Author's Note: This chapter might be a surprise. But then again, I wouldn't be me if I didn't bring her in eventually. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.


Chapter 60

Bella's Point of View

"…get her husband's signature. Just feed them whatever lies you can think of to convince them," Grace was instructing a nurse as I strode toward them.

"Lies?" the nurse asked, looking like she'd just been told to kill someone.

"Yes, lies," Grace enunciated every syllable. "Lies. Just tell them lies. We want her to live, right?"

The nurse gulped before nodding and hurrying away into one of the wards.

"Lying to a patient now, are we?" I asked teasingly, crossing my arms.

Grace turned to me, smiling. "Hey, girl. It isn't exactly lying. It's basically exaggerating the effects of the surgery so that they would change their mind about a midwife. Who brings in midwives these days? Like, seriously?"

I was curious now. "Who is this?"

"The woman down there," Grace said, pointing at the ward where the nurse had disappeared to. "She has this mild heart problem, so it's safer for her to do a C-section. But she and her husband are pretty old-fashioned. Insistent on giving birth the natural way at home." She shook her head incredulously.

"Huh. Interesting. I didn't know there were still people like that."

"Apparently. So what's up with you?"

"What's up with me?"

"You look…mad."

I raised my eyebrow. "I'm not mad. Why would I be mad?"

"That's what I was wondering. Unless your brother was, like, annoying you during lunch, I can't think of anything else."

I recalled my mood before I began talking to Grace. "I have a date tomorrow."

She gasped. "Who?"

"You wouldn't know him. This guy I met at the New Year's party."

"Seriously? And you said yes?"

"For the first time since eight years ago. Yes."

"I hope you get your happy ending," she said sincerely.

I smiled back unconvincingly.


I strolled into Central Park at exactly ten o'clock on Saturday. Asking myself: Must I really do this for my revenge?

I couldn't think of anything better to do to start avenging myself. Think about Edward's mistakes! That kept me going.

I spotted Jacob's tall figure easily. He was dressed in casual polo shirt and jeans, and he waved when he saw me in my boring jeans and T-shirt. Luckily, he didn't seem to mind.

"Good to see you, Jacob," I said.

"Same to you. You look good."

I wondered if he was teasing. If anything, I wasn't good. I was wearing plain clothes and had a disgusted expression on my face, no doubt.

"So what do you want to do today?" I asked, changing the subject.

He shrugged. "I was wondering if you had something in mind. I don't really care what we do."

"Do you want to just walk around?" I asked. "Times Square?"

He agreed, so the next two hours, we were laughing and chattering away as we explored the busy streets of New York City.

Jacob was quite fun, actually. He was easy-going and good-natured, and didn't try hard to impress me. He was naturally humorous and silly, and it cracked me up to see him trip over someone's outstretched foot, make funny noises, and snort into his ice cream.

"We should get a souvenir," he said wisely as we paused in front of a souvenir shop.

"We live in New York, Jacob," I said, laughing.

"No, of our first date together. Come on." He dragged me inside and we were in there for half an hour, browsing. In the end, we ended up with those common I Love New York white shirts and New York Yankees baseball caps.

"I don't even like the Yankees," I complained as he put the cap on my head once we were outside.

"How could you not like the Yankees?" Jacob asked, looking horrified.

I scoffed and crossed my arms. "Excuse me. I'm an LA Dodgers fan. I live in Los Angeles."

"What about the LA Angels?" Jacob asked. "I can tolerate them more than I can tolerate the Dodgers."

"Psh. Dodgers all the way. Dodgers Stadium is in LA. Angels Stadium is in Anaheim. There's a difference."

He shook his head. "It's a wonder a girl actually likes baseball anyway. I should be thankful that my new girlfriend likes sports."

I smiled. "Girlfriend, huh? I think I can live with that."

Edward's Point of View

"Will you take me to Times Square today, Edward?" Alice asked me on the phone. "I want to go on a date with my brother, if you don't mind."

