AN – The characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

Welcome to kateocd and kerry-b!

I'm going to post more at the bottom, but I want to apologize for the gap in posting.

Enjoy!

Chapter 11 –

Emmett

"How was your lunch with Bella the other day?" I asked Edward after we sat down for lunch the day after Rose's and my housewarming party.

"It was good. Sorry for not inviting you, by the way," He responded stirring his tea with his straw.

"Not an issue, dude. I was swamped getting ready for my interview and proofing some other pieces so it was best I stayed at the office anyway."

"Have you talked to Bella at all since then? I noticed she was a lot more relaxed and comfortable around me last night than she has been in the past."

"Not that I can think of. We've been so busy at the magazine lately that we really haven't had the time to chat. Though now that you mention it, she did seem different on Friday and yesterday. Maybe you being an unrelentingly charming bastard has finally started having an effect on her?" I winked at him so he knew I was just playing with him.

"It's possible, but I think it's more than that. I'm not complaining, of course. It's great. I'm getting kind of tired of holding back around her, you know? It's exhausting having to keep myself in check all the time making sure I don't over-do the attentions I give her."

I thought for a moment, staring at the paper placemat that detailed the Chinese astrology symbols. Hehe, year of the Cock. Wait, we're serious right now.

"Maybe it's time you stepped up your game. The Bella I've seen the past couple days is a lot like the Bella that I knew when we first met. Which means she's a lot more self-confident outside of work than she has been recently. Maybe she won't completely dismiss your attentions now," I finally said. "Now, that doesn't mean that you should go overboard on her ass and name a star after her or whatever romantic bullshit you may have bouncing around in your head. Just, you know, don't 'hold back', as you put it, so much."

Edward nodded in thanks to our poor waitress when she dropped off our food. I thought she was going to have an aneurysm when she walked up to our table to take our orders and saw the Cullen boys sitting there. Her eyes bugged out of her head and she flushed noticeably. Yeah, we have that effect on the ladies.

"I would never name a star after Bella," Edward huffed defensively.

"You get my point, though? You're the hopeless romantic of the family and to someone who isn't used to the big gestures like Bella it could be a little…overwhelming."

"Yeah, I get your point. And I do believe dad takes the title of Hopeless Romantic in our family. How can you forget his proposal to mom? Or their 25-year anniversary? I mean, the man has her name sewn on the inside collar of all his scrub tops for Pete's sake."

"You know, I asked about that one day and he told me it's because it calms him during surgery to have her so close to his heart. You have to admit, the man is smooth." I added, taking a bite of my lo-mien.

"We did have a great role model in our father," Edward agreed.

"Did you know that I was born in the year of the Cock?" I asked Edward, who choked on the drink he was taking. "I mean, it makes sense, right?"

"What the hell, Em? You can't just bust out with that shit when I'm taking a drink." He laughed trying to mop up the tea he spilled down his shirt.

We finished lunch with light-hearted banter after that, being completely immature asses when we got our fortunes and added "in bed" to the ends.

"Excitement and intrigue follow you closely wherever you go… in bed!" I declared reading mine – making sure to eat the cookie first, which is the proper way.

"A thrilling time is in your immediate future… in bed!" Edward read his, barely being able to finish before bursting out into laughter.

Our waitress looked at us funny when she returned our credit card slips, making a hasty retreat when she took in Edward's giggling. The dude may be all sorts of smooth with the ladies and have a panty-dropping grin, but he giggles like a damn 13-year-old girl when he gets started. Granted it doesn't happen very often, but once something sets him off, it's hard to stop him.

Five minutes later he finally composed himself to occasional hiccups of laughter and we made our way out to the parking lot.

"Care to tell me what all that was about? I mean it was a funny fortune and all, but not really worth that sort of reaction," I asked, eyeing him carefully in case he started up again.

"It struck me as funny because it's so not going to happen," He chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "At the rate I'm going, it'll probably be 2012 by the time I have sex again."

I started to say something, but he must have seen the brother bear in me rear up in Bella's defense.

"No! Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy to wait for Bella, and believe me when I say there's nobody else I want to be with, but damn. I feel like Sisyphus right now, rolling a damn boulder up a hill when it comes to her."

"I know it has to be frustrating, but it'll be worth it in the end." I still felt the need to protect her.

"I know, man. I know." He patted my back.

We said our good-byes after that and headed our separate ways for the day. Rose wanted to go to Target and look at stuff to redecorate the house with (apparently there is "too much testosterone" in the house) and then she needed some help working on Roxy.

