A/N: All characters belong to . I just like to play with them and make them do pervy things sometimes :).
A/N 2: Thanks to AceMcKean, Twilight44, and Sunsetwing for their awesome beta/pre-reader services.
A/N 3: Wow the reviews for this have been awesome and make me so happy. I had over 50 for last chapter. If you can do that again, I'll have an outtake for you. Congressman Royce King Jr.'s wanted to have his say after mizzymarii set that plot bunny loose in my brain.
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I cringed at the sound and ducked my head into Emmett.
"What the fuck?" Emmett asked. "Was that a gunshot?"
I nodded my head against him. I had heard that sound before.
"Bella, Baby are you okay?" he asked me.
"He had kids, Em," I said, starting to cry. "He had two kids that he loved. That loved him."
"Shh," he soothed, wrapping his arms around me.
I just sobbed against him, finally feeling the weight of the day. He just held me, whispering into my ear, how much he loved me. I didn't notice when everyone else left, trying to give us some privacy, or anything else. I just stood in my husband's arms and cried. When I had finally emptied myself of tears, I looked up at Em.
"I'm sorry," I sniffled.
"Why are you sorry?" he asked me.
"You are covered in tears and dried blood..." I said without looking up at him.
He used his hand and pulled my chin up so I was looking at him. "Nothing is more important to me than you. The shirt can be cleaned or tossed. I don't care. I love you and I am just thankful that I got to hold you again."
"I was so worried about you when I was in there," I told him honestly.
"You were locked in a room with a gun toting lunatic who had already shot one person, and you were worried about me?" he asked.
I nodded my head.
"Sweetheart, I was worried about you," he said. "The only danger I was in out here was meeting your daddy without you, and thankfully he was too concerned about you to say more than a few words to me."
The tears started again as I looked up at him. "I didn't know if I was going to get to see you again," I told him.
"I knew I would see you again," he said. "I couldn't believe otherwise."
He wrapped his arms around me and kept cooing sweet nothings to me. In his arms I was safe and I stood there relishing the feeling. I could have stood there forever.
"Excuse us, Sir, Ma'am," a young officer said, putting his head in the door. "We need to bring Dr. Swan-Cullen in to be questioned."
"Dr. Cullen," Emmett corrected, making me smile. "Can't it wait?"
"No, Sir," he said.
"She's been through one hell of a day," Emmett said as I felt him tense against my body. "What she needs is to get home, have some food, a nice relaxing bath and a sleep before any of you ask her anything more."
"Sir, procedure..." he started to say.
"Is Royce King dead?" he asked.
"Yes, Sir, but..." the officer started to say.
"There is absolutely no reason why the interview needs to be conducted now. Did you know that she hasn't eaten since before seven o'clock this morning? Combine that with all the stress that she's been through, and I need to take care of my wife before you ask her anything," Emmett said firmly.
"Sir," he started to argue.
"Officer, I appreciate that you have a job to do. I do, too. My job is to take care of my wife, and I take that job very, very seriously. My family has gone to arrange a meal for all of us. Now, I know that Police Chief Charlie Swan is talking to some of your people. Since he is her father, I will allow him, and only him, to overrule my decision. If you choose not to go that route, my wife and I will be at the station at ten o'clock tomorrow morning," Emmett said, firmly.
"Yes, Sir," the officer said, with a big sigh.
"Are you ready to go, Beautiful?" Emmett asked as the door closed behind the officer.
"Where?" I asked him.
"To the estate?" he replied, more as a question than as a response.
"Won't there be reporters outside, Em?" I asked. "I am covered in blood..."
"Sweetheart," he said. "I'll make sure that you don't see a single reporter, and that none will see you. Trust me?"
"I do," I said, looking up into his eyes.
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. "Oh, thank God," he said.
"What?" I asked him.
"They had all cell signals blocked. I couldn't get a line out at all," he said.
"You called me a few times," I said, confused.
"I did," he said. "That was before they jammed the signals."
