shattering a witness's credibility on the stand. I had nothing to hide, but I still worried what he might pull out of his hat to try to trip me up and make the hospital look bad.

Of course, the hospital's lawyers were quite impressive as well. The offices of Belikov, Belikov, and Belikov, better known as Belikov cubed by my friends and I, who thought it was too much of a mouthful to say Belikov three times fast, was renowned in Chicago for being the ones to beat. The three Belikov brothers, Dimitri, Felix, and Alec were a veritable powerhouse of strategic legal planning, each having their own areas of expertise. Their little sister, Jane, was in charge of their top shelf paralegal team, making them nearly unbeatable.

While the brothers had plenty of junior associates in the firm, they insisted on taking on this case personally. Dimitri was chosen to take first chair; the other brothers would be attending the day of the trial as well to provide a more intimidating, unified front.

In the months leading up to the trial, I had suffered through countless depositions and interviews, both with the brothers and Jane, while they worked together to build the tightest case possible. They all assured me that I would be brilliant on the stand; all I had to do was share my story as forthright and honestly as possible. If I could do that, then they could do the rest. It didn't assuage my nerves though. No matter what I was told, I couldn't shake the feeling that the whole trial rested heavily on my personal testimony.

Rose and I fell into a peaceful silence, both lost in our own thoughts when the commercial break ended and the show resumed. We occasionally chuckled at the interactions of the team and cheered when Chief Johnson cornered yet another guilty person into admitting what they had done.

When the ending credits began to roll, Rose went to stand up, but froze halfway through. She grabbed her stomach protectively with a grimace before melting back into the couch.

"Contraction?" I asked nervously.

She shook her head, "Braxton Hicks, nothing to worry about. I've been having them on and off for a week now. One nice thing about being an L and D nurse, I know the signs to know the difference."

"Okay, but please don't be complacent. My brother would kill me if we wrote them off when they really weren't Braxton Hicks and then he missed out on the birth of his daughter."

She nodded, allowing me to help her stand up. I followed her nervously to the guest room door, leaving both her door and mine cracked slightly so I could hear if she needed me during the night. I grabbed a quick shower before sliding between the sheets. I picked up my phone and sent off my nightly text telling Edward that I loved him and missed him. Even if he couldn't read them now, he could always get them when he got his phone back later.

o~O~o

Before I left for work the next morning, I pulled Mel aside and asked her to keep an eye on Rose and try not to leave her alone while I was at work. I offered to pay her extra to make sure her meals were ready and to find excuses to hang around until I got off of work that night. She readily agreed and promised to call if she saw anything to cause concern.

I left for the hospital still feeling slightly uneasy about leaving Rose. After discussing the stress that working the L and D floor put on her back, Rose took an early leave of absence from work to relax the last few weeks before Emma was due. She didn't have to, but she decided it was better to be safe than sorry. I just hoped that her precautions would have the desired effect.

I walked through the lobby and into the locker room, quickly changing and rushing to meet the rest of the Femmes on the floor. Dr. K had been working with us to review for the big internship exam we had next week. This was it, if we passed this test, we would be able to continue with the next part of our Residency the following year, if not, then we would be doomed to repeat our internship. None of us wanted to be stuck in another year of internship. We were all ready to move forward.

During rounds, Dr. K hit us with the hard questions, really putting us on the spot. Going in, we were renowned for being the best of the best, and we were still shit hot, only fumbling on the really obscure questions that seemed to come out of left field and were usually not associated with the patient in question.

After our morning rounds, Dr. K went with me to evaluate my work on the peds floor. She had been doing monthly evaluations of my work for her reports to the school, getting personal feedback from all of my immediate pediatric supervisors. Thankfully, the doctors soon warmed to having me around. Seeing a fellow physician passionate about these kids seemed to raise their own morale.

When we were finished, she escorted me into the doctor's lounge, which was surprisingly empty for a change. She settled into a seat across from me with a warm smile.

"Bella, you've done so well here. I'm so proud of you. I have no doubt you'll pass your internship exam with flying colors. I am going to give my full recommendation for you to be placed onto the peds floor for your Residency training. I have no doubt you will make a fine pediatric physician. I will miss you next year, but I'm certain this is where you were meant to be."

