A/N: Well Edward knows what is what and they don't have to hide any longer. Probably not the best way to find out, but hey that's the way it happens sometimes. Now the question is what is going to happen next? Has Edward really accepted the relationship? What about Rosalie? Good questions, but you are going to have to be patient to find out what happens next. Enjoy!

Chapter 12 – Judgment of the Father

"Can I ask you a question?" Edward asked quietly. The two men that were standing in the forest with him nodded for him to continue, "How do you really know she is not my mate? How do you know she is really Emmett's?" He was curious as to why they were so quick to side with Emmett against him. He would also admit to being jealous, but he needed to know why they felt they felt they were so sure they were giving Bella to the right man.

Jasper looked at Carlisle and wondered if he was going to take the question or if he should answer it. There were things he could tell Edward that he head of the Cullen family could not in regards to Bella and Emmett as a couple. Carlisle could only explain what it meant to have a mate, the feelings and actions that went along with it. He noticed the furrowed brow of the patriarch and knew he was getting ready for a thorough explanation, he just wondered if Edward would actually listen or scoff at the notion. It wasn't until on truly went through it and experienced it, that someone could understand the real meaning behind the word mate in the vampire world.

Rubbing his forehead, Carlisle gathered his thoughts so that he could try to make Edward understand once again. They had the talk about mates before, but it seemed as if his first son still did not grasp the concept complete; and he wondered if he wasn't confusing his feelings for Bella with the lust of her blood. Sighing, he began the enlightening discussion about true mates, "When you meet your mate there is this instant connection. It is like an unbreakable rope that binds you together. It has some stretch in it so that you can move about, but you keep bouncing back together and can never get away from each other. Once you meet her you feel complete for the first time in your life. Like a missing piece was finally found and you can breathe without struggling now. You feel a lightness in your chest and you know that your world just grew because you have found your other half. You can leave anyone and everyone, but you cannot leave her. To leave her would be like being put to death, and it is impossible to leave without causing both you and her emotional trauma. You find it impossible to leave or to function properly without her. She becomes your world. You would do anything for her as long as it made her happy. That is why we know that Emmett is Bella's mate and you're not son. I'm sorry, but it is the truth. He would give everything up including her if it made her happy, but both of them discovered that they could not be happy without each other. Bella feels it too. The draw is towards Emmett not you. They are risking a lot to be together, but because they are mates, the risk is worth it. Mates are always worth it. It isn't about what you want Edward; it is about what she wants."

"How do you know he isn't fooling you?" Edward probed. He knew what he saw in Emmett's mind, and he knew the other man truly believed that Bella was his mate, but what if he was wrong? He and Bella were happy together before Emmett got involved, so who is to say that Bella didn't really love him and want to be with him, not Emmett.

Jasper smirked. He could feel the jealousy and animosity coming from Edward and knew that the other man had not completely given up hope that Bella could be his. There was no way Edward was not able to read Emmett's mind and see the truth of the matter, and yet here he was still trying to fight the inevitable. Sometimes it was hard to accept the truth and change even when it was staring at you in the face. "Do you want to know why I know he isn't fooling me or anyone else?" Jasper asked as he narrowed his eyes at the younger man, luring him into his trap.

"Of course I do! Although I am not sure why you would think you know the truth versus a lie," Edward snapped.

Chuckling a little before sinking down onto his haunches in front of his brother, Jasper declared, "Because I can feel a lie."

Edward's eyes looked around wildly for a moment before he regained control, "You can't read minds or see the future, so there is no way that you can detect a lie."

"That is where you are wrong brother dear. You see for humans it is easy. The blood pressure tends to go up and the pulse quickens when they tell a lie, among other physical manifestations; however, for a vampire it is a little harder because we don't have a pulse or heartbeat, but we still have emotions. I can sense and feel deception and nervousness. Those are the main feelings that person or vampire will experience when they are lying. You can hide your thoughts, but you cannot hide your emotions. I can also feel when someone is jealous, angry, bitter, and overall feeling betrayed like you are right now. You don't want to believe what we are saying, but I am telling you that it is the truth."

"You think you are so sure?" Edward spat.