"So leaving my cell with Royce did nothing?" I asked.
He simply shook his head no.
"He wanted to talk to his son. Do you think they would let him?" I asked.
"Maybe. It depends what the negotiator on the phone would allow," Emmett said.
"All I know is that the negotiator got a play-by-play of the entire event," I said.
"What do you mean?" Emmett asked.
"When the phone rang, Royce asked me to answer it. I did. I talked to them for a bit then placed the phone down, face up, so they could hear everything that was going on in the room," I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"That's perfect," he said. "They wouldn't tell us much, only that the situation was calm. They kept clapping Charlie on the back and telling him what a smart daughter he raised. That was brilliant, Baby."
There was a knock on the door, and Carlisle peeked his head in.
"Emmett," he said, still sounding uncertain.
"What?" Emmett asked, bristling slightly under me.
"We have a limo in the garage so you can take Bella home. The garage is clear of reporters and Felix is driving," he said.
"We're clear to leave?" I asked.
"When your father heard that they were trying to insist upon interviewing you tonight, he just about blew a gasket," Carlisle chuckled. "Before he was done, all the officers were kowtowing to him. The man can be scary when he wants to be."
I just nodded and smiled slightly.
"Where is he staying tonight?" I asked.
"We offered him a room at the estate. Jake is staying there, too," Carlisle answered.
"Oh, okay," I said.
"I'll see you two tomorrow," Carlisle said. "Demetri is picking the rest of us up."
"Thanks, Dad," Emmett said, cradling me to his chest. "Ready to get out of here?"
"Almost," I said.
"Almost?" he asked.
"I have to do something before I leave," I said.
He looked at me for a moment, maybe judging how firm I was on this thing I had to do before I left. He finally sighed in resignation, apparently seeing that I wouldn't be swayed. "As long as I can stay with you," he said.
"Works for me," I said, taking his hand and walking towards the door. It was a lot harder than I expected to open the door and walk out into the halls again. I don't know what I was expecting or why my heart raced the way it did, I only knew that I was not going to walk towards the area where I had spent my day, and where Royce took his life. Instead, I lead Emmett past the officers that were still lining the halls to a small service passage that connected the two towers of the hospital. It was reserved for staff only and I was thankful that it was deserted. Once we were on the far side, I led him down three flights of stairs.
The hospital was quiet, far more quiet than I'd ever seen it, and I realized a lot of patients must have been moved to other floors, and other hospitals to avoid the incident with Royce. The few people that I did see all looked at me with a combination of awe, and macabre fascination. I guess my attire did nothing to minimize their curiosity, only making it more intense. As we exited the stairwell, it became obvious to Emmett where we were going, if he hadn't figured it out before.
There were medical staff all over this floor, the Intensive Care Unit, and I nodded or waved to everyone we passed. I was thankful that nobody approached me and wanted to hear my story, I wasn't ready for all of that. I walked to the desk, looking for a nurse. I needed to know how Alex was doing.
"Dr. Swan?" a young surgical resident asked, coming out of the office behind the nurses' station.
"Hi, Dr. Simon," I said softly. "It's actually Cullen now. This is my husband, Emmett."
"Hello, Mr. Cullen," she said politely. "I'm Dr. Simon."
"Nice to meet you," he said. He had a hold of my hand and he wasn't going to let me go to offer his hand to Dr. Simon. She didn't even seem to notice as all her focus was on me.
"Did I hear correctly?" she asked, staring at me. I felt myself bristle slightly under her intense gaze.
"It depends what you heard," I said, shrugging my shoulders and mentally preparing for her questions.
"That you were being held at gunpoint up on 7East," she said, cutting straight to the point.
"Yeah," I said, looking to my blood-caked clothes. "That's definitely true."
"Holy shit! Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes getting as big as saucers.
"I have certainly been better, but at least none of this blood is mine," I said. "That's actually why I'm here. I came to check on Alex."
