A/N: Thank you to my fabulous team of helpers – my ficwife and pre-reader, EternallyCullen and my fantastic beta, Jenny Cullen, aka Jenrar – for all of your help! Check their work out if you're looking for some great reads!

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I started a thread on the Twilighted forums as a way for me to respond to questions and reviews. I'm finding that with the wonderful response you've all given me, I'm not quite able to keep up with answering the reviews personally. Visit me over at http:/www . twilighted . net / forum / viewtopic . php?f=44&t=16112 if you would like to discuss the story!

Most of all, thank you to everyone who is reading – your response has left me humbled and overwhelmed! It's fabulous!

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Twilight except the books and DVDs. Stephenie Meyer owns everything else. Matthew, however, is mine!

Bella woke up early the next morning, excited about her new job. She was going to be learning the ropes at Dr. Carlisle Cullen's office and helping him with medical procedures. She finally had a job where she could make a difference – and get off of public assistance. She now had a position that she could turn into a career.

She rolled Matthew out of the bed, rushing him into the bathroom to wash his face and brush his he was doing that, she threw together a quick breakfast for him, and then fixed herself up while he ate.

They left together, and she prayed the truck would start. The starter was about to go out on it, but she needed to actually collect a paycheck before she could buy the part. Come on, baby. Two more weeks. Just make it two more weeks.

Luck was with her, as the truck started after two attempts.

She hurriedly dropped Matt off at school, reminding him to take the bread off of his corndog at lunch.

"I know, Mom," he said, a slight undertone of exasperation in his voice. He was getting good at counting his carbs in his head, along with saying no to sugar.

It was just hard for her to let him go.

"Bye, honey. Have a good day," she called after him.

He turned and waved at her, and she pulled back into the exiting traffic. Now was the moment of truth. If she could not swing this job, she didn't know what she would do.

But she would handle it. I'm not gonna fuck this one up. It's too important, plus… benefits. Once she had been there for a while and showed them that she was a good worker, she would ask Dr. Cullen about possibly seeing Matthew for his diabetes – and about a referral to a pediatric endocrinologist.

She arrived ten minutes early and was greeted by Sheila, the office manager.

"Hi, there, Bella. Welcome to the office. We're all so glad to have you here," she said warmly.

Bella had always been suspicious of other people, especially when they were nice to her. She would be friendly and do her job, but she would keep her personal issues to herself. She was going to treat this job as a professional, not just as a disposable position.

Sheila took her through the office and introduced her to the small staff. Laney was Dr. Cullen's nurse, and Amanda was his current medical assistant, who was leaving in two weeks, due to her husband's job transfer. Brenda was the receptionist at the front counter, and Danielle was the billing clerk. And that was it – only five workers, excluding Dr. Cullen.

Sheila gave her a quick rundown of how things happened in the office. "Now, Dr. C goes to the hospital first to make rounds. He's usually here by nine, and then we see patients, break for lunch at noon, come back at one to see more patients, and then leave at five."

Bella was taking notes in a small notebook. "That sounds like a good system."

"It works out well for us. We all alternate lunches and cover for each other. You and Laney will eat at separate times, in the event the doc needs you. Then Brenda and I go to lunch, and then Danielle, and we answer the phone for her. It will be easy once you get into the routine."

She showed Bella the nurses' station and the cubicle she would be working at. "Basically, you will assist Dr. C with procedures and prepare the patient and rooms for him. Other things will be handled by Laney, but you will call the patients back, take their vitals, and escort them to the room. Then, once they are gone, you will clean the equipment, clean up any mess that's been left by the doc, and ready the room for the next patient. Any questions?"

Bella was writing furiously. "Not at the moment, but I'm sure I'll think of something later."

"Feel free to ask. It worries me when new employees don't ask questions."

Bella agreed with her. "I do have one question. Is it all right for me to carry my cell phone in my pocket?" She explained a bit about Matthew and how the school might need to get in touch with her quickly.