She stood up and crossed to my side of the table where I stood to face her, completely caught off guard when she pulled me into hug.

"Thank you, Dr. K. I can't even begin to thank you enough for all you've done for us this year. I will miss you too."

My day ended with an upper when Charlotte and her family stopped in to say hi, along with a container of homemade cookies, mixed and spooned onto the trays personally by Charlotte. When she saw me, she ran over with bright eyes and an even brighter smile.

"Dr. Swan," she said throwing her arms around my waist and hugging my stomach. She looked up at me with shining eyes. "I brought you special cookies. They're my favorite."

Her mom walked up behind her, handing Charlotte a small blue square tin. She took it happily handing it up to me.

I smiled down at her, cracking the lid and sniffing the delicious chocolate aroma emanating from inside. "Mmmm, Charlotte, they smell delicious! What kind are they?"

"Rocky Road, you said it was your favorite ice cream, so I thought you might like the cookies too."

I pulled out a cookie, breaking it in half and sharing with her. As I took a bite, my eyes rolled into the back of my head at the decadence of the mixture of flavors.

"Oh mah goones, Charet, eez are delishush."

She giggled as she took a bite of her half. We settled in the small waiting area near the nurse's station, enjoying our cookies as the family all sat around talking to me. When it was time to leave, Charlotte crossed the area again to hug me tightly around the neck.

"Thank you, Dr. Swan. You weren't just my doctor, you were my friend. I'll never forget you."

I fought the moisture trying to pool in my eyes. "I'll never forget you either, Charlotte. Thank you for helping me realize that I want to be a pediatrician."

"I did?" She asked in surprise.

I smiled and nodded, "Yes ma'am, you most certainly did. I thought I wanted it, but after working with you, I knew there was nowhere else I would rather work."

She hugged me again with a bright smile. "You know, I think I want to be a doctor like you some day."

I patted her on the back with a nod. "I think you would make a fantastic doctor some day, Charlotte. Study hard and you can be anything you want to be."

Charlotte nodded and thanked me again. She took her mother's hand and walked with her toward the elevator banks.

I sighed with a smile, watching the living, breathing reminder of what I could accomplish in the future walk away happily with her family.

That night, I walked home with a smile on my face, thinking about the wonderful events of the day. A day like today made all the bad things in the past and coming up in the future seem insignificant. It was days like these that I needed to cherish and hold onto.

I walked in the apartment door to find Melissa and Rose slouched together on the couch, their feet propped on the coffee table in front of them as they laughed along with a sitcom on TV. Melissa hopped up as soon as she saw me, looking nervous. I shook my head at her with a crooked smile. This was exactly what I was hoping she would do.

She smiled and nodded as I said hi to Rose before disappearing into the kitchen. I was putting together a plate of their leftovers when Melissa appeared at my side, helping me by dragging out a few more dishes.

"She's been having a lot of contractions today, but they're really irregular and pretty mild according to Rose. I would definitely keep your ear out for her tonight. I'll be back in the morning, so you can go to the lawyer's office for your meeting."

I turned to her, putting my hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Mel. You are such a great help to us. I can't imagine trusting anyone else with our home and our family like I do you."

She smiled, patting my hand with a nod. She walked back into the living room to say goodbye to Rose, grabbing her things to head home for the night. Jake was waiting for her back at the place that they now shared. I was so happy for them. Mel seemed so content in her new life with him.

Rose and I spent the rest of the night lounging on the couch, nibbling on food, and watching movies on HBO. It was nice to just relax with her and enjoy some sisterly bonding time without our boys, even if we missed them like crazy.

We both jumped with big smiles when our phones rang at the exact same time. I grabbed my phone, running off to our bedroom, while Rose stayed put on the couch.

"Hey, baby! How are things going in California?" I asked excitedly, plopping on the bed with a bounce.

"Things are going great, love. How are things in Chitown?"