"I just came from his room," she said, leading us down the corridor to the window outside his room. I looked in to see him, tubes and wires coming from every bit of exposed skin. Emmett stood behind me silently, pulling me into his arms.
"What's the prognosis?" I asked.
"Honestly? He's one hell of a lucky man. He lost a lot of blood and he was really torn apart. It took them six hours to get anywhere but he made it through with flying colors. If it had happened anywhere but at the hospital he wouldn't have stood a chance," she said.
I sighed in relief, knowing that Edward and I had done the right thing. I was so focused on the man in the bed that I hadn't seen his ashen faced wife, sitting beside him. She must have seen me at the window, because she stood up and waved slightly, moving towards the window.
"Bella," she said as she stepped out of the room.
"Sandy," I said, hugging her awkwardly. "How are you holding up?" it was only awkward because Emmett maintained his hold on my hips, needing the contact as much as I did, I think.
"I don't know," she replied, tears filling her blue eyes. "The doctors say that he is doing well, but I'm so scared."
"He's in great hands here," I said.
"I know," she said. "How did this happen? Why Alex?"
"I don't know," I responded, more to the second question then the first.
"This was supposed to be a safe job. He had wanted to be a cop, but I said I couldn't take it. It was too dangerous. This was supposed to be safe. I thought he was safe here," she sobbed.
"Shh," I soothed, pulling her close. She held onto me, sobbing onto my shoulder as both Dr. Simon and Emmett moved back, giving us some space. She recovered her composure, sniffling somewhat as Emmett grabbed a box of Kleenex from the small table nearby, offering it to both of us.
"Is it true?" she asked as she dabbed her eyes.
"Depends what you're asking," I said, not wanting to get into this with her but she needed answers. I steeled myself to provide what information I could.
"That it was Congressman King?" she asked. I looked at Emmett for confirmation of what I was supposed to say, he nodded and mouthed that it was all over the TV.
"Yeah," I said.
"You were there, right?" she said, looking at me with her tear filled eyes, as the tears once again started making tracks down her cheeks.
"Yeah, I was about two feet away," I said, feeling a tear slip down my cheek as well.
"Did he... did he say anything?" she asked, her lip trembling as she twisted the Kleenex in her hand. She didn't bother to try to dry the tears that flowed down her cheeks.
"No," I said. "I'm sorry. He dropped so fast..." I couldn't say anymore as I could feel the panic begin to rise in me. I had dealt with everything to that point and I could feel the weight of the situation finally resting on me. I felt like my knees were going to collapse from under me as I struggled to stay calm. Just when I thought I was going to land in a heaping puddle of tears on the floor, Emmett wrapped me in his arms, pulled me in tight, allowing my back to rest against his chest. When I didn't have the strength myself, he gave me his. I looked up to him and gave him a smile, mouthing "Thanks", before I turned my attention back to Sandy.
"Is that... Is that from Alex?" she said, motioning to my blood-caked clothes.
"Yeah," I said, looking at her sadly as she blanched at my confirmation. "Right after he was shot, I was right there and I had to do what I could, trying to stop the bleeding before Dr. Edward Cullen was able to get him out of the room."
"I met Dr. Cullen... he came down here to check on Alex about thirty minutes ago," she said.
I smiled and I felt Emmett give me a little squeeze. Neither of us were surprised by Edward's actions.
"Who is with your kids?" I asked her.
"My mother," she said. "She's here visiting from Victoria right now. She was trying to help me since Alex was working such long hours, trying to get in all the overtime he can, so that we could get out of our apartment and into a house. He wanted the kids to have a yard."
My heart lurched at her confession and I felt so sorry for both of them as they had struggled to make a better life for themselves and their kids
"If you need anything, give me a call," I told her. "Oh... I can't give you my cell phone number... I don't have it right now,"
"Here's mine," Emmett said, writing it down on a piece of paper that Dr. Simon provided.
"Don't be afraid to call," I said to her.
"Thank you, Bella," she said, smiling sadly. "Thank you for helping him."
"Any time," I said.