Smirking, Jasper answered truthfully, "I am willing to bet my life on it. Bella feels gratitude for you and general interest, but she loves Emmett. She was enthralled with him the moment she laid eyes on him and it never changed. If anything, it grew; but he had Rose and you saved her life. She decided to try to make it work with you. There was always the pull towards Emmett though. Emmett had, and still has, the same feelings towards Bella, but at least he knew what was wrong with him. He believed that she truly loved you and was willing to try to give her up, but when he learned that it was not one sided, he could no longer deny himself his true mate. Do you know what I get from him? I feel love, protectiveness, infatuation, lust, passion, joy, and hope. Bella has the same feelings for him. It bothered him that he would hurt you by claiming his mate and he wrestled with it, but in the end, you cannot deny the pull of destiny."

Edward looked down. There could still be a mistake, couldn't there?

"You are confused. I can understand that, but know this… I am not wrong. You lust after her and her blood. She intrigues you because you cannot read her mind, and that is a nuance that you do not want to easily give up, but it is over. She has made her decision and if you were really mates, you would accept it and want her to be happy. You feel thirsty around her and want to drink. You don't really feel love for her, but I think you have convinced yourself that you have. You have a crush on her, but that has more to do with her blood and her lack of thoughts than it does any real feelings. You are confused when it comes to her and you look at her like a mystery that you are determined to solve," Jasper expounded. Shaking his head, he added one last thing, "When you find your real mate, you will know it. There will be no denying what you feel and what she is to you. She will feel it to regardless if she is vampire or human."

"Are you ok son?" Carlisle asked.

Nodding, Edward couldn't look either of them in the eye any longer, "Yah, but I need some time alone to think."

With a sideways glance at Jasper who nodded that it was ok, Carlisle told him, "Alright. I know this isn't easy for you, but let her be happy. We will leave you now."

Both men stood up and were soon walking away from Edward. They both hoped that he heeded their advice and words because if he pursued Bella, he would lose and they would not be able to stop what happened next.

When the couple walked into Bella's house, Emmett noticed that Edward's scent could be smelled throughout the house and it brought out a possessive feeling in him. Something told him that it wasn't done yet, but for right now it was just them and this moment together. Grabbing her hand, he led his mate into the living room and sat down on the couch pulling her onto his lap and into his arms where she belonged, "Are you sure you're alright?"

Bella smiled and nodded, "I am now." She snuggled into the circle of his arms a little more and rubbed her face against her chest. It struck her in that moment that she hated it when Edward fussed, but for some reason it was different with Emmett. She didn't mind it so much and it made her feel special.

"I'm sorry that everything happened backwards like it did. I never meant…"

Placing a finger against his lips, Bella stopped his mini tirade, "It happened the way it needed to and I don't regret anything. I feel bad that he was hurt, but it was going to happen regardless of how we told him. I feel bad that he found out the way he did, however, I needed to talk to you before I could make some decisions about my life and that is what he walked in on." Bella removed her finger and looked down at her lap, "Sometimes you can't help who you have feelings for."

Emmett used his finger and lifted her chin so that he could look at her face, "That is very true and if destiny decided I should be with you, I have no qualms about it. You are smart, beautiful, and perfect for me."

"Even if I am a clutz and a lowly human that needs to be protected from everything?"

"Well if you are a clutz that just means you get to fall into my arms that much more. We can tell them it was an accident," he sent her a wink before continuing, "As for the lowly human thing… I think you have been listening to a little too much BS that my brother has been spewing. You are human, yes, but you are so much more than that. We were all humans at one point or another, and although it makes you more susceptible to getting hurt, you don't have to live in a bubble. Vampires can die, lose limbs, etc. too; it's just that when it happens, it is a little more traumatic for us."

"Really? Why?"

When you rip off a limb, unless you burn it, well it still lives and will try to find the body it belongs to. It is quite disgusting when you think about it. So imagine feeling your arm moving and touching things when you are in a different room or location as it is. The only thing that will destroy us permanently is fire."

Chills raced up and down her spine, "Yah that is definitely more traumatic than some human deaths, and the limbs… definitely a little gross."

Laughing, Emmett buried his face in her shoulder until he could control himself. He knew that she was joining in the mirth because he could feel her body shaking. When he was finally able to control his laughter, he pulled back and was struck dumb by her enchanting beauty once again and everything seemed to stop as he kissed her. It started out as slow and innocent and soon, both he and Bella were gasping for air. He was about to claim her lips once again, but instead lifted her off of his lap and set her beside him. Turning on the TV, he put his arm around her and waited.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked confused.