I chuckled, "Same old, same old. I had a great day today though. Charlotte came in with cookies and told me she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Although, I know that might change between now and then. I also had my last pre exam review with Dr. K. She's going to recommend I continue my Residency training in Peds."

"That's great, baby. I'm so proud of you. Are you feeling nervous about the exam?"

I sighed, "Not really. I'm more nervous about the trial. I have one last meeting tomorrow at the firm in the morning. Then I have this weekend off before the exam Monday morning. At this point, all I can do is review as much as possible and hope I retained everything I needed to. Cramming will only do so much. I either know it, or I don't."

He sighed loudly on the other end of the line. "I wish I could be there to help you study and relax some. You always forget to relax when you're gearing up for a big exam. Remember the year I took you to play ski ball in the middle of finals just so you'd chill out a bit?"

I giggled at the memory. "Of course I do. We were the only people over the age of twelve who didn't have kids in our custody. The looks the greeter gave us were hilarious!"

"What about the time we took you to the planetarium your sophomore year of college? All I really remember is you laughing while Emmett, Jasper, and I starting talking in your ear creating voices for the constellations and making Orion declare war on Virgo."

"Oh my god," I cackled as I bowed over in laugher, "I had forgotten that! That was great. The best part was Emmett trying to make the girly voice for Virgo, constantly referring to her need to lose her v-card!"

We both laughed for a long time before he sighed into the phone. "Do you know what I'd do to help you relax this time?"

My eyebrow arched, suspecting his methods would be quite different this year. "What would you do, Mr. Cullen? I'd love to hear your plans."

He chuckled huskily on the other end of the line. I began to wonder exactly where he was at while calling me.

"I think, Dr. Cullen, I'd start with making you a nice warm bath in the Jacuzzi tub."

I moaned slightly at the visual, a smile creeping across my face.

"I'd settle you in under the warm jets and feed you chocolate covered strawberries by hand. Then I would give you a full body massage, starting with your feet, and slowly working my way up your body until I released every ounce of tension from your toes to your nose."

"Now that sounds like a great way to help a girl relax," I reply breathlessly, closing my eyes as I melted into the pillow under my head. "Is that where the special treatment would end?"

He chuckled quietly. "NO way in hell, but I'm sitting a little too close to your brother for comfort right now. I'm pretty sure that he'd kick my ass into my throat if he ever heard the rest of the things I would do to help relieve your stress."

I hummed softly. "Well, Mr. Cullen, you won't be back in time for my exam, but I have a feeling I'll be in even more desperate need for your…skills…after you get back when we're dealing with the trial. Maybe you could show me all the wonderful things you have in mind then."

He groaned into the receiver quietly. "Dr. Cullen, you can count on that." He sighed forlornly on the other end of the line. "Love, I hate to do this, but I really need to go get some rest now. It's been a hell of a week."

"Okay, Edward, I love you."

"I love you too, my beautiful Bella. Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams to you too, Mr. Cullen."

Once we hung up, I got up and walked into the living room where Rose was still whispering on her phone to Emmett. From the few things I caught, he wasn't being as considerate as Edward had been. I waved at her, returning to our room to fall asleep, leaving the door cracked open once again just in case.

o~O~o

The office of Belikov cubed were the closest thing to an ivory tower that I had ever seen in real life. The outside of the building simmered with a creamy marble-esque veneer that seemed to glint at me from across the street. I rushed toward the massive double doors, cringing at the fact that I was already five minutes late.

The annoyed receptionist at the front desk waved me through whispering that I was late and should meet everyone in conference room three. When the elevator doors opened on the fifth floor, I was met by the tiny, annoyed looking Jane, who grumbled as she tugged me down the hallway toward the conference room.

I stepped in the door, to find I had missed the beginning of the powerpoint presentation Dimitri was giving to the room full of board members, Carlisle, Alice, and a few other staff present on that day.

Dimitri gave me a small smile when I settled into a chair next to Carlisle, never missing a beat in his presentation. I couldn't help but like Dimitri. He was all business with an icy resolve when things were on the line, but behind the ice lurked a kind heart that I often saw behind his dark eyes. He was always nothing but kind to me and very patient. If I had to work with anyone besides Dimitri, I'm sure I would not have been nearly as comfortable with the trial to come as I was.