She returned to the room and Dr. Simon looked at me, obviously wanting to ask a question.
"How did you know they had kids?" she asked finally. I expected her to ask something medical, or more likely something to do with what had happened in the room, not that.
"Let me ask you a question," I said to her, deciding that honestly was better than the snarky comment that I wanted to use.
"Okay," she said.
"You've been here for a little over a year, right? How many people do you know at the hospital?" I asked her.
"Quite a few," she answered.
"Not just a person you can say hello to in passing, but people that you know something about, outside of the hospital," I clarified. She seemed to be thinking about my question, which was what I wanted. She could have been flaky about it and refused to listen to what I was saying.
"Maybe twenty," she said, shrugging. "I know a lot of the other interns and residents, plus some of the attendings on the surgical floor."
"How many of those twenty are nurses, janitors, security guards, lab techs or other support staff?" I asked her. She pursed her lips, obviously thinking about it. Emmett paused and wrapped his arms around me again.
"Maybe two..." she said.
"Why?" I asked her.
She seemed to ponder my question before she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she said, almost silently.
"Every person here has a job to do, and without any one of them, I couldn't do my job effectively. What makes me or my job superior to a nurse, or even a security guard?"
"I never thought about it like that," she said.
"Everyone deserves to be validated, to think that they are important to you. It doesn't matter if the person is the janitor that keeps the floors clean, the lab tech that works to find us the results on tests we order, the nurse that does all the grunt work when we need things done, or the security guard who tries to insure that we have a safe place to be. Without any one person, this whole place would fail," I said.
"Wow," she said, looking at me.
"How many times have we spoken before today?" I asked her.
"I don't know, maybe a handful," she said.
"And until I introduced you to my husband, what did you know about me?" I asked.
"I think you said you went to school in California... Stanford, maybe?" she said, questioning her last statement.
"That's right," I told her. "Do you want to know what I know about you?"
"Okay," she said, looking rather speculative.
"You went to school at Washington State, fighting against boys who assumed they were smarter than you because they outnumbered the females in your school 8 to 1. You graduated with honors and were offered many different placements but chose here to be close to your boyfriend, or fiance by the look of the tan line on your left hand. You guys have been together for over four years. He just got a permanent job at Children's Hospital and you guys are looking for an apartment somewhere in between the two hospitals as you are hoping to get posted here when you complete your internship," I said.
She simply gawked at me.
"I didn't even think you'd remember my name," she said.
"I do, Claire," I said. "I chose to call you Dr. Simon as a formality."
"Thank you, Dr. Cullen," she said.
"That's just your co-workers," I said to her. "Imagine how your patients will feel if you take the time to learn things about them, how much fear and anguish you can calm if you talk about their kids, or even their cat. When a patient isn't just his or her condition, or a case, they are more at ease and easier to deal with."
"I never..." she said, trailing off.
"Don't be afraid to let people know that you care," I said to her.
"I won't," she said. "Did they teach you that at Stanford?"
"No," I laughed. "Just a life lesson I learned in Forks, Washington."
She smiled at me and I smiled back, leaning into Emmett for support.
"I guess I should let you go, now," she said. "You look dead on your feet."
"I feel it, too," I said. "Have a good night."
"Nite," she said replied, not turning away.
Emmett turned us and guided me down the hall away from the ICU, quietly, following the signs to the elevators. Every time we passed someone, I felt their eyes on me and I snuggled into Emmett for support. Once we were inside the elevator he pulled me in so I could lean on him again.
"You are an incredible person, Mrs. Cullen," he said as he rubbed my back.
"I love you, Em," I said leaning into him further, feeling myself relax completely.
"I love you, Bella," he replied. "You've taken care of everyone else all day. It's time for me to take care of you."
"I..." I started to try to argue, but he lowered his head and kissed me softly.
"Please," he said. "Let me."
I couldn't argue anymore, partly due to the emotional exhaustion of the day, and partly because it sounded perfect. I didn't respond to him except to allow my body to melt into his. When the elevator opened to the parking garage, Emmett swept me up bridal style and carried me to the car. I didn't protest at all.