* * *

"You got a minute, Em?" Bella asked tapping lightly on the doorframe to my office.

Since I was staring off into space daydreaming, I hadn't heard her approach and nearly jumped out of my skin when she spoke.

"Yeah, sure. Anything for you, B!" I said, still flustered.

"Good daydream?" She smirked at me and moved into the office and closed the door behind her.

I coughed out a response and shuffled some papers around on my desk. Truth was, I was remembering how Rose showed me just how much she likes working on her car last night.

"So, I wanted to talk to you about something non-work related, but since we've been so busy lately it's been hard to catch you alone." Bella looked slightly awkward and was holding an envelope in her hands.

"Whatya want to talk about?" I asked leaning back in my chair.

"Well, I actually wanted to thank you. For everything you've done for me over the past year. I was a wreck when I broke up with James and even during our relationship I wasn't the best friend to you. You stuck with me when I was a mess and did everything you could to help me get through it. It sounds kind of weak after everything you've done, but thank you," She blushed and looked at me from under her eyelashes.

I was up and around my desk before I even thought about it and gathered her into my arms.

"Baby girl, there's nothing to thank me for. But if it makes you feel better to thank me, then I accept. You're very welcome."

"Um, Em? You're kind of crushing me," She wheezed.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that!" I laughed and released her.

She sniffed and nodded her head.

"Aw, muffin. Don't cry! You know I can't handle it when women cry!"

"I'm sorry. This is a lot more emotional than I thought it would be," She replied after taking a deep breath and collected herself.

"What brought all this on?" I asked.

"Alice beat some sense into me – figuratively, of course. Though I wouldn't put it past her to use physical violence if she didn't make her point otherwise." She chuckled. "She actually just reinforced some of the things I was already feeling but her 'emotional intervention' as she put it made me realize how much you guys have done for me."

"I had noticed you have been acting more like your old self the past few days. I'm so glad you're coming back to us, Bells. So, you're over this whole James thing?" I asked.

"Oh, most definitely. If the asshat ever comes near me again, he's going to experience what I learned from the self-defense classes Charlie made me take a while back," She grinned and winked at me. And I believed her.

"That's fantastic," I said, taking her into another hug.

"Oh! I almost forgot. This is for you," She said, handing me the envelope she had been holding when she walked in.

"No fucking way! You're serious?" I asked when I opened the envelope and found two tickets to the Seahawks' first home game.

"I know it's a few months off, but I wanted to find a way to show you just how much I appreciate you."

I was feeling awfully appreciated recently with Rose's… enthusiasm for car repair and Bella's sudden epiphany.

"This is amazing, thank you Bells!" I gathered her up for yet another hug and laughed when she choked again.

"Ummm, Em? What's in your ear?"

"Huh?" I asked and reached up and ran my finger along the folds of my left ear. I blushed when I realized it was motor oil.

"Do I even want to know?" She asked.

"Probably not," I laughed.

"On that note, I have to get back to work. We're starting to get the proofs from the photo shoots we've had so far, and I have to go through them. And you have to finish revising your copy for your interview with the good Judge." She pointed at me.

"Aye aye, boss lady!" I snapped to salute and opened the door for her. She swatted at me playfully and made her way back down the hall to her office.

"Watch out for bumps in the carpet!" I yelled after her.

"I'm thinking of a finger, Em!" She replied without turning around.

Well, that was unexpected. At least now I had a few answers from my conversation with Edward yesterday. The relief I felt at realizing she was back to the way she was before douchbag was immense. I was so happy to have the old Bella back, and I got football tickets out of it!

I can't believe she thought that I wouldn't have stuck with her when she needed me. The great thing about Bella and all of my friends is that we never took each other for granted. We had a great rapport and even though we teased each other a lot, it was all done out of love and everybody knew it.



Again, I want to apologize for the length between posts. Sadly, real life came and bit me in the ass the past few weeks and it was hard to sit down and write this.

Bella's journey is a very personal one for me, and a lot of my motivation for James is taken from my most recent ex-boyfriend, who has recently decided to crop back up and make life harder than it should be. It was hard to deal with my literary James and my real-life one as well.

Plus, I wasn't really happy with the second half of the last chapter I wanted to make sure that this chapter was back up to the standard you lovely readers deserve. I feel this one, while short, does that.

Thanks for hanging with me! I appreciate each and every one of my readers!