When the meeting ended, I was feeling far more anxious than I had before. It appeared that a great deal of the case in defense of the hospital was being built on my testimony. Talk about pressure, my internship exam was nothing compared to this!

As the room began to clear out, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Bella, I'm pretty sure the school would be amenable to delaying your intern exam. You are definitely under extreme external pressures right now that could greatly inhibit your performance."

I smiled back at a concerned looking Carlisle. I shook my head, "No, Carlisle, I'll be fine. Besides, as doctors we're supposed to be able to work through the stress, right? Just call this good practice."

He furrowed his brow deeper, but finally nodded in concession. I was about to rise out of my chair when Dimitri spoke up across the room

"Bella, could you please stay back a moment longer. I have a few things I need to discuss with you."

I nodded, looking back at Carlisle. He frowned toward Dimitri in confusion before his face cleared. He patted my shoulder one last time before he left me alone at the table.

Dimitri crossed the room, sitting next to me, placing his hand on top of mine where it rested on the glass table top.

"Are you feeling okay?" The warm kindness hidden behind his icy exterior had melted to the surface. This was the Dimitri I actually enjoyed working with.

I sighed with a nod. "I think so. I have my intern test on Monday. If I fail, I'll have to repeat my internship year. I feel okay with it, but it is still a lot of stress. Add to that all of this."

I groaned, pulling my hands from under his, resting my face in the palms. "I'm afraid I'm going to somehow blow this for everyone. It's a lot of pressure."

I felt his hand on my shoulder. "I know, Bella, I know, but you're going to be fine. I'll be right there, as will Felix, Alec, and Jane, not to mention your fiancé, your brother, and all the rest of your friends and family. We'll all be there to support you. You'll be fine."

I looked up at him over my hands with a tearful smile. "Thank you, Dimitri."

He smiled back down at me, reaching up to wipe away a tear. "Now none of that, you're going to be fine."

I stiffened a little at the intimate contact and he frowned slightly. He shook his head, shifting away from me in his chair slightly. From the beginning, I had an inkling that Dimitri may be attracted to me. He was a handsome, intelligent man. If I were completely honest, if I didn't have Edward, the attraction would be mutual. I would never cheat on Edward though, so all we would ever share was a friendship. Dimitri knew and respected this, but it still didn't keep the occasional slip from happening.

After a few awkward seconds, Dimitri smiled apprehensively at me. "Well, there's not too much more, but I did need to ask you one thing. Do you have any idea why Varner would be submitting your father's service record in the evidentiary file?"

I frowned at him in confusion, slowly shaking my head. "Not a clue. What would my Dad have to do with all of this?"

He shrugged, "They might pull up something in an attempt to discredit you somehow, but I really don't see how your father's service record would work to do such a thing."

I shook my head slightly. "Me either. My Dad was a great cop. He taught me everything I know about defending myself and being an independent person."

Dimitri's pen fell onto the desk. "Bella, did your Dad teach you how to use a gun?"

I nodded mutely, not following his question. "We had a shooting range on our property in the country. He and all his cop friends would use it for target practice when I was young. It was where he taught me proper gun safety and how to shoot. By the time I was a teenager, I had become quite accurate."

Dimitri paled, flipping through his file. "Uh, th…thank you, Bella. That will be all for today, but I'll probably be calling you sometime next week to talk to you more."

My heart started pounding in my chest. Dimitri was not the sort to get flustered easily. "Dimitri, what's wrong?"

He shook his head absentmindedly as he sent off a message quickly from his blackberry.

"Dimitri?"

"It's nothing to worry about right now, Bella. You focus on doing well on your exam. Let me look into a few things and we'll talk next week. It's going to be fine, Bella."

I nodded numbly, panic searing my body. This was not good at all. Oh Shit!

Okay, so the story is finished now and there's a grand total of 60 chapters, including the epilogue, so we're in the home stretch now. I'll keep these posting as quickly as I can, but life's been a bit odd lately, so I can't promise too much; just know that it shouldn't be too much longer :)