The limo was the same style as the one we had used in Vegas and I blushed as he tucked us into the back of the car.
"What's got your beautiful cheeks so flushed?" Emmett asked, grinning at me. Damn, I love those dimples!
I bit my lip and smiled up at him before responding. "This is only my second time in a limo," I said, blushing further as I admitted that... well, that and the memory of my first limo ride.
"Really?" he asked, grinning widely.
I nodded my head, shyly, and ducked my face into his side. He pulled me up so I was straddling his lap and smiled at me.
"Don't hide from me," he said softly. I bit my lip and fought the smile that was threatening to break through. He moved his thumb to pull my lip from between my teeth.
"Did you enjoy your first limo ride?" he asked, showing me his dimples again.
I nodded my head, looking him right in the eyes. I could feel the blush burning on my cheeks.
"So did I," he said, grinning wickedly, making my cheeks burn even more.
Our moment was interrupted slightly by the driver's voice coming through the intercom.
"We need to wait for the police to clear a path through the reporters before we can leave the garage, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen," he said.
"Thanks," Emmett responded, pushing a button to speak.
"Are we going to the estate?" the driver asked.
"Yeah," Emmett responded, using the button again. "Straight to the garden house, please."
"No problem, Sir," the driver responded again.
Emmett leaned back against the seat, bringing me with him. "I want to take care of you right now, but if we stay in this position much longer..." he said, groaning at the end.
"What?" I asked, grinding myself against him.
"Please," he begged. "Let me take care of you first."
"This is taking care of me," I said, leaning against him and kissing his neck.
I felt the car start to move and looked up in surprise. Emmett took that opportunity to move me from his lap and cradle me into his side.
"Hey," I said. "I was enjoying that spot."
"So was I," he growled. "A little too much."
As the car moved towards the exit of the parking garage, I could hear the noise and I cringed into Emmett's side. The police had barricades up, keeping people back, but as soon as the limo moved into sight, they began to push against them. Once we were fully outside, the flashes began to go like crazy. I was cringing into Emmett's side.
"Shh," he whispered against me as he wrapped both arms around me. "They can't see us. We'll be past this in a few moments." I trembled in his arms, keeping my head buried against his chest and my eyes squeezed shut. I could feel the car begin to move faster and the noise outside the car become practically non-existent.
"Thank you," I whispered to Emmett.
"Anytime," he said, kissing my forehead.
I relaxed into him and tried to bring my heart rate down.
"Do you want to talk about it?' he asked.
"It's almost like I can't believe it's over," I said.
"What happened in there? Did he hurt you?" he asked, sounding almost pained.
"How much did Edward tell you?" I asked him.
"All he could say was that you were stubborn," he said. "He said he tried to keep you out but you wouldn't listen. Then he told us that after the guard was shot that he begged Royce to let you go but that Royce wouldn't hear of it."
I decided to go back to the beginning and tell him all about our run in with Rosalie in the morning, followed by my medical visit. Before I got to the part where Royce came bursting in, I remembered what Edward had said about honeymoon time.
"Hey," I said to him. "I heard something from a certain brother-in-law about a honeymoon."
"If you want," he said. "We could go anywhere and just focus on being together."
"I do want that, Em," I said, smiling at him.
"Really?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said. "We'll figure out where when we get this all behind us."
"I like that idea," he said, squeezing me tightly.
I went back to my story after that, telling him about seeing Royce running past us. I explained that I couldn't let Edward face it alone and how I ran in after him, even though he had begged me not to. I told him all about what had happened from the time we got into the room until Alex was shot, and how hard his brother had tried to get me out of the room in his place.
"If Royce wasn't dead, I'd kill him," he grunted, fighting his anger.
Then I told him about what Royce had said to Rosalie and how she had reacted to everything he had to say.
"I want to feel sorry for her, I really do," Emmett said. "But she has hurt everyone around me so much. I can't bring myself to get there."
