Dopamine High (Carlisle Cullen)

Ten

Lorelai was officially back to work, surrounded by white walls and bustling staff. Nurses fluttered in and out of the emergency room, helping patients who wouldn't stay longer than twenty-four hours. Being a nurse had always been Lorelai's passion, it had been her goal since she was a young girl.

However, because of her recent arrival back, Maggie thought it best that Lorelai worked the office desk since the usual desk-worker had come down with a case of the measles shortly before her recovery was completed. She didn't have the loveliest start to the day. First off, the elevator was down, but today had been the one day Lorelai decided to wear heels to work, wanting to start her time back right, so she had to walk up three flights of stairs to get to her floor. Following that was when Maggie broke the unfortunate news that she would not be allowing Lorelai to shadow her because she would be on desk duty.

Her third, and so far, final problem, however, was how the desk had been left in such disarray that papers randomly fell off the desktop and became strewn across the floor.

It was only eight in the morning, but Lorelai just happened to be working a twelve-hour shift.

Hence, that is why Lorelai was tucked beneath the desk, collecting fallen papers as she tried to organize the mess that the former desk-worker had caused. Lorelai sighed, resting back to sit on her calves, some hair had fallen from her pins making loose curls fall in her face and stick to the slight perspiration on her skin. How she was sweating in a hospital, she was unsure.

Hyperhidrosis?

Premature menopause?

Heart failure?

Diabetes?

Lorelai pressed a hand to her forehead, eyes widening slightly. What if she had been putting too much sugar in her tea? When was the last time she peed? Was she going more frequently? She was hungry, but she thought that may have been because she skipped breakfast by mistake, what if it was something else? She hadn't been sleeping very well, that was a common symptom of premature menopause, she didn't think she had been experiencing mood swings, but who was she to decide what consisted of a mood swing?

Lorelai went to stand, but instead, her head bumped the edge of the desk and she winced, falling forward, her hand catching the ground only for a sharp pain to tingle in her palm. She jerked back, "Ouch!" She yelped, her eyes darting down to examine her palm, there was a tiny speckle of blood peaking up at her. She glanced down at the ground, eyeing the thumbtack on the ground. This is why organizing was necessary, she thought to herself with a sigh, her uninjured hand going to rub the top of her head.

"Are you alright?" A soft, delicate voice inquired with mild concern. Lorelai glanced up, looking into golden eyes that seemed extremely familiar, owned by a beautiful woman with dark, caramel-colored hair and a heart-shaped face. Her eyes were wide and kind, her lips had a natural upward curve to them, telling Lorelai she smiled often, and she dressed modestly, yet fashionably. In a deep purple blouse and a pair of dark gray slacks that hugged her curvy figure, she was shorter than Lorelai by maybe an inch. She was beautiful, and Lorelai could quickly assume who she was, especially after a subtle glance at her hand that told her she was married.

This was Esme.

Esme Cullen.

Carlisle's wife. Lorelai was a tad surprised that Esme seemed a bit older than Carlisle, only by a few years, of course. If Lorelai had not been so comfortable in her own skin, she may have felt inferior to the beautiful woman. A smile stretched across Lorelai's features, small but genuine, despite the guilt in her chest. "Yes, I'm okay. I just slipped is all. This desk is a mess." She chuckled softly, rising to her feet. Esme looked at her with a heart-stopping amount of kindness, a white smile was pointed to Lorelai, "Are you here to see the doctor?" Lorelai questioned, her brown orbs examining Esme's golden-colored eyes, her mind had begun to run, again.