Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. It does however own me.

A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry this chapter took a bit longer than the others. I was having another hard time with it. Thank you to my super beta, Oceanwaters2006. You are so wonderful and I appreciate you so much. And another thank you to MeIshAlice for being my pre-reader and dealing with my psychotic rantings.

Playlist: My Army by Siva Addiction, One Track Mind by Papa Roach, Make Me Wanna Die by The Pretty Reckless, Cynical by Testing Tomorrow, Within Me by Madside, Fight by Ghost of Gloria, Fear by Burning Yesterday feat. Brad Noah, Switch by Kronicles

Chapter 14-

I felt a small tongue licking the tip of my nose and sat up from the bed. Kirby sat on the blanket next to me and wagged his tail happily. I looked at the alarm clock and groaned. It was 5 am.

"Do you have any concept of time?"

Kirby just wagged his tail and started to hop around the bed. He definitely had to go outside. I begrudgingly flung the comforter away from my body and got out of bed. I picked Kirby up and carried him all the way to the door leading in to the backyard. There was a slight chill in the morning air that stung as it filled my lungs. The sun was starting to peek over the mountains and I smiled to myself, happy that I had made it through another day. Now that Jess was gone, it felt like the days were so much longer than normal. I leaned forward on the porch railing and looked out into the gigantic backyard, taking in the natural beauty.

Jess would have loved it up here. She was always so into nature and being outdoors. I felt my throat start to tighten up and my eyes started to burn with the threat of building tears. I knew there was still so much I was holding onto, but I didn't want to let it go. I wanted to hold onto the hurt and pain because it reminded me that it was all real. Everything that happened was real.

I heard the door slide open and the porch creaked behind me. I turned and smiled when I saw Edward behind me. His hair was mussed and his eyes were still clouded with sleep. He still looked like a God.

"What are you doing up this early? You should still be catching up on the sleep you lost from all of that driving."

"I heard you get up and I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Sorry I woke you. Kirby needed to go out. He has no concept of time."

"It's okay. I can always sleep later."

I nodded and looked back out at the sun coming over the mountains. The light started to illuminate the yard and fell along the side of the house.

"You didn't answer me."

I turned back to Edward and was genuinely confused, "What are you talking about?"

"If you were okay. You looked like you were upset before I came out."

I felt the question form on my face before I could stop it.

"I was watching you before I came outside."

"That's a little creepy, and I'm okay."

"Bella, you don't have to keep doing this. It's okay for you to let your guard down around me."

"Edward, I appreciate that you're looking out for me, but really, this is something I need to let out slowly. Jess was a huge part of my life and if I just let everything out all at once, it would be too much for me to handle."

"I understand, but I'm here for you to talk to. You're not alone."

I moved towards Edward and wrapped my arms around him, "Thank you, Edward."

I felt him hesitate for just a second before his arms went around my waist. I closed my eyes and inhaled his cologne. His arms felt so perfect around me. I didn't want to put myself in the same situation as last night and get rejected, so I pushed myself away.

"I think I'm going to go back to sleep for a little while. Sorry again for waking you up."

"Don't worry about it. I'll probably go back to bed too."

Kirby bounded up the stairs and stopped at Edward's feet. His tiny paw scratched at Edward's foot and waited for him to pick him up. Edward scooped Kirby up and carried him inside. I followed behind Edward and shamelessly stared at his ass. I walked up the stairs and shuffled into my bedroom. Edward sat Kirby on the floor and Kirby stayed by his feet.

"Kirby, come on. Let's go back to bed."

I waited by my door, but Kirby stayed by Edward's feet.

"He can sleep in here with me, I don't mind."

"Okay, but if he gets to be a pain you can just let him back in my room."

"He should be fine. I think we're becoming fast friends."

Edward opened the door to his room and Kirby scrambled in. Edward turned back to me before walking in himself.

"We don't have anything planned for the day, so don't feel the need to get up if you don't want."

"Alright, um…sweet dreams."

Edward smiled and ran a hand through his hair, "You too."

I stepped into my room and closed the door. The giant bed beckoned me to it and I shamelessly gave in. I pulled the covers over me and closed my eyes.

I felt two hands gripping my shoulders and shaking me awake.

"Bella! You're having a nightmare."

My eyes opened and I looked around the room. Edward was leaning over the bed and smoothing my hair away from my face. Everything felt so real. It was the same dream I had had in the car. And just like the last time, I woke up right after the gun went off. Edward sat on the edge of my bed and just stared at me.

"Are you okay? It sounded like one hell of a nightmare."

"Yeah, it was the same dream I had in the car. It felt so real."

Edward climbed up on the bed and sat next to me.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I sat up and turned towards him, "Not really. Sorry I woke you up again."