"Maybe she'll change for the better," I said, actually hoping that she would for the sake of her child.
"You are far too good," he said, kissing my forehead. I finished telling him about the rest of our time in the room, how Royce seemed to have a change of heart and let us go. Then I told him how I'd left my phone with Royce so that he could talk to his son.
"He just let you go in the end?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said. "He knew that he had lost everything and didn't want to hurt anyone else. He opened the door to let us out of the room and I shoved Rose out before I left, knowing that he didn't care one iota if she lived or died."
"I doubt most people would care if she lived or died," he muttered.
"I do," I said, looking at him.
"Of course you do," he said, shaking his head. "You are entirely too good."
"She had a rough deal, too," I said. "She had parents who obviously cared more for themselves than her."
"So did Jasper," he argued. "Yet he is one of the most kind and gentle people that you will ever meet."
"Very true," I said. "Rosalie could have gone the other way, but that doesn't mean she deserved to be treated that way, or that she deserved to die."
"You're right," he said. "But I will never like her, no matter what you say."
"I can live with that," I said.
"So what happened once you got out of the room?" he asked. "We heard the commotion but the officer guarding our door wouldn't tell us anything."
"Once I walked out, I was practically tackled by the SWAT team, they pulled us down the hall, and started asking questions. I answered a few but I told them I needed to see you and they finally allowed me to do that. You know the rest from there."
"I was so scared for you, Bella," he said. "I would have done anything to get you out of there."
"I know," I told him.
I could feel the car slowing down and looked out the window. We were nearing the entry gate to the estate and there were swarms of reporters here, too. I buried my head against Emmett, but kept my cool. I knew that they couldn't see me, and I also knew that once we were inside, I would be completely safe.
Two guards opened the gate as the car approached and opened the gates to allow us through. I breathed a hell of a lot easier once we were on the forested path to the house. As much as I still distrusted Carlisle, I knew that I was safe here.
We sat in a comfortable silence as we wound up the driveway, bypassing the main house and pulling up to a driveway directly behind the garden house.
"Come on, Beautiful," Emmett said. "Let's get you taken care of."
Emmett got out of the limo when Felix opened the door, thanking the man before reaching in to help me out. Once my feet hit the ground, he swept me into his arms bridal style and carried me towards the house with Felix leading the way. Once Felix had the door opened, Emmett carried me in as Felix bid us good night and closed the door, locking it behind him. Emmett carried me up to the bathroom, finally placing me down, sitting me on the large bathroom counter.
"Bath or shower?" he asked me.
I looked down at my hands and said, "I need a shower."
Emmett turned and moved to the large shower enclosure, pressing the buttons to get the water started. Once he did that he turned around and placed a kiss on the tip of my nose, before dropping down and pulling my shoes from my feet.
"I'm sure I can undress myself," I said to him.
"You could," he said. "But I want to do this for you."
Who was I to argue?
He moved from my shoes, to my stained lab coat, which he pushed off my shoulders gently, kissing me on the neck. He moved from there to unbutton the blouse I was wearing and then my pants. He began to move to unsnap my bra, but I stopped him.
"Please," I asked him. "Will you join me in the shower?"
"If you wish," he said.
"I do," I said. He moved quickly to rid himself of his clothes, refusing my offer of assistance, so I just sat back and watched as he stripped to nothing. Once he was gloriously naked, he returned to me and undid my bra. Then he helped me down to the floor and slid my panties down my legs. Once he stood up, he pulled the elastic from my hair, allowing it to cascade over my shoulders.
He smiled down at me and took both of my dirty hands in his, and he led me into the shower stall. He moved me so that the spray from the shower head washed over my body. I leaned back and closed my eyes, allowing it to soak through my hair as he moved to grab some body wash from the ledge. The familiar scent of the strawberry body wash assailed my senses and I opened my eyes, looking at Emmett in surprise.
"Alice," he said, smiling softly. "After she came to your apartment, she decided that she would buy you a few things for here, so you're comfortable."