Sheila shook her head. "No, that's fine, as long as it's on vibrate."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Sheila handed her off to Amanda, the current assistant. "She's all yours."

Bella spent that morning learning exactly what Amanda did and where she kept things. Dr. Cullen came in around a quarter after nine, and he greeted Bella by name.

"Bella! It's so good to see you again. I trust everyone is helping you get acclimated to the office?"

She smiled a genuine smile at him. "Oh, yes, sir. Everyone has been wonderful."

"Bella?" he asked. "Just one thing."

"Yes, sir?"

"Please don't call me sir," he said with a smile. "You can call me doc, or Dr. C if you wish. That's what everyone here all call me."

She laughed lightly. "Yes sir – I mean, yes, Dr. C."

He nodded at her in approval. "Well, ladies, let's get the show on the road."

Amanda and Bella began bringing patients in, and Bella watched as she assessed the patient quickly and what she charted in the medical record.

The day flew by, and before she knew it, it was time for lunch. She and Amanda covered for Laney while she went out to eat, and then Amanda showed her the break room. "You can either leave to eat, or eat in here. Whichever you prefer."

"I'll eat here. I brought a sandwich." Bella pulled out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple from her purse. She then pulled out her cell phone to call the school nurse to check on Matthew.

"Hey, Bella. Matt's done fine today. His sugar before lunch was one hundred and eight. I gave him a unit of regular insulin, and it was one hundred fifteen after lunch."

She sighed in relief. "Thanks, April. I appreciate it." April was the school's nurse, who took care of Matt's sugar when he was there. She called every day after his lunch break to see how he was doing.

"Everything okay?" Amanda asked. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but overhear."

Bella nodded. "It's okay. My son, Matthew, has Type I diabetes, and I always call around lunch to check on his sugar. It's very fragile and hard to control."

"Awww, poor kid. You should bring him to see Dr. C. He's really good with diabetes."

Bella breathed a sigh of relief. "So, he'll see our family members?"

"Oh, yeah. He doesn't mind."

Bella spent the rest of her lunch break making small talk with Amanda, but her mind was whirling. Once the insurance is in effect, I'll talk to Danielle about making him an appointment. She couldn't help but think how wonderful it would be if Dr. Cullen could actually make some adjustments for Matthew, so he was not as fragile. She was not deluded. She knew he couldn't be cured, but if only it didn't rule their lives…

xXx

Bella pulled herself up off of the couch to answer the knock at the door. Her feet and legs screamed in protest. She had been on her feet all day, and now, she ached from the waist down, but she didn't mind; it was the ache after hard work, and she was just grateful for the job.

She peeked through the peephole, to see Edward Cullen standing on the other side.

Shit! I forgot he was coming over tonight. She knew she looked like hell, with her hair pulled back into a sloppy ponytail and wearing her ragged old sweats and a t-shirt that was faded and stained. Oh, well, it's not like it matters what you look like around him.

She pulled the door open. "Hi, Edward."

"You forgot, didn't you?" he asked, eyeing her choice of apparel.

She crossed her arms. "Problem?" She was tired and cranky, which was not a good combination, especially when Edward was around. It was as if he were a flame to her gasoline.

He shook his head, continuing to gapeat her. This was as real as he had ever seen her, and he thought she looked beautiful. "Not at all. Hard day?"

She ignored him and turned from the door, walking to the table. "Well, are you coming in, or not?" she called over her shoulder when she didn't hear the door close behind her.

"Yeah, since you invited me in so warmly."

She glared at him. "Bite me."

Holy hell, was she in a bad mood. "Sure. Where do you want it?" he asked, snapping his teeth together.

She stared at him wide-eyed, before allowing the corners of her mouth to pull up in what he thought was either a smile or a grimace. "All right, before we get into another fight, let's get to work."

"You started it."

