A/N: There are some of you who review and I can't PM back due to your account status…I just want you to know that I appreciate each and every review from you guys, too! Writing is so much fun, it's like sex with Edward... when you hear from readers who are enjoying it too...it makes it even better!

Thanks to Dani my Beta, who is reminding me of all the grammar lessons I once knew but forgot.

Kisses to Team Clean and Prop, as always my inspiration

SM OWNS TWILIGHT!

Chapter 25 – Appetites and Alcohol

I held my breath while Edward stared at me. Concern was etched on his face.

"You found him?" I repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah, Bells, we found him," Charlie's voice resonated with relief.

"Where? How?" I rattled off questions in haste, almost stuttering.

"James supposedly turned himself in. I don't have all the details yet – the officer was brief with it being thanksgiving. I don't think he was too happy about being at work," Charlie muttered in irritation. "I'm going to try and get more information in the morning, and see if transport police will bring him here for questioning. If not, I'll be going there on Monday."

"Wow. So will I need the whole day off, then?" I asked.

"Bella…"

I interrupted him, "Dad, I know you don't think it's a good idea. But I'm going. I need to confront him. He's held me hostage psychologically for weeks now. I need to have closure."

"I'll see what I can do," Charlie answered hesitantly.

"Thank you."

I dropped my white coat and satchel down on my desk, hurrying into the office fifteen minutes later than scheduled. Rio's morning routine had once again become an issue. He was so clingy since my trip to Seattle; I had to force him outside every day. The smallest sound or creak throughout the house would send him scampering into the kitchen, barking wildly.

That's not why you're late.

Shaking my head, I hurriedly arranged my files for the morning.

It was so worth it though, right?

Blue Eyes is always worth it.

When Edward had brought over the morning coffee I appreciated the chivalry as charming and romantic. The activity that followed was different. It bordered on feral and insatiable.

Edward had knocked lightly on the back door after Rio's second barking fit of the morning. He found me rushing around the bedroom, just having finished my shower.

I found myself recalling our morning with vivid detail…

**##**

"Morning, Sunshine." Edward beamed.

"Morning, Blue Eyes." Once I pecked him on the cheek, I quickly buttoned my white oxford blouse with French cuffs and tucked it into my khaki pencil skirt. "I hope Rio's noise didn't wake you up early."

"No, I needed to get up. What are you doing?" Edward's voice was sardonic.

"Is that rhetorical?" I countered, throwing pillows and clothes around as I looked for my matching pair of heels. "You know I'm always running late, baby, and I was attempting to be on time today."

"Well you better go change, because you're not wearing that to work." His voice was smooth and calculating.

"Huh?" I dashed past him into the kitchen, grabbing the cup of coffee he still held in his hand. I only half listened to him as I was in search of the pop tarts. Pop tarts were a necessity given my busy schedule. Frosted and toasted was preferable but not required. "Man, I'm hungry!"

Edward followed me into the room, placing his hands on my hips as I rummaged the cabinets. I continued to ignore his gesture for the moment, my brain still groggy from the early morning hour. He turned me abruptly around, pressing himself against me and pinning me to the counter.

"I said, you… need… to… change," he repeated again. Edward nuzzled my neck which was easily accessible given my loose pony tail.

"I just got dressed, Edward. You are a strange bird."

"Bird is the word, Bella." He chuckled at some private joke I didn't get. "But seriously, you look too damn sexy to wear that to work. I can't allow it." Another lingering kiss followed his statement.

I'm awake! I'm awake!

"Edward, don't be…" My words were cut off by his lips which crushed mine in return. His hands pulled on my hair until it fell around my shoulders, entangled deftly in his fingers. I responded in kind, pulling him to me with force. His tongue tasted of white chocolate mocha and he smelled divine. Like fresh linen, and soap, mixed with Edward.

He must have just showered too.

Mmm. Shower memories.

Our moans echoed across the Florentine tile, my hands pulling at his shirt and freeing it from his jeans. He started to unbutton my blouse, which had only been on for three minutes, tops. In haste, he ended up popping the last two buttons.

Gasp!

It had been my favorite blouse, but the irony was I didn't care. I wanted this man more than I had ever wanted anyone or anything. After being with him each time, the need only seemed to heighten. My appetite for Blue Eyes was insatiable. Edward freed my breasts and tasted each nipple before trailing kisses between them relentlessly. He traveled back up my neck, once again nibbling my ear as he whispered.

"I need you for breakfast, Bella."

No more words were needed. I hiked my leg around his hip in invitation, and he grabbed my other leg in kind. With one move, Edward hoisted me onto the counter, pushing my skirt up into a pile around my waist. When he saw my pink thong he smiled devilishly.

