Chapter 4

As quickly as the scream left her mouth, Charlotte's body was filled with regret when she saw what was in front of her.

Peter had absolutely scared the living daylight out of her. Instead of being stowed away in the playhouse outside, battling the rain, he was tightly curled up into a ball near the edge of the bed. The weather must have gotten bad to make him sneak into the house at some point during the night. She took a second to look over him; the tightness that came with his usual worry had vanished, but he began to stir; most likely the aftermath of Charlotte's sudden scream. It was then she heard the stomping of feet racing up the stairs, pulling her from her daze.

She had to act fast.

Peter yawned and opened his eyes to take in the now light surroundings. His search for visuals was cut short when he was met with the force of his six- year-old roommate, charging him from across the bed like a linebacker.

His eyes widened as the small girl dove at him, causing them both to fall off the far side of the bed. They hit the carpet with a thud, Charlotte sitting on top of Peter proudly. He was fully awake now, shock overwhelming his once peaceful face.

"What the hel—"

"Keep your mouth shut! If Mom hears a swear word, I'm gonna owe her money from MY swear jar." Charlotte clamped a hand over Peter's mouth, silencing him as she continued, "stay down! My grandma is coming! Shhh!"

Charlotte's shushing was cut off by the sound of the door ripping open. Renee burst into the room, eyes scanning every crevice for Charlotte.

"Charlotte?" She asked, "what is the matter?"

Charlotte popped her head up from the hidden side of the bed. Renee put a hand on her chest at the sudden appearance of her granddaughter.

"Nothing, Grandma; what do you mean?" Charlotte asked, batting her large, doe eyes in the direction of her grandmother.

"Well, why did you scream?"

"Umm… I was out of glitter. I thought I had pink glitter to make something for Mommy, but I don't." Charlotte lied easily, frowning up to her grandma.

"That's all? Well, when it lightens up a bit outside, I can take you to the store to get some."

Charlotte was in the clear, she thought. She grinned and nodded her head eagerly.

"But who were you talking to? I thought I heard you saying something."

"Grandma, isn't it a little early to be hearing voices?"

Renee huffed and rolled her eyes.

"You're worse than your mother at your age." Renee turned back to head downstairs, leaving the little girl in her bedroom. Once she heard the creaking of the stairs, she jumped back on her bed, glaring at Peter who was still as stone, glued to the carpet.

"What are you doing up here… in the house?" Charlotte said.

"Uh… the rain got really bad last night. It came through some areas of the little playhouse. I… I didn't want to get sick outside. You told me where your room was yesterday so I thought I would come and sleep on the floor."

"You were in here all night? My mommy was in here this morning!" Charlotte said, scared about what would happen if her mom were to discover the boy in her bedroom.

"I was in the… closet most of the night. I hid under the bed when I heard footsteps this morning." Peter confessed, moving to sit up and cross his legs, still looking at the floor.

"Is that why my blanket and the lion were there?"

Peter half-smiled and nodded, "I didn't want your toys to get ruined in case they got wet."

Charlotte laughed as she looked over at the closet, "well you are brave! A lot like the lion in Wizard of Oz—that's a good book. My mommy read it to me before. I could never have spent the night in the closet by myself."

Peter froze with fear, the flashbacks that struck him the previous evening circling around in his head. Even worse, he pictured the small girl in his place, stuck in the closet. It sounded like her mom was kind, but the ice-cold fear still ran down his spine.

He shook his floppy, dirty hair, running his hand through it—a habit he'd picked up from his uncle. "I'm not brave. I'm… afraid of closets."

Charlotte smiled at him, jumping down towards the floor, "It's alright, Peter. My mom tells me the monsters aren't real."

The cafeteria was bustling with doctors and medical staff parading quickly through the line; cell phones glued to the ears of white coats and blaring pagers strapped to the scrub pants of individuals running to answer them. The hospital chaos made Bella thankful she brought her lunch for this particular, thirty-minute lunch break. She found an empty, secluded table near the back of the room away from the hustle and bustle.

She was five minutes into blowing on her steaming rotini when two chairs skidded across the floor, signaling that she was no longer alone. Bella looked up mid-chew, brushing the hair behind her ear that was falling from the knot at her nape. She glared at the blonde menace now across from her. Mike's hubristic smile was met with a dramatic eye roll. She sighed before acknowledging the quiet doctor directly to her left. It was the new MD from earlier in the day; the kind one, who helped her pick up the charts from the floor while cracking jokes the entire way down.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, Bella thought to herself.

The man must still be getting used to this place because, from their brief meeting earlier in the day, he didn't seem the type to hang around Mike Newton's hospital, trashcan posse. She raised her

head to look at him once again, but not before realizing her mistake. His forest green eyes met hers, and she felt her heart rate increase. A gentle smile came upon his face as he remembered their amusing first encounter. The smile didn't last though. Instead, it formed into a playfully, smug smirk as Bella's eyes widened at her acquaintance. In an attempt to save herself from further embarrassment, ( or from ruining her hospital scrubs), Bella looked away from the beautiful man and back to his less-than counterpart.

"Newton, and Edward, was it? What brings you to my lair?" She jested, looking down to stab a noodle from her container.

God, she thought. What was this, high school? Despite her sarcastic comment, she could feel the heat building in her cheeks. It was a trait that gave away all her emotions; especially to her family. Bella briefly tried to imagine Charlotte and Renee if they were sitting at the table, laughing at her expense. Though she was sure her daughter would be the first to reveal her mother's embarrassment. Filtering wasn't her child's best ability.

