So, based on my original A/N for these chaps, people were unhappy with how I handled this next piece. Fiction is fiction. We can all take liberties.

*Side note* - The original A/N was pretty bitchy(LOL). I was angry mean. The next post, I said sorry - my hormones are jacked... I only make mention because I was preggo and hadn't known yet. #memories


I was pretty sure that Jake was trying to eye fuck the want to be widow. I needed to remember to back hand him once this was done.

Tanya sat in the chair without prompting and she crossed, uncrossed, and then recrossed her legs. It was like Basic Instinct, except Tanya wasn't in a dress or skirt.

Damn! Sucked for Jake.

Since Jake was thinking with his cock, I hooked Tanya up and started the questioning.

"So, Mrs. Cullen, how do you think that Edward got sick?"

"Uh, um, I don't know." Heart rate increased.

"How do you not know? Isn't he your husband? Don't you know what he does and were he goes and who he is with?" I may have already been annoyed with her.

She laughed lightly. "I'm his wife, not his keeper. I don't know what he does all the time. I work, he works and we both do things after work. That means I'm not always with him."

Feisty.

Jake seemed to snap out of it because his jaw pulled back up and he looked me in the eye.

"Mrs. Cullen, you know your husband doesn't have leprosy, right?"

What the fuck, Jake!

"Uh-" Her heart rate picked up again.

"Yeah, that was just an excuse to get you all out of the room. You see, he's being poisoned."

"Jake-"

"I got this, Bells."

"What is this?" I didn't realize that doctors were in the business of lying to patients," Tanya snipped back.

"They do when it means saving their patient lives."

Her head lower and her heart rate stayed elevated.

"Why did you do it?" I asked.

"I didn't say I did anything," she snipped back. Her heart rate was through the roof and her blood pressure was rising.

"Were you involved alone?" Jake asked.

"I never said I was involved in it." Her heart rate jumped again. She was agitated and pissed off. Good! She deserved it.

"If that's how you want to be, that's cool. Our little lie detector says otherwise. I'm sure that I can get a judge to sign off on this."

And then my lovely friend read Tanya her rights. Her jaw dropped when she realized she had been played.

He searched her but unfortunately she didn't have any poison on her.

Before Jake left with her to take her to be booked, he said they should be expediting a search of her hotel as well as calling the local department in New York to search her and Edward's house.

Success!

I hated that I had to tell Edward this news, but love did weird shit to people. Jake offered to have an officer come in, but I said I'd handle it.

I knocked on his door and let myself in. He looked…good.

Like amazingly good in comparison.

"Hey, Doc."

"Edward. You're looking better already."

"I don't feel much better and my vision still is messed up, but thanks."

"It will take some time, say two weeks or so and you should be back to normal."

I smiled at him and placed my hand on the bed rail.

"So will I be staying here those two weeks?"

"That I don't know." I took a deep sigh remembering the reason why I had come into his room.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Edward, I don't know any better way to tell you this, but your wife was the one." I swallowed the lump in my throat and continued. "She won't admit it, but a detective friend and I interviewed her with our own version of a lie detector and she failed. I'm so sorry."

"My wife? Tanya, she wouldn't do that, would she?" A range of emotions flashed over Edward's face from disbelief, to confusion, to anger and rage. "She tried to kill me! She wanted to kill me?"

I was thankful at that time that Edward was confined to his bed, because I could see him breaking something.

"Hey, calm down, okay?" I placed my hand on his arm and lightly moved my fingertip along one of his veins. "Getting worked up won't help you heal. Do you need me to get you something? Or maybe someone to talk to?"

I had forgotten to call up to Psych Services before we interrogated the family.

He shook his head. "No, I'm fine, well I will be." He placed his hand over mine and looked into my eyes. "Could you just stay here? With me?"

Like I'd say no.


I stayed with Edward as he cried out all of his frustrations. I kept him company; spoke up when he asked a question, but otherwise stayed silent.

He looked so sad. I wished there was a way that I could comfort him or take the pain away. I was thankful that I could keep that bitch of a wife away from him, but he didn't deserve this.

Any of this.

Once he was sleeping, I went to find Carlisle. He needed to know what was going on. He deserved that much.

I knocked on the door to the isolation room that him and his family were in. Carlisle jumped up and pressed the button for the microphone and speaker.

"Iz-Bella, what's going on?" he asked through the door.

"If it's that hard to call me Bella, I guess you can call me Izzy."

"What about my son?"

"Come out here, I don't want to talk to you about this through a door."