Good choice.

Thank you very kindly.

Pushing the silk fabric to the side, Edward licked up my thigh and tasted me slowly. The action caused me to brace myself on the counter, knocking the coffee over into the sink.

The hell with it.

He tormented me with his tongue, teasing my clitoris to the brink before stopping. I held him in place with my fingers in his hair, which was finally long enough to hold onto. My head was thrown back against the upper cabinet as I groaned from the sweet torture. He suddenly ceased and immediately my body ached. Before I could protest, Edward pulled me to the edge of the counter and entered me fully. He was harder than I had remembered, and the angle caused him to hit right against me, now swollen, with every thrust. Over and over he drove deeper into me, claiming my body as his own. I held onto his shoulders, my fingernails digging into his skin. Biting his neck between gasps, I rode him as he held my ass firmly in his hands. My breasts bounced in his face where he apparently enjoyed being buried. We consumed each other for what seemed like hours. Every movement propagated the desire for more.

Edward finally looked up into my eyes as he continued to pin me against the counter. His carnal need was mirrored in my own. I knew he was close to climax from the vision of cool blue steel that mesmerized me. My body tightened and began to pulse around him, squeezing him. I felt his flesh within me, every inch of it seemed to ignite an all consuming fire. He gave a final thrust, pulling me up and impaling me onto him at the same time. "Bella…"

I exploded as I screamed out his name in return…

**##**

"Morning, Dr. Swan." A strange voice ended my daydream abruptly.

"Ah!" I yelled, throwing papers across the room. Turning to the door I found Tyler grinning ear to ear. "Tyler, you startled me!"

He chuckled light heartedly. "I see that. I'm sorry, but didn't you want me to be here by eight?"

"Yes, yes, Tyler. Sorry. My mind was elsewhere."

"Oh. Well are you alright? You look a little flushed."

"I'm fine. Just late as usual. You ready?" I quickly moved out of the room and into the hallway.

Air. I need air.

"Sure thing! I'm so grateful for the chance to round with you, and for Dr. Cullen to allow me to be here."

Cullen

Edward had successfully made me late, and flustered. He knew that I would have company on rounds.

Did he do that on purpose?

You know he did.

Ugh. Of course he did.

Walking brusquely down the corridor, I oriented Tyler to the vast facility that was the Retreat. My heels clicked and echoed along the floor as we made our way to the Affective Disorders unit.

My heels!

Payback will be hell, Mr. Cullen.

The wonderful distraction from Edward had left me begrudgingly changing my outfit at the last minute. I didn't feel that acrinkled skirt and daisy duke tied shirt would have been appropriate.

I dunno, I think it would have been worth it to see Edward's face.

Regardless of the drive in me to tease Edward, I had opted to grab a pair of dark brown slacks and a pink cashmere turtleneck at the last minute. Needless to say, I forgot to change my tan heels.

"You sure it was ok for me to tag along today?" Tyler interrupted my thoughts once again.

"I'm sure, Tyler. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you seem to have a lot on your mind, and I know you're busy from being off yesterday, for Thanksgiving."

That's not what's on my mind young Jedi – if you only knew.

"It's absolutely fine. I hope I can help you see what a day in the life of a psychiatrist could look like. We need more good doctors in the field. I'm sorry I've been distracted this morning. Let's see some patients!"

"Sounds great, Dr. Swan!"

"You can call me Bella, Tyler."

"Great, Bella!" Tyler's enthusiasm reminded me of my own in medical school. By attending to patient care and Tyler's questions, the rounds passed by quickly. We finished the morning as we stopped by his Dad's room. Mr. Pulsifer had signed a release of information for both of his sons to be involved in his care, which allowed me to discuss the case in depth, with Tyler.

"It looks as if your Dad has improved significantly, Tyler. His thyroid hormone is now within normal limits, and he seems to be brighter and more engaging. The staff reports that he is attending to all of his ADLs on his own."

"ADLs?" Tyler asked for clarification.

"Activities of Daily Living. It's a wonderful sign that he would be able to live alone on the reservation again, with some minimal assistance."

"Wow. That's amazing, Dr. Swan. So the depression and his thyroid problem could have been affecting his memory that significantly?"

"Yes, exactly. That's why some have even labeled it as 'pseudodementia', because it can look very similar. A good psychiatrist evaluates and treats the entire person, Tyler. Considering things like thyroid problems or other medical conditions can help in treating mental disorders too."

"It's about time you two showed your faces," Mr. Pulsifer called out from inside his room.