Emmett was stopped from responding by footsteps on the porch. Charlie was home and the last thing he wanted was to be caught making out in the living room by Bella's father.

"Hey Bells, I'm home," Charlie announced as he walked into the living room and found Bella sitting on the couch with one of the Cullen boys, but he thought she was dating Edward.

Jumping up from the couch, Bella approached her dad and smiled, "Hey dad. Um this is Emmett Cullen."

"I thought you were with Edward," Charlie stated but it was more of a question.

"Hello sir. Nice to meet you," Emmett offered his hand for Charlie to shake.

Charlie looked at the hand and then the young man standing next to his daughter. He was thoroughly confused, but grabbed the hand and shook it out of politeness hoping one of them would explain what was going on. He was sure she was dating Edward Cullen and not Emmett Cullen because Emmett was the older one. Wasn't he? Although he had actually never met Edward in person, so he could be wrong; and the only reason he knew she was dating one of them was because she mentioned it in passing. Charlie could feel a headache coming on.

Rolling her eyes, Bella explained, "I was with Edward because I thought that Emmett had a girlfriend, but it turned out I was wrong. So Edward and I broke up, and now I am with Emmett because it turned out he liked me to." It was the super simplified version, but it was the best she had.

"I see," Charlie responded and wondered why he felt that he was missing a large part of the story.

"I'm sorry sir. I know it is confusing, but it turns out that there was some assumptions made and miscommunication. I really care about your daughter," Emmett stated trying to be polite in order to make a good impression on the patriarch. He knew that Charlie couldn't do anything to him physically, but he knew that it would be easier on Bella if her father liked him.

"I see," Charlie sighed. He knew that there was not fighting this. The look on his daughter's face told him everything he needed to know. This was real, and Emmett was here to stay. "Bella, why don't you go and start dinner? Emmett and I will sit in here and visit so we can get to know each other."

Bella didn't like the sound of that, but she didn't have much of a choice. Emmett and Charlie would have to sit down and "visit" one of these days, so may as well get it over and done with now. She walked into the kitchen as Emmett and Charlie took a seat in the living room. This was going to be a long night, or at least she thought it was going to be. What she didn't expect was to walk into the living room thirty minutes later to tell her dad that dinner was in the oven, and find the two men laughing and swapping stories. Emmett had won her dad over and she wasn't sure how he had done it, "Um dad, dinner is in the oven. It should be ready in about 45 minutes."

"Sounds good Bells. Will you be staying for dinner Emmett?" Charlie asked with a smile.

"I would like that sir," Emmett replied unwilling to leave Bella just yet.

The rest of the night passed in a blur for Bella. Her father liked Emmett and they laughed and joked some more over dinner. She noticed that Emmett did eat a few bite of food and then pushed the rest around to make it look like he ate more than what he did. Charlie didn't seem to notice though and continued to enjoy the other man's company. When dinner was over, Charlie went upstairs to take a shower and get ready for bed while Bella walked Emmett out, "Are you really going home?" She wanted him to stay and was hoping that he would climb through her window.

"I will be up in your room before you get there," he whispered as he brushed a few strands of hair out of her face.

Smiling, Bella spoke softly, "What about your jeep?"

"I figure I will leave it at the church for now and that way it is close tomorrow. I can get it and come over in the morning to pick you up for a date."

"Sounds like you have thought it all out. Ok, I will see you in a little bit then."

With a kiss on her cheek and a good bye said for the sake of her father who Emmett knew was listening at the top of the stairs, the big man left and walked into the woods to get rid of dinner before he made his way up to Bella's room. Edward aside, it had turned out to be the perfect afternoon with her.

After Bella was done cleaning up the kitchen, she started to make her way up to her room. Her father was waiting for her in the doorway to his bedroom, "I like him. He is a good kid with a good head on his shoulders."

"Thanks dad," Bella grinned and gave him a small kiss on the cheek before going into her bedroom and closing the door. Emmett was waiting for her as promised and she felt like her heart soared. This was who she was meant to be with and the man that she loved. He had won over her father and claimed her heart, and that made him extraordinary in her eyes.