chapter┊ ✦. :: one
♡ ﹙hospital﹚  ❋ ˚ ݂ ꛒ

When Lydia woke up that morning, she was frantic. She had overslept and it was already very late. Last night, she had forgotten to plug in her phone, and it had turned off. She got up as fast as she could and changed clothes. She didn't want to make a bad first impression, but it was already too late to fix herself up enough, and being late wouldn't help at all.

She grabbed her robe and packed her surgical scrubs along with anything else she might need into a backpack. Once in the car, she drove carefully due to the heavy rain. She couldn't stop cursing quietly all the way. Why did this have to happen to her on this particular day? Every two seconds, she glanced at her wristwatch or the clock on the car dashboard, and when she realized there were only five minutes left, she accelerated a bit more.

Upon arriving at the hospital, she parked the car in the parking lot and ran out to avoid getting too wet. At the entrance, a security guard looked at her curiously, and Lydia nervously smiled. That man had a furrowed brow; he knew everyone in that small town, and a stranger stood out quite a bit. Lydia timidly nodded in greeting and entered the place.

It wasn't a very large hospital, but boy, was it busy. She approached the reception nurse, but the nurse didn't seem to notice her when she was in front of her.

"Hello," Lydia greeted cheerfully, a big smile adorning her face.

The woman looked over her glasses, quite bored and somewhat tired.

"Can I help you with something?"

Lydia smiled. She had to stay positive even on her worst days.

"Yes, I'm looking for..." she glanced at the paper in her hands, "Dr. Roberts, Maia Roberts."

The nurse looked at her curiously.

"The director?"

"Yes. I'm Lydia, the new doctor," she explained with a big smile that revealed her teeth.

The nurse nodded with a small sigh. She seemed quite tired.

"Give me a minute, I'll tell her you're here."

"Thank you."

Lydia observed the name tag hanging on her lab coat, Marlene, that's what it said. And right below it said: "head nurse." She immediately knew she had to get along with that woman if she wanted to survive in that place.

The nurse picked up the phone next to the computer, and Lydia didn't hear what she said, but she was staring at her intently.

"She's coming," Olivia said, returning to her work and not looking back at Lydia. But just a few minutes later, a very elegant woman appeared. She must have been around fifty, but she looked quite radiant. Although her mere presence was quite intimidating. She approached Lydia and gave her a tired but friendly smile.

"Lydia Knox, right?" she said.

The named nodded with a big smile.

"Yes. You must be Dr. Roberts. We spoke on the phone a few weeks ago."

"Yes, I remember. Come, I'll show you around."

It wasn't a big hospital, so the tour was quite fast. They only had the basics and essentials. Maia indicated to her that in special or more complicated cases, they sent the patients to Seattle to be treated since they didn't have many specialties. She also introduced her to the staff and mentioned that she had to enter from the back just like the other doctors to check in.

"There's a small common dining area where patients and staff can eat, but there's also a dining area just for doctors," they walked down a long hallway, "here are the women's changing rooms, inside there are showers and bathrooms. If you want, you can go change, and I'll see you at reception to continue talking," she took something out of her lab coat pocket and handed it to Lydia, "this is your badge, you better carry it always, with this, you'll also be able to access the staff parking lot."

"Thank you. Then I won't take long."

Maia nodded and left Lydia alone in the changing rooms.

🫀

Carlisle Cullen looked at himself in the mirror as he adjusted his tie. In a few minutes, he had to go to work but he couldn't find a tie that pleased him. In the end, he chose a dark blue one with white stripes. It went well with his white shirt and navy blue suit.

The man loved his job more than anything in the world, although he probably loved his family even more. But the truth was that he had fallen into a rather boring routine. He was an immortal capable of doing whatever he wanted, but he was sure he wouldn't like to be anywhere else than there, although he also felt he needed something more, something that would make him feel alive again. Not literally, because he was already dead. He just wanted some excitement again. Being over three hundred years old made experiencing new things quite unusual, but he was always open to whatever.

He left his room when he was ready and headed to the living room, where some of his adoptive nephews were gathered, waiting to go to school. He gave them a short smile and then walked to the kitchen, where his brother and sister-in-law were. Evander was in front of the computer, probably working, and Esme was on the phone, probably working too. He bid them farewell by raising his hand so as not to interrupt them; both returned the gesture with a smile, and Carlisle headed to the garage.