"I apologize, Mr. Pulsifer. I'm trying to convince your youngest here to choose psychiatry. It has taken me a little longer to make my rounds this morning."

"Sorry, Dad, Dr. Swan is too interesting to talk to, I keep slowing her down." Tyler offered his own excuse.

"Aren't you both a pair of knots on a log? You can't recognize a joke when you're a doctor?" Mr. Pulsifer teased.

I blushed at the older gentleman's chastisement. His improved mood and behavior truly made me ecstatic. Tyler left the room to give his Dad some privacy as I spoke with him regarding his progress. The plan was to begin a trial of weekend passes next week before we scheduled a full discharge.

"And will you continue to see me?" he asked.

"Once you are fully discharged I will arrange for another psychiatrist to follow you as an outpatient, Mr. Pulsifer. I only cover inpatients here at the Retreat, and don't follow private patients at this time. But I assure you I will find someone competent, someone that I trust."

"I trust you. And so I will do as you ask."

My blush returned. "Thank you."

"Thank you, Dr. Swan, for your care. And for helping my son to realize what he should look for, in a woman."

Excuse me?

I shook my head to disagree but Mr. Pulsifer held up his hand in opposition. "I know, Dr. Swan. But as an old man who was thought to be senile, I have the privilege to be inappropriate, no? Tyler is young and foolish, but even he can recognize true beauty. He was glowing today. And you are glowing too…"

Whoa there, Chief!

"…but not from my son's attention." He shook his head. "You are shining from the love of another, a soul mate perhaps. He is a very lucky man."

I stood in silence during the awkwardness of the moment.

Good thing you like silence, huh?

Mr. Pulsifer spoke up as he walked towards the door, "Thank you again, Dr. Swan."

Leaving the room, I noticed Tyler at the nurses' station with Angela. They were chatting animatedly about some restaurant in Seattle.

I shook my head from the recent mind trip Mr. Pulsifer had caused, and walked over to the happy couple. "You guys want to head to lunch?"

##***##

Lunch was like dinner and a matinee. It was full of flirtations, pissing contests, and sushi.

"I love sushi! This is great Jasper!" I mumbled between bites of ginger and wasabi.

"Hungry there, Bella?" Rose asked with a smirk.

"You must've worked up quite an appetite this morning?" Edward added with a grin.

Bastard.

"Tyler definitely kept me on my toes with all of his questions," I responded with a wink and a kick to Edward's shin under the table.

"Why aren't you eating, Emmett?" Edward quickly frowned and diverted the conversation.

That's right bucko, I give as good as I get.

"C'mon, Edward, you know I need more than these rice balls. Jasper has some General's Chicken on the way for me, right Jas?" Emmett pouted.

Jasper seemed to pensively consider the question, making Emmett turn pale. Finally he laughed out loud. "Of course, Emmett. It's on the way."

"I thought maybe you had still lost your appetite," Edward continued with Emmett.

"From what?" I asked densely before realization hit. "Oh, because of losing the game yesterday?"

The entire table erupted in a series of gasps and "Ooh's".

Eek!

"Sorry, Emmett," I muttered.

"No worries. You should be happy too, I suppose, given what would have happened if we had won." Emmett winked.

I was confused.

"Oh yeah!" Jasper chimed in. "Emmett likes to twirl his women and throw them into the lake when he wins."

"I'm not his woman!" I choked on my spicy tuna as Rose giggled.

"Aw, Bella, you were on my team. That totally counts! I will twirl you one day." Emmett beamed.

"Uh-huh," I answered but turned my attention to Alice who had been strangely quiet. She had also been staring at me mischievously for the past ten minutes. "Can I help you, missy?"

"That pink sweater goes great with those slacks, Bella." Alice whispered while grinning.

That's code for 'your shoes don't match and I know it'.

"Thanks, Alice." I half smiled with a knowing look, 'knowing' I would be harassed about my fashion faux pas later. Her clairvoyance for anything sexual was quite frightening.

Poor Jasper.

"That is a great color on you," Tyler spoke in agreement.

I thought Edward was going to lunge across the table any minute. A distraction was in order, and fast. "Thanks, guys. I was in a pink mood today." I blushed as I looked at Edward and thought of my thongs left on the kitchen counter at home.

"So did you enjoy seeing the patients?" I asked Tyler.

"I did! The improvements that can be seen with the various medications are amazing. I'd still like to learn more about how the therapy and other supportive care interact to improve symptoms." Tyler reviewed the various types of mental health training he had been exposed to in clinical rotations.

