Okay guys-for those of you who follow me, this story will probably disappoint you. I'm straying from my normal Jasper/Bella comfort zone to try my hand at an Edward/Bella story. Fair warning.

Thanks a caboodle to CatieLardin and booty492 for doing this so fast for my impatient butt. So...be gentle. I'm going canon. For a minute, anyway.

This is only a prologue, hence the shortness. Give it a try. tell me what you think.

I always hated the smell of the institution. The cleanliness, the structure, the white walls-all of it was a nightmare to the senses. I walked in and stopped to chat, briefly, with the orderly manning the front desk. She smiled politely and handed me the file, which I flipped open in the lobby while waiting for the Attending to brief me.

Doe, Jane

Police officers found her wandering out of the woods, clearly distressed. Appearance indicated that she had been there several days. Officers attempted to discover what had happened, victim wouldn't speak. She had no ID on her. After an unsuccessful attempt to get a statement, law enforcement officials determined that she may be a danger to herself. Victim was brought here on April 21st, 2005. Age was estimated to be 17-18 years.

Issues/Complications: Mute.

Five years. Jane Doe, as they called her, had been here for five years, and nobody had managed to discover a single thing about her. No name, nothing about her past, not a single word. The hospital called me in because I had handled a similar case in the past, and they thought that perhaps I could do this young woman some good. I wouldn't know if there was a chance of that until I got in to see her. It was only a few minutes later when, who I assumed was the Attendant, came out to greet me.

"Dr. Cullen-thank you so much for coming. The patient is just down here; follow me." He leads me to a set of double doors, swiping his card and pushing them open quickly. "I'm not sure if you'll be able to get through to her-nobody has been so lucky since she got here-but we know you have a history of cases like this, and it's worth a try." He was walking briskly; eager, I assumed, to get this started. It didn't look like I'd be getting much of a briefing from him. I supposed that there probably wasn't much to brief, if all attempts at speech coercion had failed.

We reached the end of the hall, and he pointed to the door on the left. "She's in here. Please, take your time…she's very docile. If you need anything, please just let me know." He pushed the door open, motioned for me to enter, and left. Docile. He referred to her as if she was an animal. I couldn't blame the girl at the moment for not wanting to speak to him. I let my eyes drift around the room slowly; white dresser, no pictures on the wall, no flowers, nothing. The girl had nothing. I wasn't prepared for what I found when I actually looked upon the girl I was here to see. I was expecting to find a blank expression greeting me; one that I had seen so many times before. Instead, I find a girl with long chestnut brown hair and wide brown eyes looking at me expectantly. Her lips curled up into a half-smile, and her hand raised to wave an informal greeting. She's quite responsive, I thought to myself as I sat in the chair next to her bed. She watched my every movement, tilting her head to the side and bringing her legs up to fold underneath her as I sat.

"I wish I knew your name, I'd like to know what to call you," I said, watching her facial expressions change. She raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. "I suppose I'll have to call you Jane, since that's what they label you as. Jane Doe. I'm Dr. Edward Cullen. So Jane, I suppose you know why I'm here?" She nodded. "Jane, you don't belong here-I can tell." She actually quirked her eyebrow at me, as if to say 'that's not going to work on me'. "Don't look at me like that. It's true. All I needed was one look at you to know that. They'll let you out of here. All you have to do is speak." I watched her expectantly. Her eyes met mine and the look in them was so beautifully desperate that I had to hold back a gasp. She was telling me that she wanted to. She just couldn't. Her eyes pleaded with me to understand. To let it go.

This girl was desperate for help.

She just didn't know how to get it.

Jane Doe's POV

It's cold in here; I wish they'd just turn the heat on and be done with it. I can hear people in the hallway, they're getting pretty close to my room. Fantastic. Probably another doctor for me. You would think after five years they'd just give up and let me go. My door was pushed open-thanks for knocking, by the way-and the regular guy and a new guy walked in. Holy Hell, this guy is not bad looking at all! That hair is nice…and the body isn't too shabby…not at all. I watched the regular guy walk out of the room and leave me with the new guy. He gives me the normal speech: Wish I knew your name, I'm blah blah blah, do you know why I'm here? I tell him, in the only way I know how, that Yes, I get this. I am not new to this procedure. Please carry on, Dr. Cullen. Dr. Edward. Dr. whatever I decide to call you.

He goes on about how I don't belong here, and all I have to do is talk! Well no shit Sherlock, I thought you were a doctor! I tell him that I know. It's not going to work. If it worked, it would have worked by now.

All I have to do is speak. I look at him and tell him that my God I wish I could, but I can't! I try and tell him that I really, really want to, but it's just not going to happen. I just…can't. He sees it in my eyes, I know he does, because he backs off. He's not going to give up though, I can see that much in him. Well, Dr. Edward, it's your loss. I've got all the time in the world.

I doubt you do.

I'm a lost cause.

I have no words.