"And I'm ending it. So, let's work."

"How was today?" he asked. He hadn't seen his father, as he had driven straight from Seattle.

She scowled. "It was good, but I'm exhausted. That's why I'm so bitchy tonight. So... sorry in advance for anything I may say."

He laughed lightly. "Apology accepted, I think. I guess it depends on what you say."

Bella did give him a smile at that. "Let's get going." She sat down at the table and folded her hands together.

He pulled his notebook out, along with some official looking papers. "Okay, first of all, I need to ask you some personal questions," he said hesitantly.

Her eyes narrowed. "Like what?"

"Just what's on this form. Um, full name, got it. Address?"

She gave him her address.

"Phone?"

"Just have my cell phone. The regular phone was disconnected yesterday."

He glanced at her quickly, and then pulled his emerald eyes back down to the paper. "Occupation. Got it." He went on murmuring questions that he already knew the answer to. "Sorry about this in advance, but do you use any alcohol or drugs?"

Her hackles were raised immediately. "What the fuck do you mean by that? What do you think?" she spat.

He held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, but it's a question I have to fill out."

"Oh," she muttered, deflated. "Sorry. Answer is no, of course not."

"Do you own a vehicle?"

She nodded. "The old red Chevy truck in the lot."

Ah, so that piece of shit was hers. For some reason, however, it didn't surprise him.

"Significant other?" he asked with trepidation.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. George Clooney. What the hell do you think?" she asked with a glare in his direction.

"We'll say that's a no," he replied, his heart doing a little flip-flop at the confirmation.

"What about other family members who help you out?" he inquired.

Bella sighed. "Well, my dad helps all he can, but his job keeps him really busy. And my friends Angela and Jacob help some, but they're busy with their own lives. I can't run to them every time I need something."

He looked at her strangely.

"Well, I could if I absolutely needed something, and they'd drop it all for me, but I don't want to burden them – or anyone."

Her last statement made him ache inside. "You're not a burden, Bella," he said softly.

She kept her eyes downcast. "Edward, I know you're just being nice, but I'm even a burden to you, just by having to do this project."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked her angrily.

She continued to stare at her hands, which were tightly clasped. "You could have stayed in Seattle, but because you got assigned to me, you have to make the trip here so much more than necessary."

He sighed. He did have to travel home to Forks quite a bit now, instead of crashing with friends in their apartments when he had several classes all in a couple of days time. But he didn't mind. "Bella, don't worry about it. I would have to do the project anyway."

She pulled her eyes up to his finally, and he knew he had just said the wrong thing, as hers were spitting brown sparks. "So that's all I am, is a fucking project."

"Bella, I didn—"

She cut him off. "No need to explain. Just ask your damn questions, and be done with it. Thank you for everything you've done, but if you'd like to do the rest by phone, I won't tell your teacher." She angrily pushed her chair back and went into the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Bella, that wasn't what I meant."

She whirled around, almost colliding with him, as he had followed her. "Oh, just admit it, Edward. You're only here because of your stupid project, and you're only being nice to me because you pity me. Well, I don't need your damn pity, or anyone's, for that matter."

At this rate, he was never going to get his project done. "I know you don't want pity, Bella, but that doesn't mean you have to be a bitch to everyone who's nice to you. Do you have so many friends that you couldn't use one more?"

She stayed silent.

"At first, yes, you were just the subject for my project, but then I got to know you, and I want to be your friend, Bella. But if you don't want that, then fine," he said angrily, before packing up his stuff and walking out of the door.

Bella was stunned. Shocked. What the hell just happened?

Edward had finally had enough of her attitude and called her on it, and she found that she didn't want him to leave; she wanted him to stay. It was finally obvious to her that he did not look at her as a pity case. Maybe he really did want to be her friend. He had told her that he had never met anyone like her in the pizza parlor, and he had seemed genuine.

Could men be trusted? More importantly, could Edward be trusted?