"Well, I have another patient to see this afternoon, and I'm providing intensive daily therapy for her, but I don't think it would be appropriate for you to sit in on this specific case." Ms. Hiller was too fragile for an audience at this point in time. "Perhaps Alice has a few patients she could allow you to tag along for?"

Alice frowned in disappointment. "I don't have anyone scheduled this afternoon."

"Hmm, well Edward has a group later." I looked toward Blue Eyes in a pleading manner.

"How does that help, exactly? Just listening to music?" Tyler asked innocently, but even his voice seemed to irritate Edward at this point.

"Have you not learned about the biological pathways for pleasure and euphoria, or how that relates to mood symptoms?" Edward responded tersely. "What are they teaching you guys these days?"

Tyler's smile faded as he stared at Edward. "Are you referring to the Monoamine Hypothesis for Depression?" He challenged with an angry tone.

"That's rather vague. It includes Serotonin, Norepinephrine, Dopamine and other Amines, does it not? I was speaking specifically of Dopamine, the primary neurotransmitter linked to the reward pathway. You know, the one which increases when you hear a beautiful rendition of Mozart, or drink a delectable cup of white chocolate mocha." Edward was turning red at this point.

"Or have sex!" Alice and Jasper piped up in unison. The entire table erupted in laughter at the two love birds, thankful for the break in the mounting tension.

"Well, we can see who's been riding their natural dopamine highs lately," Rose added.

Edward and Tyler smiled but continued to stare each other down.

Finally Angela spoke up. "I have a family session this afternoon, Tyler. I'd be glad for you to sit in; if you think the social work aspect of care would be interesting..."

"That would be a wonderful experience for you, Tyler," I chimed in. "Social work is so crucial to the foundation of care outside of the hospital. Angela will be able to teach you a great deal."

"I'd love to," Tyler answered Angela and blushed.

##***##

Sitting in my office across from Landie, I smiled. Our session was half-way through. The staff reported that her talks of God and her hyper-religiosity were less with every passing day. The progress was slow but rewarding. I knew I needed to address my pending absence on Monday, and to talk about John at some point, but the time always passed so quickly.

A lull in the conversation presented itself.

"Landie, I'm not going to be here on Monday."

Charlie had called after lunch and informed me that he would be traveling to meet with James and his lawyer on Monday. Despite his continued angst, he had agreed for me to tag along.

"Where are you going?" she asked, obviously concerned.

My years of training to be a 'blank slate' flashed before my eyes, as did all of my supervisors who preached 'no self disclosure'.

Roll over Freud.

"I'm going to a deposition of sorts. My car was vandalized, and I was threatened. I want to confront the person." I knew this was crossing a boundary, but Landie's growing dependence and trust in me was more important. I also thought that the disclosure could be therapeutic.

"What? I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed.

"Thank you. But I'm ok, I survived. In fact, I think it may have been my fault."

Let's hope she takes the bait.

"What? How could it be your fault?" She was shaking her head.

Yes.

"I was nice to him. Maybe I was too nice, or maybe I misled him. Maybe I caused him to be confused regarding my intentions?" I was leading her slowly, hoping she would follow.

"It doesn't matter! He had no right to threaten you, or to damage your car! How dare him! How could he do that to you?" Landie was screaming at this point.

"Because some people are evil, I suppose."

"It's not fair!" she continued to yell.

"No, it's not. But I'm strong. And so are you, Landie."

"What?" She asked, angry and confused.

Here goes a big 'if'. Hope our theory is correct, Edward.

"You survived too. And whatever John did to you, it wasn't your fault, either."

Landie froze in her chair, the anger slowly fading into silent tears, and then sobs.

After a few minutes, I continued, "Maybe John was evil, too."

"Yeah," she uttered through the tears. "He was, Dr. Swan, he was."

##***##

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon. Edward and I were sitting on the back patio with Rio. Charlie had called my cell again to confirm our Monday plans.

"Hey, Dad! Want me to come over and cook you dinner tomorrow?" I felt euphoric and free, riding my own wave of dopamine. Having unbelievable sex with the man I loved, huge breakthroughs with my patients, and a 'Creepo' behind bars. What could be better?

"Sounds great. I just wanted to let you in on something before tomorrow." Charlie answered.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" I giggled from distraction. Edward was running his fingers up my forearm, watching the ripples of chills follow his touch.

"Well," Charlie continued in oblivion. "I found out why it's been so hard to find James all this time."

"Really?" I suddenly sat up in my chair, my interest peaked.

"Yeah. He's been in Rehab, Bella."

A/N: So? Any thoughts? Want a White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks? I do, and a review! ;)