Carlisle put on a gown and mask before exiting the room.

"Let's go to my office and you can lose the get up," I said once we were out of the way of the room's glass walls.

Carlisle took the mask off and gave me a look. "Izzy, tell me what is going on, please."

"Let's just get to my office, okay?"

He nodded and followed me in silence.

We got to my office and my team was sitting around the conference desk.

"Go work in the ER until I call you back up. I need my office."

All three got up and left as quickly as possible.

"Do you need a drink, Carlisle?"

"No, I need to know what's wrong with my son."

"Okay take a seat." We sat side by side on my office couch. I turned and looked at him.

"Carlisle, your son doesn't have leprosy."

"No shit, Iz."

"He was being poisoned."

"Wha?" Shock and surprise were evident on his face.

"Yeah. Pretty sure it was Tanya doing the poisoning. My friend took her down to the station for further questioning."

He raised an eyebrow. "Your friend?"

"Yeah Doctor Black is Detective Black. He works for the local police department here and we are friends."

"So, Jesus, I don't even know what to say to this news. It seems so impossible. Tanya's such a good lady."

"Your daughter doesn't seem to think so."

"Yeah, Alice is a pretty perceptive girl."

"If you say that, then why didn't you listen to her when she told you something was wrong with Edward?"

"Because at the same time, she worries too much."

"Maybe you don't worry enough. Maybe that's what's going on. Either way, you are all free to go back to see your son if he wants you there."

Carlisle left and I went to call Jake. I needed to see if there was any news.

I sat at my desk and dialed his number.

"Black."

"Hey Jakie, how's the black widow?"

"She made her one phone call and then confessed to it all."

"Do we know who she called?"

"Not a clue. We are trying to get a trace. We want to assume it's her lawyer, because a nicely dressed high powered attorney showed up not long after. I let you know if I get news."

"Thanks, Jake."

I hung up and leaned back in my chair, putting my legs on my desk.

My work was done.


The next week went without a hitch.

Edward was getting back to normal and I relied on my team to check in on him. I couldn't be near him anymore, so I dove head first into another case and life was normal; back on track.

I sat at my desk, like typical when on a case and dictated work.

Other than Edward, I never really visited patients. That wasn't my style. Getting personal with them involved far too many emotions; emotions I didn't want or need to show. I didn't need to know about their five grandkids or their spouse at home to save them. Nor did I know the sly smile they had when they were happy, or the tears they were not afraid to share when they were scared. Knowing and seeing those things only messed my mind up.

I wondered if I hadn't been personal with Edward if I would have come to the conclusion sooner. Would he not have faint scaring on his arms because of the loss of flesh, because I failed to see this sooner?

Too late now to know.

I flipped through 'People Magazine' and tried to catch up on all the crap I missed in the celeb world.

Some of that shit was impressive.

There was a knock at my door and I looked up to see Jake walking in. I hadn't seen him since the day he left with Tanya.

"What do I own this visit to?" I asked him as he took a seat across the desk from me.

"Just wanted to drop by, say hi. That's all."

"Jake, we don't just drop in on each other. What gives?"

"I wanted to ask your permission to talk with your patient. I need to run a few things past him that came up in the investigation. That's all."

"You know you can talk with my patient without my approval."

"Yeah, well I just wanted to uh, stop by and say hi to you as well. I miss you, Bells." He reached forward and put his hand on mine.

I pulled my hand back as slowly as I could as not to offend. "Well, Jake, I miss you as well." I wanted to emphasis the fact we were only friends, but I opted against it at that moment.

We sat there in silence; Jake's hand still placed awkwardly on the desk.

"Well, uh, I guess I better get to talking to Edward."

I nodded to him as he stood to leave. "He's in room two-oh-three. Make sure you get all you need from him today, he's getting discharged and heading back to New York soon."

"Thanks, B," Jake said with a wave as he left the room.

Jake was needy, that I knew. I just wished that he wasn't always attempting to be needy with me.


I rolled my chair back and kicked my feet up onto my desk. I figured I had about thirty minutes left until my team would be finished with the preliminary diagnostics on Mr. James, so I opted for a nap.

I closed my eyes and let my lack of sleep over take me.

As of late, every time I closed my eyes, my mind would float to Edward. As a result, I wasn't sleeping all that great.

Like I said, getting personal with a patient was never good, and with him, I think I got overly personal.


I prepared for Edward's discharge.