"You have two brothers."

"The first one is busy," Alice said, and I could hear her pouting at my almost rejection. "He said he has a court trial today."

I sighed as I leaned back in my chair in my office. "I don't know, Alice. I have a lot of work to do as well. How about a date with your husband? Or Bella, even. They both have Saturdays off."

"Jasper agreed to take Rosalie on a date, since Emmett doesn't have time for her. I don't want to bother them. They need some time together. And Bella has her date with Jacob Black."

The reminder was like a slap to my face. "Thanks for reminding me."

"Just an enlightenment. So how about that date, huh?"

I sighed again, trying to ignore the nudging throb on the edges of my heart. "Fine. I'll pick you up in twenty minutes."

"Great! Love you, Edward!"

When I picked her up exactly twenty-five minutes later, she was pouting. "If you didn't want to go out with me, just tell me, okay?"

"I'm sorry," I said, smiling as I drove to Times Square. "I got stuck in traffic halfway through. Luckily, it cleared quickly."

"Luckily?" she grumbled, but then let it go.

Alice dragged me from store to store, exhausting me, but it was surprisingly enjoyable. I forgot about my troubles with Bella momentarily, which was what I'm sure she'd intended on. I deserved a relaxation day.

But then, of course, fate was agreeing with Bella on the fact that I needed to be hurt before I can end up back with her.

Alice suddenly grabbed my arm when we saw a laughing couple coming up the street, in the opposite direction. "Look, Edward."

I looked, and wished I hadn't.

Bella and Jacob Black looked like they were having the time of their lives. The smile on her face made me bitter. Why couldn't I ever make her smile like that anymore? I hated myself for allowing fate to toy with me like this.

"Come on," Alice said, and she dragged me toward them.

"I told you, I don't like the Yankees!" Bella was saying as she laughed and shoved her baseball cap toward him. "Get me a Dodgers cap!"

"Well, hi, Bella!" Alice said in a fake friendly voice. "Fancy seeing you here."

Bella's smile faded as she glanced at Alice, then at me. Jacob looked curious.

"Oh, hey, Edward," Jacob said, nodding at me. We weren't close, but our relationship was pretty neutral. Had been pretty neutral. Now, my inner green-eyed monster was raging, and hating Jacob Black to the core.

I nodded back without saying anything.

"Alice," Bella said, in a slightly flat voice that Alice and I noticed. Jacob was totally oblivious and was merely awestruck at his luck at ending up with such a beautiful date. "What are you doing here? I would think that you would be with Jasper."

"Well, Jazzy ditched me today," Alice said in that pleasant, but fake voice. "He's out with Rosalie today. And you ditched me too, so I brought Edward along!"

I glanced at my sister briefly, amused at how angry she seemed. The one who should be angry was me, and at myself too. I was the only one who had done wrong.

Bella didn't miss her fake tone. "How nice." Her eyes flickered to me coldly before changing the subject. "I don't need to introduce you, right?"

"Of course not," Alice said. "We know each other. Hello, Jacob."

Jacob smiled. "Nice to see you again, Alice. We didn't get a chance to talk a lot at the party."

"Having fun?" Alice asked sweetly. "I'm sure you are. Bella is a wonderful person to be around with."

Jacob nodded, oblivious to her sarcasm. "I usually regret asking a girl out. Not with Bella, though. She's very easy to talk to."

Bella laced her arm through Jacob's, an obvious message for me: Watch me see you squirm. I tried to keep up my poker face, but she was making it so hard.

Alice's eyes flashed, seeing this. "And it looks like you two are already getting pretty intimate. What, are you two engaged already?"

Jacob laughed at that. "I wish." He shot Bella an admiring look.

I fought the urge to break this guy's face.

Bella laughed too. She looked entertained at watching me struggle internally with the green-eyed monster. "As if, Alice. I'm just trying this new dating regime. So far, I'm really enjoying it." She was enjoying watching me be jealous too.