"I'll have to thank her," I said softly. He poured some of the wash onto his massive hands and took my left arm and began washing from the hand up. Once he reached my shoulder, he repeated the action with the other arm.
"Emmett," I said, looking at him as he poured more of the wash onto his hands.
"Shh," he soothed, moving me from the spray and sitting me on a small heated bench in the corner. Once I was sitting he lifted my left leg and started with my foot, washing up my thigh, once he had done that he moved to my other leg. As close as he was to the apex of my thighs, he avoided the area. I had no doubt that he wanted me, the physical evidence of that want left absolutely no room for doubts, yet he remained a gentleman. Once he was finished with my legs, he offered me his hand to help me stand. Once my hand was in his, he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly. I smiled shyly at him. I had never been cared for in this manner. Once I was standing, he returned to the body wash one final time, pouring some into his hands and bringing them up to my shoulders.
I can't begin to describe the feelings that coursed through me as he washed me so tenderly. The love that he felt for me was demonstrated fully in the way his hands caressed me. He did not want anything in return, that was evident, and I felt myself fall infinitely more in love with this man that I still hadn't known a week.
Once he was content that my body was clean, he opened up the bottle of shampoo and proceeded to wash, then condition my hair. As he rinsed the last of the conditioner from my hair, I felt the tears begin to form in my eyes.
"Did I hurt you?" he asked, concern marring his perfect features.
"No," I whispered, not trusting my voice anymore than that. "You are perfect. These are not sad tears."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"One hundred percent," I said. "I love you, Emmett, more than I can even tell you."
"Come on, Beautiful," he said, lifting me up. "Let's get you dry and fed."
We stepped out onto the mat where Emmett's care of me continued. He grabbed a smaller towel for my hair and handed it to me while he began to dry my body. Once he was certain that I was dry, he bundled the towel around me and grabbed a second for himself, drying off quickly before wrapping it around his waist.
He led me by my hand back to the bedroom and directed me to the closet. "I don't know what's in there for you, but Alice said it was completely stocked. I'll be right back." I padded into the closet and looked around. Half of the closet was full of Emmett's shirts and suits, the other was full of dresses, skirts, blouses and a few pairs of slacks, all with tags still attached. I was certain that I didn't want to look at the prices. Along the back there were two chests of drawers, which I assumed would contain the more casual clothes. I opened the top drawer of the chest on my side, and noticed it was full of lingerie. I reached in and grabbed a pair that actually looked like they would cover something, white lacy boy shorts. Once I slipped those on I tried to find something casual to wear.
Apparently, Alice doesn't do casual and I moved to Emmett's drawers to see if he had anything. His second drawer was filled with white cotton undershirts and I slipped one on, hoping he wouldn't mind. As I pulled the shirt over my head, my wedding rings, which had been on the chain around my neck, jingled. I quickly slid them off the chain and placed them back on my finger. I walked back out into the bedroom, drying my hair a bit more, and wondering where my towel-clad husband had disappeared to.
"Shit," Emmett said, standing in the middle of the room, staring at me with wide eyes.
"What?" I asked.
He didn't speak, simply stared at me. Then I realized that I was wearing his shirt, and I wondered if I should have asked first.
"Should I not wear..." I began to ask.
"Isabella, you can wear whatever you like, believe me. I just really like the way you look in my clothes," he growled, pulling me against his bare chest.
I blushed and bit my lip.
"Let me grab something to wear and we'll go down and eat," he said as he dropped his towel as he walked into the closet, giving me a lovely view of his sexy ass.
"Were you checking me out, Mrs. Cullen?" he asked cheekily from the closet.
"Hell yes!" I answered, sitting on the bed to wait for him.
The sound of his laughter proceeded his return to the room as he came out wearing a pair of sweats and a white wife beater.
"That's so not fair," I said, pouting at him.
"What?" he asked, sweeping me into his arms for a kiss.
"The most casual thing I could have worn in there was still silk and probably completely indecent," I said with a mock scowl.
