Hello there! This is the first story of any kind I have ever written. I don't expect it to be out of this world, I just want to have a little fun. Let me know what you think, and if you have anything constructive to say/help with, I'm all ears!

EPOV

I hated this feeling: disappointment. Disappointment on so many levels; disappointment with myself as a person, a man, and most importantly…as a doctor. I'm in my 8th official month as a triage doctor at Forks General. I did my residency here too, with the prestigious Dr. Carlisle Cullen. It is still baffling to me that I somehow got lucky enough to learn and work with the same man who wrote some of my textbooks. His wife Esme prefers the small town life, so he opened a state-of-the art hospital in Forks, Washington. In the almost 5 years I had now worked for him, Carlisle had become like a second father to me. For someone of his stature he was one of the most generous and compassionate men I had ever met.

"Uh, Edward, you planning to come in tonight?"

Carlisle's question broke me from my thoughts and I realized I was standing in the doorway like a jackass while Carlisle held the door.

"Yeah, sorry Carlisle. Lost in my head I guess," I muttered as I walked into the dimly-lit bar. Jake's is just a hole in the wall, but they've got the best beer on tap and damn good burgers.

"Yo, Edward! How in the hell did ya get Dr. Cullen in here? Shit, doesn't matter. First round's on me. What do you guys want?" Jake asked from behind the bar.

Jake was the kind of person that instantly lightened the mood around him, and his bar reflected his easy going nature. The bar stools were covered in oversized red cushions, with wooden criss-cross legs. The bar itself had various pictures made out of beer bottle lids underneath a glass that coated the whole thing. There were a few tables scattered throughout the place in no particular order, but followed the same theme. And of course, there was an old-time jukebox.

"Give us both a shot of Jack, and follow it up with 2 seasonal Sam's on draft please," Carlisle answered from over my shoulder. I need to get my shit together. I can't even pay attention long enough to order a beer.

"Listen, Edward," Carlisle started, looking me right in the eyes. He was in Doctor/Father mode, and it intimidated the hell out of me to have him use it towards me.

"There was nothing you could have done tonight. James was drunk, and he chose to drive. He had internal and external bleed…"

"Carlisle, I should have checked for internal bleeding first," I started to interrupt.

"I told you to listen, damnit!" Carlisle said, slamming his shot down on the bar.

Fuck… Carlisle never cussed. Even damnit is a stretch for him. I took my shot and looked back at him.

"Sorry, I'm listening."

"Good. Now you had no idea how severe his injuries were, you treated what you saw first. You're not perfect, but you're a damn good doctor and you are going to make mistakes. So drink up, deal with it tonight, and then move on. If you sulk about this any longer, it is going to affect your future patients. You know this already."

"I know…I just…I need a beer." I replied hoarsely.

James wasn't the first patient that I've seen die. It's inevitable. I don't dismiss this fact easily; I just accept it as part of the job. I do my best and hope like hell it's enough. But his wife, Victoria, completely freaked me out. She refused to believe that he was gone. First she blamed me, and then she just snapped. She started talking as if he were right next to her, talking about the "idiot" doctor who tried to kill him. Her mother took her home shortly after that, but the whole experience just didn't sit right with me.

"Alright Dr. Brooding, snap out of it before I put on some Whitney Houston and make you sing karaoke again!" Jake joked as he slid my beer down the bar.

"I'd rather sing a classic 'I Will Always Love You' then your 'Poker Face' Gaga shit anyway, Jacob." I replied.

"Gotta keep with the times, Eddie my man." He shot right back.

"EDWARD fuckin' MASEN! Dad! Hell yeah, this night's starting off right!" Emmett yells as he walks through the door.

Emmett is Carlisle's son and while originally I just knew him by association, he's become one of the guys I know has always got my back, and vice-versa. Esme takes to calling him, me, and our buddy Jasper Hale the Three Stooges... and I can't say that I would argue with the nickname.

"Edward, this is great! I've been trying to call your cell but that shit's turned off. Turn it back on by the way, douche. The girls are here! Well going to be here. We're going out with the girls tonight! Dad, you're welcome to hang but you might want to drink a few more beers if you're going to keep up!" Emmett rattled off eagerly.

"Oh and Jake, I'll have whatever these two are having and give them both another. Just go ahead and start a tab if you don't mind."

Emmett got louder and louder the more he said. He was talking way too fast for me to try and keep up and I had no clue what he was talking about. Nor was I in the mood to figure it out. And I told him so.

"Emmett, slow down and back up. What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked him.

"Dude, it's not that hard. The girls are coming. We are going out with them. You might want to change…I mean some girls go for the scrubs look and all, but I think you want to give Bella a better impression."

Bella. I stopped listening when I heard her name. I had developed a crush on Bella from the first time I met her, although calling it a crush made me feel like I was in high school or something. She lived in Phoenix and was friends with Rose and Alice. Rose is Emmett's fiancé and Alice is my sister, and Jasper's girlfriend. Jasper and I went to undergrad together and once those two met they never separated.

"Shit, I'll be back in 20 minutes," I called back towards Emmett. I was already heading toward the door. "And thanks Carlisle!" I wasn't sure he heard me until I heard him chuckling about that being one way to getting over my brooding.

"They'll be here in 30!" Emmett yelled as the door closed behind me.

There was no point in trying to hide my excitement. Everybody knew how I felt towards Bella, except Bella miraculously. At least she never let on if she did. I ducked my head down to help keep my eyes out of the ever-present Forks rain, and practically sprinted to my car in the hospital parking lot across the street. I only lived about 5 minutes from the hospital, and I think today it took me about 3. I hustled upstairs and took a quick shower and changed into a pair of jeans and a dark blue long sleeve button down with the sleeves rolled up a bit to keep it casual. I threw on my grey New Balances and raced back to my Volvo. As I walked back into the bar Jake, Carlisle, and Emmett were huddled around a stop watch as they looked up at me.

"Ha! 16:26. 20 bucks gentlemen! Cash only. Please and thank you!" Jake was holding his hand out and smiling about as big as he could towards Carlisle and Emmett.

"Damnit Edward, I thought for sure you were going to have to fix your hair and shit!" Emmett complained as he handed over his Twenty to Jake.

Before I could even get pissed for betting on how long I'd take, the door chimed and in walked three of the most beautiful girls you'd ever see, one in particular.

Bella.