He was about to open the door to his nice Mercedes when he saw Alice entering the room. He looked at her worriedly, but seeing her mischievous smile, he realized nothing was wrong.

"What's up, Alice?"

She approached a little closer, looking very excited.

"Carlisle, when you get to the hospital... could you wait two minutes and thirteen seconds before getting out of the car?"

He looked at her with a furrowed brow.

"Any particular reason?"

"You'll thank me later."

The blonde smiled and nodded. There was no reason to distrust Alice. Although it was a very specific request.

"Alright. Then I'll see you later."

"Have a nice day."

He got into his car and drove off. Normally it would be a thirty-minute drive, but in just ten he was already reaching the hospital parking lot, ready to help people. According to Alice's instructions, he looked at his watch and waited.

He barely opened the car door when something strange happened. A peculiar scent reached his nostrils, one he had never smelled before. The typical scent of blood, medicines, and antiseptics of the hospital was present, but there was also a subtle scent of grapefruit and honey, it was peculiar, and he was sure that if he had smelled it before, he would never forget it.

He carefully took out his lab coat and put it on. At the back door, there was a guard, Franco was his name. Cullen gave him a friendly smile as he entered, more focused on reaching the source of that pleasant aroma. He tried not to seem desperate or impatient, but he really was. He couldn't even hear the nurses greeting him flirtatiously as usual.

He was about to reach the reception, where the scent had become stronger when one of the nurses stood in front of him. Carlisle recognized her as Sarah.

"Doctor Cullen, good morning," she greeted. The man could hear her heart racing from

how nervous she was, apologizing for bothering him so early, but the patient in room fifteen escaped and ate three packs of cookies, so their surgery would be rescheduled for tomorrow. Also, the patient in room ten made some effort and reopened his wound. Finally, could he sign this discharge form?

She handed him the clipboard with the document along with a pen. Carlisle took it and gave her a smile before quickly reading the sheet. When he finished, he looked at Sarah and handed her the document.

"The form isn't complete. Do you mind filling it, Sarah?"

The woman blushed and looked nervously at the document, almost scared of making a silly mistake. Everyone wanted to impress the great Dr. Cullen.

"I'm sorry, Doctor Cullen, I'll fill it out now."

He kindly shook his head.

"It's alright."

The nurse hurried away, and Carlisle finally turned around to follow the trail of that sweet aroma. He took only a couple of steps when someone crashed into his chest. He took the small figure in his hands to prevent her from falling and looked at her in surprise. It was her, it was the scent of that girl.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, stepping back.

He was in a kind of shock, as if suddenly his entire existence made sense, and the self-control he had formed since his conversion had been useless. He had never felt that little control before, but he fought with all his might to stay in place.

"It's okay," he replied kindly. And she hurried away quickly. Carlisle watched her go, wanting to follow her, but Sarah returned to hand him the discharge form.

"I really apologize for my mistake, Doctor Cullen."

He shook his head with a small smile.

"It's okay, Sarah. Even the best of us make mistakes."

The nurse quickly walked away, and Carlisle turned around to approach the reception, where Olivia and the stranger were talking quietly. From his place, he saw her badge. Lydia Knox. Doctor. He casually walked up to Olivia and smiled at the nurse behind the computer.

"Hello, Olivia. Good morning."

The woman let out a nervous laugh.

"Good morning, Doctor Cullen," she looked at him while trying to hide a sigh, but those dreamy eyes betrayed her.

Carlisle then looked at Lydia, who was also looking at him with narrowed eyes. He could perceive the beating of her heart, and it was quite calm. Generally, he made people nervous; he was used to that, but she didn't seem even a bit flustered. To be honest, Carlisle felt disappointed and intrigued.

"Hello, I'm Carlisle Cullen," he extended his hand, "we bumped into each other earlier."

Lydia seemed to examine the man, then remembered she had her hand extended and quickly took it. It was very cold but firm.

"A pleasure. I'm Lydia Knox, the new doctor."

"It's a pleasure indeed, Miss Knox," Carlisle smiled kindly, but she still had no reaction.

Then Dr. Roberts appeared.

