Hey guys!

Yeah, I know, I'm a useless useless author, but you wouldn't believe how little inspiration I've had lately. Promises that I'll get back on Forget Me Not sometime in the near future, but right now I've got something new for you :)

I've wanted for a while to do something in short-ish chapters that are like snapshots, so this is just a set of drabbles I've set across 10 months - Edward's gone away on business, they're trying long distance, and it's all from Bella's perspective :) It'll come as a different day each time, counting down until the end, and it may jump from week to week, unsure as to how many chapters I want yet. AU, AH, as always, and I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer - Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer :)

Read on, my brave warriors!

9 months, 3 weeks, 5 days

"Bella, you have to stop moping around," Alice observes around her straw from her spot next to my bed, kicking me in the side, "Get up. It's not healthy."

"Go away," I moan, dragging the words out into my pillow which is pressed against my face, making the words stumble out, muffled and groggy. "How the hell did you get in here, anyway? I locked the door, and no one else has the keys."

"I told the super you hadn't come out in two months and that I was worried you had died." I can feel her evil grin even though all I can see is blue fabric, "I threw in a smile and it worked like a charm. It is New York, after all. Things like that do happen."

"It's been two days, Alice," I grumble, "I'm surprised he believed you. Then again," I turn onto my back, taking a deep breath to deal with the lack of air and staring at the ceiling instead, "I'll bet he hasn't been out of his apartment in four months. And also," I look over to glare at her, "That's technically cheating. You'd better hope I don't call Jasper."

"My," Alice's juice box makes a sucking sound as she pulls the last dredges of juice from its depths, raising her eyebrows at me, "Aren't you just a bowlful of sunshine today?" I'm about to grace her and her stupid smirk with another grumpily sarcastic reply that perfectly reflects my mood when the phone rings. Alice cries out, her chair tipping backwards as I suddenly fling myself off the bed and out the door, the phone out of its holder before she can even stand up.

"Edward?" I state at once, internally praying that it's him and not another one of those guys selling toner; his low chuckle makes me feel warm inside.

"Hey, love. How are you?"

I say the first thing that comes to mind, sinking down to the floor. "I miss you," I declare, my voice suddenly weak and flimsy, as if he's right there playing with my respirational system instead of nearly four thousand miles away, on a different continent, and he laughs again.

"I miss you too...how long has it been?"

I don't even have to glance at my watch. "Two days, three hours, and forty-three minutes. And twenty-two seconds. Twenty-three now."

"Twenty-four now," he carries on, and I can hear the smile in his voice, "We're getting closer."

"Not close enough," I sigh – and then I groan, leaning on my side up against the stiff arm of the couch, "Oh, Edward, I miss you so much!"

"I know, love," he says, sighing too; he already sounds tired, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," I tell him, not wanting to make him feel guilty, not when it was me who forced him to go. He'd been so excited before he found out how long the placement at a leading research hospital in Germany was, and there was nothing I could do against the disappointment on his face when he did. So I made him, and now here I am alone in our apartment, and even though I hate it it's of my own choosing.

Alice is right when she mouths you're crazy across the room at me.

I sit and listen to his breathing for a while as I twist the phone cord around my finger, before I say, with forced brightness, "So, how's it going over there?" We launch into conversation, and I hardly notice Alice leave, I'm so engrossed in the phone. Before either of us know it, it's been two hours and Edward is losing sleep – he finally tells me this, sounding reluctant, just as I don't want to hear it. "Alright," I sigh, trying not to beg him to stay on the phone, "You sleep...just make sure to call me as soon as you get the chance, ok?"

He chuckles, "Ok. You try to leave the apartment in return, Bells – I don't want any calls from Alice telling me you've been holed up in there moping. Go out, have fun." He knows me too well, and he laughs again as I begrudgingly agree. "I love you," he says, and I smile a little, holding the phone as tenderly as I would his hand.

"I love you too. And I miss you."

"I'll call soon, I promise."

"Ok," I say mournfully, and with one more goodbye I press the phone down, because I know I'll never hang up unless I make myself. I spend the next hour selfishly crying and feeling immensely sorry for myself, but then I take one look in myself in the mirror and decide that this is no way for a modern woman to be behaving, even if she is helplessly in love with her absent boyfriend.

Putting Edward out of my mind, I impulsively pick up the phone and call Alice, brush already halfway through my tangled hair. "Alice," I say decisively, "Drop everything. We're going out."

Review? Don't worry if you don't know what's going on, I barely do either. Yay for confusion!

Love y'all :) ATO xxx