"I can send Demetri or Felix to get you somethings from your place if you need it," he said. "I wish I could promise to just bring you back there to get what you need, but after today the press isn't going to relax anytime soon."
"They could get some of my stuff?" I asked, hopefully.
"Yeah," he said. "Just tell me what you need and I'll make it happen."
"Thank you," I said, kissing him.
"Let's get you fed, before I decide to stop being a gentleman and take you to bed. You look positively sinful in my clothes," he said grinning.
"Mr. Cullen, are you trying to seduce me?" I asked with a really bad southern accent.
"Later, woman!" he growled. "Let's get you fed."
He swung me up into his arms again and I squealed and protested, acting like I didn't want him to carry me. I think both of us knew the truth, but it was fun to play the game. He carried me down to the kitchen where two plates of food sat on the table, covered by silver plate covers like you'd see on a room service cart.
"I hope it's still warm," he said.
Whatever was under those domes smelled heavenly and my stomach growled loudly, letting us both know that it had been far too many hours since I'd last eaten.
"It could be frozen and I'd still eat it," I said, as Emmett set me down in my seat. He opened the lid on my meal and a little steam escaped the still warm plate. I looked down at the plate, barbecued chicken, fettuccine and green beans, and then smiled up at Emmett. The plate was filled with my favorite comfort food, something we had spoken about at my house that first day. It had seemed so insignificant a discussion, yet seeing everything sitting here on the plate... It was probably the best meal I could have asked for.
"You remembered?" I asked him.
"I remember everything you say," he said smiling at me.
I teared up as he moved to sit next to me, "Thank you," I whispered to him.
"Don't cry, Sweetheart," he soothed.
"It's just... nice," I said.
"Nice?" he asked.
"To have someone to take care of me," I said, tears slipping from my eyes.
Apparently Emmet couldn't stand the sight of my tears and he pulled me up onto his lap to cuddle me. After a minute, my tears dissipated, but neither of us was anxious for me to move, instead my dinner was brought next to his and we spent the next twenty minutes in silence, eating together.
After dinner was eaten, Emmett refused my offer to clean up.
"Someone will be by in the morning to take care of it," he said, sitting back a little.
"I hate the thought of someone needing to clean up after me," I pouted.
"Just this once?" he asked, grinning slightly at me, so his sexy little dimples were on display.
"You aren't playing fair," I said, fighting the smile that was threatening to give me away.
"I never said I would," he said. "After all my wife is sitting here on my lap in my shirt, and I think I need it back."
"You do?" I asked, playfully.
"Yup," he said.
"You have to catch me first," I said, scooting off his lap and dashing for the stairs.
I didn't even make it to the first step before his arms wrapped around me from behind. I squeaked and turned in his hold, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Did you really think you could get away?" he asked lifting me into his arms again.
"Not with the way my legs are atrophying due to lack of use," I giggled, wrapping my legs around him.
"My evil plan is working," he grinned as he started carrying me up the stairs. I just buried my head in the crook of his neck and let him. The feeling of being in his arms was perfect.
He carried me into the bedroom and sat me on the bed, turning around to close and lock the bedroom door.
"Everyone may have keys to the house, but nobody is getting in here," he said, turning around and looking at me.
I sat up and moved my hands to the bottom of his T-shirt that I was wearing, slowly bringing it up.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, leaning back against the door.
"You said you wanted your shirt back," I said, feigning innocence.
"I do," he said, moving from the wall and stalking slowly towards the bed. I tugged the rest off quickly and tossed it at him, leaving me sitting cross legged on the bed in just my white lace panties. He caught the shirt and tossed it quickly onto the floor.
"Didn't you want your shirt?" I asked him.
"Not anymore," he growled huskily. "I see something I want much, much more."
"Oh," I asked. "And what might that be?"
"You," he said, as he reached the bed and pulled me into his arms. "Just you."
He proceeded to show me just that, until we both fell asleep naked in each others arms.
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