Edward let out a laugh, opening his own container of green leafy bits for lunch. Newton adjusted the cafeteria tray in front of him.

"Edward here wanted to meet some interesting people during his lunch."

"And you immediately thought of me?" Bella deadpanned.

"Well, I also wanted to talk to you about last night," Mike added suggestively, wagging his brow.

From the corner of her eye, Bella could see a grimace flash across Edward's face. It was apparent he didn't want to be part of or intrude on whatever 'moment' his tablemates were going to engage in. She watched his eyes trail over to the door as he bit his lip. His eyes flashed back towards her just as she was moving her own away.

Bella scoffed and rolled her eyes. Again.

"You mean last night when you tried to corner me in the parking garage? Mike, I really don't want to do this. We went out once, a long time ago, and Charlotte didn't like you. I'm trying very hard to be civil with you, but you sure as hell know her opinion reigns above everyone else's, including my own; which of you, is diminishing very quickly."

Before Mike could respond, Edward saw his chance to jump into the conversation, a silent flutter of relief running down his spine at her answer. Bella could see he was desperate to change the topic, probably eager to avoid some sort of confrontation on his first day.

"Who is Charlotte?" Edward asked, looking genuinely interested. He smiled at her, eager to see her smile again like she had earlier in the day.

"She's a little brat—," Newton was cut off by the shrill screech of his pager. "Damn it! I have to go. You gonna be okay making it to the meeting?" He asked Edward casually.

Edward appeared uneasy about the initial part of Newton's response. Was he going to just sit there and blatantly insult her loved one, whoever this girl was? He shook his head before muttering a disinterested, "yeah."

Edward turned his head back to Bella, ignoring Mike as he continued to gather his things to leave.

"Charlotte is my daughter. She'll be seven next week, and she's very wise for her age," she replied. "She thinks she has to look out for me. And Newton just can't take no for an answer."

"Ah, like Charlotte's Web!" Edward laughed, smiling again. "That was one of my favorite books as a kid."

Bella smiled and laughed. Charlotte's Web was one of her favorite books as a child as well, and a fresh wave of a new emotion swept through her body. She liked this new doctor; he was thoughtful and humorous. It would be nice to have him around, she thought. Someone to actually have nice conversations with that weren't about other men working in the hospital. She hoped someone else wouldn't snatch his attention by the time she comes back to work in a few days.

"What happened if you don't mind me asking?"

Bella smirked before launching into a tale revolving around Dr. Newton, her snarky six-year- old, and the grocery store clerk.

The rest of the half hour was full of conversation, and getting to know one another. She learned Edward was a doctor from a few hours west, coming to a smaller town to get away from the rush. He wanted to settle down eventually and didn't think he wanted to do that in the heart of the windy city.

He learned Bella grew up not far from here and stayed local to be near her family. She talked about her daughter; the love and passion evident on her face whenever she spoke about her little girl. Though he didn't ask directly, there was no implication that Charlotte's father was in the picture.

He liked it when she laughed; smiling looked good on her. Her passion for her family was almost by rivaled by her passion for her work as a Physician's Assistant. Though his mind raced to other areas of his life where she could assist him, he kept his face relaxed. It had been a while since he met anyone he could be interested in, but as their conversation continued into the lunch hour, he found himself retreating back to that thought.

As their time together was drawing to a close, Bella asked a question that had been bothering her. Edward was supposed to begin work a few months ago but had delayed his arrival for some reason. The already, short-staffed ER department had called for lots of overtime to cover the position change. It wasn't that she was unhappy to work, but she was curious what could cause him to push back his start date, especially having a bit of inside knowledge about the salary and benefits the new doctor had been offered.

"Weren't you supposed to indulge yourself in the goodness that is small town living a few months ago?" she smiled at him, reassuring him she was asking out of her own curiosity and not for the sake of the hospital rumor mill.

"I was, yes, but I had some personal stuff arise." He tried to smile back at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. Something flashed in his head, and it was clear that whatever it was bothered him. Bella could not bring herself to ask before the shrill beep from Edward's watch rang out, signaling the end of their time together.

"I'm sorry, Bella, I really have to get to this meeting." Edward stood, towering over Bella even more so with her still. She sincerely hoped she didn't upset him. He seemed to be in a rush as he rose, grabbing his Tupperware and heading out of the cafeteria.

Bella looked down at what was left of her lunch. Guilt crept up her spine, and suddenly she felt no better than some of the prying nurses down the hall. Her own beeping watch made her release a sigh as she put the lid on her container.

She didn't hear him until he bumped the table with his arm.

Edward had come back, one hand running through his hair and the other shoved into the pocket of his white coat.

"Did you need help getting to the meeting?" Bella questioned, looking up to meet his eyes. Though the hospital isn't that big, she thought to herself.

"Actually, I was seeing if you would be interested in grabbing a coffee sometime… when we're off the clock. White hospital cafeteria walls don't seem to be the most stimulating environment for conversation." Edward spoke quietly and nervously, tearing his eyes away from her to look at the floor.

Bella laughed softly, her guilt from before fading away.

"If I'm coming on too strong or sound like Michael, then you can just…" He trailed off.

She pulled out a small prescription pad from the pocket of her jacket, scribbling something on it before tearing it off and holding her hand out to him from the table.

"I really hope this isn't a prescription for X anax," he said, frowning and taking it from her.

"Ah, yes, the other fun blues." She winked, standing, and heading toward the doors.

He stared down at the ten digits on the piece of paper, chuckling to himself before following her towards the hall.