The skin on his arms, thankfully healed with debridement alone. He handled the pain of that process amazingly. He met with the eye doctor on staff, who told him once all the poison was clear of his system, the tumor should shrink up and he will be good as new. It already had shrunk to about half the size and Edward could see fairly well.

There was a small spot in my chest that hurt knowing I could no longer peek in at night or in the early morning to watch him sleep. He was beyond peaceful when he rested.

I walked into Edward's room with his discharge papers. This job typically reserved for a nurse, but for him, I needed to do it.

"Edward, you ready to go?" I asked as I came in.

"Doc, I think so. No offense but the food here sucks."

I smiled at him and his face lit up. That small spot in my chest expanded.

"Sorry for that. Should have had your dad get you some food from the outside. I wouldn't have told anyone."

"Him and my mom have been a little preoccupied since you told my mom..."

"Ah, yeah. Sorry about that."

We continued talking about nothing of importance really, but sometime during that casual, completely unprofessional conversation, I moved to sit next to Edward on his bed.

Strike one and two for unprofessionalism.

I didn't want to move, but I knew I had to. I cleared my throat and moved, just as Edward's hand came to rest on my arm.

"Uh, so when will someone be here to take you home?" I asked as I walked across the room.

I had to get away from him. Oh, but I didn't want to.

"Soon I think. My brother and his wife left back to New York a few days ago and Alice has decided to stay here. She met some guy here and they have been inseparable. She is looking for apartments and once she finds one, I'm going to be moving in with her."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, that detective guy said that I had to stay around because of Tanya's trial or something like that."

I nodded because I didn't trust my voice. I knew if I spoke, I would squeak because on the inside I was having a party.

"So, Eric is going to stay with us until we find a place or something like that. My dad and mom will go home as soon as you release me and they can get a ticket."

I cleared my throat, praying my voice didn't sound eager. "Sounds like you have a lot going on there."

"Yeah, sure feels that way."

I wrote down some instructions and handed him his paperwork.

"So, once they come back, you are good to go."

"Thanks, doc." He placed his hand on mine and smiled. God that smile killed me, and made me say something I never should have.

"If it takes you too long to find a place, you and Alice could always come and stay with me."

Strike three for unprofessionalism.


EPOV


To find out your wife, the woman who is supposed to love you for better and worse, who is supposed to be there no matter what, is trying to kill you is a literal punch in the face.

And the junk.

I hurt to know that this woman that I had given the better part of my adulthood wanted me dead.

I wished I could talk to her and find out why she did what she did. What benefit was it for her?

I didn't have anything. I was worth more alive than dead. Why marry me if she just wanted to kill me?

I didn't force her down that aisle. I didn't make her say 'I do.' Yet, she felt the need to marry me and then poison me.

I spent most of my time lying in this hospital bed, wondering where I fucked up; where I lost my ability to read people.

Then there was Bella…Doctor Swan. She was remarkable. She cared to a level that no one else outside of my family had ever cared for me.

She came to my room at night when she thought I was asleep and she watched me. Most would think that was strange, or creepy, but with her, it felt right.


At first I dreaded having to stay in Illinois. I wanted to get back to my home, to my job, to my life, at least what was left of it, but the detective told me they would need me in Tanya's trial.

He said that New York tried to extradite, but Illinois won that battle, so I was stuck here too. Luckily for me, Alice was staying here.

But the day of my discharge Bella offered to let Alice and me come stay with her.

My distaste for staying in Illinois with Alice suddenly didn't taste so bad.

Alice was the first back to my room, and for that I was thankful. It would give me a few minutes to talk to her before our parents got here and squashed the living with Bella idea.

"Ali, so..."

"Yes, Edward?"

"Bella offered to let us stay with her until we find our own place."

"Do you think that is a good idea? Look what she did to our family? To our parents."

"Ali, she didn't do that. She told Mom the truth, where Dad refused. I don't see that as a bad thing. Dad was the one that made the mistake."

"I don't know, Edward. I think you should stay with me and Eric. It would be what's for the best."

"Ali, she offered to let you and me both stay."

"No, for now we go back to the hotel. You don't need stress, and I know you. I've seen how she looks at you and you at her. Bella Swan isn't a doctor that has bedside manner, you heard dad say that, yet with you, she did. You don't need to be tempted to jump into anything with anyone right now. Now, enough of that. Let me pack you up so we can go once Mom and Dad get here."

Alice may have been my little sister, but she was the one that was thinking clearly. I knew where to find Bella when and if I was ready.


Hate Alice... everyone did the first time I posted this...

Now, back to sleep for me.