I hated this. I'd told her that I would take any form of revenge, but that didn't mean I had to like it. She knew exactly what she was doing to me.

"Maybe we should go get dinner together?" Alice suggested. "Double date? You don't mind, do you, Jacob?" I knew there was no way she would let Jacob and Bella spend a night together, even though there was no way of intimacy on their first date.

"No, not if Bella doesn't mind," Jacob answered. "Bella?"

Bella glowered at Alice. "Sure," she said in a flat voice.

"Great!" Alice said, pretending not to notice her sister-in-law's glare. "How about sushi? I'm feeling for some fish today."

While Jacob thought aloud for some possible restaurants, I nudged Alice to quit being so sarcastic. She glared right back, and Bella glowered at both of us for foiling her date. It also meant foiling the plan to see me be restless as I wondered what they would be doing tonight.

"That's a nice place," Alice said quickly when Jacob suggested some restaurant near SoHo. "We'll go there."

So we all agreed to meet there with our cars so we would be able to head straight home afterwards.

Bella ignored me pointedly all through dinner as she and Jacob chatted, and occasionally threw Alice a sharp glare for interrupting their date. Alice did her best to interrupt their conversation a few times when Bella steered it to a more intimate tone. Jacob looked terribly flattered at Bella's flirtatious attitude.

By the end of dinner, my face was stony, and I had to shove my hands in my pockets to hide the fists. Stupid Jacob Black. Why hadn't I noticed his annoying presence before?

Bella's Point of View

When I got home, I huffed and plopped down on my bed, annoyed. Alice Cullen Whitlock… She was my friend, but she was also annoyingly interfering.

It didn't matter. I'd had enough to enjoy as I'd watched Edward tonight, trying to remain neutral but ending up snapping at Jacob whenever he answered a question. It was a start anyway.

I was in better moods – or so I thought – until Grace told me that I looked mad again. This was getting rather strange. Why did I look angry when I felt good about starting my revenge? It didn't make sense.

After she pointed out, I felt surly again, like I had been fooling myself that I was happy. Party pooper.

The week that followed my first date with Jacob was slow. No serious patients, no deaths. Just simple C-sections and deliveries.

But I should've known. In exchange for a slow, uneventful week, there would be a huge, major issue that would follow.

It was Friday, around noon. Most patients were in their rooms, eating lunch, and most doctors were on their breaks or in surgeries. There were only a couple of nurses at the front counter, doing paperwork and greeting a couple women who walked in.

I was on my way to the nurse counter when I heard a familiar voice, talking to the nurses. It was a voice I hadn't heard in a long time, and the one voice that I resented the most. The person who had ruined my life.

I froze. She was here. Why was she here? I leaned against the wall that was adjacent to the nurse counter.

"I'm sorry, Miss Denali," the head nurse, Hilda, said to her firmly. "That is not possible. Dr. Jackson is quite busy. She's currently in surgery, and she won't be able to talk to you at the moment. You must come again another time."

"Please!" Tanya Denali pleaded. "I must talk to her right away! Immediately! She told me to come anytime. Please!" She sounded like she was crying.

"Is there a problem here?" I heard Grace joining them. "You. Why are you here again?"

Again. That meant Tanya had been here before, and I had a hunch on what for. Grace confirmed it.

"Are you pregnant again?" she asked incredulously. "What kind of an irresponsible person are you? You promised Gwen that you wouldn't get so careless again, and that it would probably be the last time you'll ever be here -"

"It wasn't my fault!" Tanya said. "My boyfriend…my ex now…he wanted to marry me, so I wasn't too worried about getting knocked up or anything. I found out I was pregnant with his kid but then he dumped me! I don't want anything that has to do with him! I have to rid of this! It's him." She sounded desperate.