"I'm sorry, Lydia. There was a problem in radiology, and I had to go fix it," she saw the blonde and also smiled, and even seemed to rejuvenate a few years, "Doctor Cullen, I see you've already met Doctor Knox. She's our new addition."

"Yes, we just introduced ourselves. I hope you have a good stay here, Doctor Knox."

"I appreciate it, Doctor Cullen."

"Then I'll leave you. There's a lot of work to do. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know."

The three women watched him walk away. Lydia then decided she didn't like that man at all. Surely he was an egocentric and arrogant person. Maybe she was judging him too quickly, but she had dealt with so many men like that, it was like a pattern.

"Come, Lydia. I'll continue showing you everything. As you can see, we are somewhat short-staffed, and your arrival is a miracle for us," they started walking, "here, car accidents or animal attacks are quite frequent. So you better prepare yourself to see a lot of blood."

"I'll be fine."

They arrived at the emergency room. It was a fairly large room with several stretchers on both sides, each covered with a curtain, although at that moment there weren't many patients.

"The nursing staff takes care of almost everything, and they'll call you if it's a more severe case, but you can help with whatever you like. You and Cullen share the shift; your schedule is from eight to eight. You have to leave all your paperwork in order so that the doctors on the night shift are aware of everything."

"I understand."

Maia handed Lydia a pair of gloves.

"Enjoy your first day at Forks Hospital. If you need me, you know where my office is. If I'm not there, you can consult anything with Dr. Cullen."

And then she left Lydia alone. She sighed a bit before approaching a stretcher and reading the file.

🫀

It was around three in the afternoon when Lydia headed to the common dining area. She still didn't know anyone well enough to go to the doctors' dining room, and yet she sat alone at a table while she enjoyed the horrible hospital food. It was better than not eating at all.

Someone took a seat next to her; it was a nurse. She recognized her by the name of Cristina. She smiled from ear to ear at Lydia, and Lydia frowned.

"Hello?"

"Hi, do you mind if I sit with you?"

She shook her head.

"Not at all."

"Thanks," she settled in and started eating, "I also arrived just three months ago, and I can't quite fit in. Everyone here already knows each other, and I feel out of place. Also, they've told me I talk too much, and not everyone likes it."

Lydia smiled.

"It's okay. I also like to talk a lot," she took a bite of her food, "where are you from?"

"I lived in Texas," she explained, "I wasn't the best in my class, so it was a bit complicated for me to find a job, and here in Forks, they hired me without asking for much, so it was my best option," she closed her eyes tightly, "just so you know, I'm not bad at my job. In fact, I've learned a lot here, so please don't think I'm incompetent."

Lydia let out a short laugh and placed a hand on the nurse's shoulder.

"I would never think you're incompetent; I'm sure you're very good at what you do."

Cristina smiled timidly.

"Where are you from?"

"Well, I actually grew up here and then lived in London for a while. When I returned, I lived in Minnesota for a bit and had some problems, so coming back to Forks was my best option."

It was a small dining room, so it was easy to see Dr. Cullen entering with another doctor Lydia had been introduced to as Thomas.

"Isn't Doctor Cullen very handsome?" Cristina spoke, looking at the blonde with a big smile.

Lydia looked at her confusedly, observing Cullen just like the majority of the hospital staff. As if he were some kind of celestial being. Of course, she couldn't deny for a moment that the man was very attractive, and those golden eyes were very

captivating, but there was nothing else to say that he was a special man.

"I guess," she looked at him while taking another bite of her food, "do you know him well?"

She came out of her reverie, and her attention turned to Lydia.

"Not really. He's very reserved, kind, but doesn't interact much with others."

Lydia nodded.

"Do you know how old he is?"

She thought for a second.

"I'm not sure. I heard Olivia say he was very young, maybe twenty-six or twenty-seven. I've been here for a short time, so everything I know is from what others say."

"He really looks very young. And it seems like everyone respects him."

"That's true. The doctor is very kind to everyone and does a spectacular job."

Carlisle listened attentively to that conversation; it wasn't exactly intentional, but his great hearing complicated things. Besides, his name was involved; how could he not be interested in that? The man turned to look at both girls; he saw Cristina blush and look away, then saw Lydia, who just rolled her eyes as she looked away too. He smiled to himself and returned his attention to Thomas.

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