Grace scoffed, and her voice was filled with contempt, now that she knew me personally. "That's called being irresponsible, no matter what your excuses are."

"Please, Dr. Jackson," Hilda said. "Irresponsible or not, Miss Denali is a patient in need. Please control what you say."

"Patient in need!" Grace laughed sarcastically. "For the last eight years, she's come to this hospital three times! Ridiculous. Who would get an abortion three times? She's a disgrace to society."

I swallowed hard. I had to try hard to keep the resentment that was boiling inside contained. I was so tempted to just burst out and tell Tanya Denali off. I should include her in my plans for revenge.

"Tanya?" I heard Gwen's voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Dr. Jackson!" Tanya nearly sobbed in relief. "I asked for you, but she said I couldn't!"

"I didn't say you couldn't," Hilda said, sounding annoyed. "I said that she was busy. I thought you were in surgery, Dr. Jackson."

"I was," Gwen agreed. "It ended earlier than I thought. So, Tanya. What's the trouble?"

"She's pregnant again," Grace offered, sounding disgusted. "She wants another abortion."

Gwen sighed. "Tanya, we went over this. And I told you, too many of these situations will result in-"

"I know," Tanya said quickly. "But I really need your help. I have to get rid of this baby. My ex will force me if I don't, and he'll take it to court. He doesn't want it. I don't either. Please, Dr. Jackson…"

Gwen hesitated. "If you insist, I have no choice. When do you want the abortion?"

"As soon as possible. Tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry, Tanya," Gwen said. "But I'm afraid that's not possible. I'm booked for about a month, so-"

"A month?" Tanya shrieked. "No, Gwen! You can't do this to me! I'm already a month along. I can't get rid of it if it's too late! It'll be too big and then I'll want to keep it and… You have to do it earlier! Please!"

"I'm sorry. I can't."

Even though I hated her guts, I had become a different person during my stay in California. I was a doctor before I was Bella Swan with a past. And I felt the urge to take any chance I could to save a patient's life…and this counted.

Hating myself, I took a deep breath before walking out to join them. "I'll do it."

Gwen, Grace, and the nurses all turned to look at me, surprised. Of all the people who would volunteer, I would be last on the list when it came to Tanya Denali.

Tanya's eyes widened in horror, and she actually took a few steps back. "Y-you."

"Me," I said calmly. "Long time, Tanya."

She began to tremble. She actually looked afraid to see me. "Y-you…you're here."

I raised my eyebrow. "I'm surprised. Still making trouble, are we?"

She swallowed. "No. Not you. You probably want to kill me or something."

I glared at her. "I'm a doctor. Not a murderer."

She flinched when she realized that the choice of words was intended to remind her of what she'd done to me. "M-murderer," she repeated, mumbling. Tears filled her eyes.

Grace placed a hand on my shoulder. "Why did you say that? Surely, you didn't mean it."

"I did," I said. "If you can't do the surgery, I'll do it, Gwen." I looked at her expectantly.

Gwen looked bothered. "I know the history you two have. I'm sure-"

"History or not, I'm a doctor here," I said coolly. "I'm here to help patients, not refuse them because of some past history we have."

"N-no," Tanya murmured. "Not you. I won't…"

"Oh, believe me, I'm wondering why I'm saying this myself," I informed her in a hard voice. "If I had it my way, I would ignore you and put forth some sort of revenge. But I'm sure you need me more than I need you in my life."

She knew I was right. I was her only option. Her only source of help. She gulped and whispered, "Thank you."

And that was it. Tanya Denali was my patient. How ironic. She had killed practically two people, my child and me, but here, I was offering to save her by rescuing her from the burden she felt from her own child.

"Follow me," I told her, and she scurried after me quickly, now playing the part of the scared victim, and I, the bully, our roles exchanged for once.


AN: Ha! Did you expect the return of Tanya? I'm sure you did because I told you that she'll be returning, but I bet you didn't know that she'd return in this chapter! Reviews?