Edward leaned back against the headboard and smiled, "It's okay, Bella. I was already up anyways."

He reached down and grabbed my hand in his. I looked down at his hand and smiled. I felt his free hand brush my hair back from my shoulders. His hand lingered on my shoulder for a few seconds before he pulled himself away from me completely. The bed shifted as he got up quickly.

"I'm going to go make breakfast, if you feel like joining me."

"Sure, I just need to change and I'll be right down."

Edward turned and almost ran out of the room. His behavior was extremely odd. I cupped my hand in front of my mouth and did a quick breath check. Not the most pleasant, but not bad enough to send a federal agent fleeing from a room. I jumped out of bed and stretched my arms above my head. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror and let out a disgusted groan. I was a hot mess. I would run away from me too. I rummaged through my bags and grabbed some clothes and my shower bag. I peeked out into the hallway and made sure Edward wasn't around before I made a mad dash to the bathroom.

I showered quickly and changed before I fixed my makeup. When I opened the bathroom door, my nose was invaded by the smell of eggs and bacon. I peeked over the banister and looked into the kitchen. Edward was moving back and forth between two pans. Even under his clothes, I could see his muscles flexing as he moved around. He really was a magnificent creature. He was gorgeous, sweet, caring, and smart. I knew that we had decided to just be friends for now, but that wasn't enough. If I was going to be stuck here for a while, I was going to enjoy my time. I had already lost so much, I deserved some happiness. Damn it.

EPOV

I moved around the kitchen and busied myself thinking about making breakfast. I turned the bacon and moved the scrambled eggs around the pan. I paused for a second and my thoughts were instantly flooded with Bella. She had scared the shit out of me again with her nightmare. She had looked so panicked and sounded frantic. I hated that she was being tormented in her sleep. That was the only place I couldn't protect her. I moved the eggs around again and went back to thinking of Bella.

The night before had been close. I had almost lost it. Everything about her screamed 'sex'. It's like she had been made just for me and was now being dangled in front of my face to taunt me. I was ready to claim her as mine, but at the last second, I forced myself to stop. When I felt her hands moving to unbutton my jeans, I froze. My mind went back to seeing the terrified look on her face when we were attacked at the safe house in Arizona. I couldn't let that happen again. As much as I wanted to spend the rest of the night buried inside of her, I had to do the right thing and stop.

I tried to clear my head and focus on making breakfast. I heard the bathroom door open and a smile instantly spread across my face. I knew that Bella would be downstairs soon. Just the thought of being near her made me feel like a six year old on Christmas morning. I heard the stairs creak and I quickly checked my reflection in the metal spoon I was holding.

Wait. What in the hell am I doing?

Bella walked into the kitchen and looked damn near perfect. Her hair was still damp from her shower and her face had very little makeup on. The deep v in her shirt blatantly displayed her cleavage. She was a Goddess. I realized I was staring when Bella cleared her throat. I stumbled over myself and tried to busy myself with the pans on the stove.

"Do you need help with anything?"

"No, I'm just about done with everything."

Bella hopped up on the counter by the sink and watched attentively as I finished breakfast. I tried to ignore the fact that I could smell the fresh scent of her shampoo and the light floral of her perfume, but it had surrounded me. I needed a distraction.

"So I'm thinking about heading in to town later and picking up some things. Start thinking about things that you need so we can get done quickly."

"What kind of things?"

"Food, clothes, movies, whatever you need."

"I can think of a few things."

There was a note of mischief in Bella's voice. It both excited and scared the shit out of me.

"We can leave after breakfast if you're ready."

"Yep, I'm good to go."

I pulled the pans from the stove and set them on the pot holders on the counter. Bella was already moving to get the plates from the cupboard. I couldn't deny that we worked very well together. Bella and I ate mostly in silence. I would glance up at her every now and then. She only caught me staring at her two times. I was being absolutely ridiculous. Bella would easily be the end of me.

I closed the door to the SUV and put my sunglasses on before walking over to the passenger side to open Bella's door. I looked around the sidewalks to make sure they were clear before I let Bella get out of the vehicle. She hopped out and instantly took my hand into her's. A wickedly innocent smile spread across her face.

"We're married, remember? We just can't keep our hands off of each other, Matthew."

"Don't push it, Allison."

"Just trying to make it look authentic. Where do we need to go first?"

"Clothing first and then we'll go get some more groceries."

"Lead the way, hubs."

I had to act stern. I didn't want to, but I had too. Bella was taking way too much enjoyment out of this and one of us had to try and keep a level head. I still couldn't tell if she was just messing with me, trying to get even for the night before, or if she was serious. It could be worse, it could be all of them. The thought lingered as we entered the first store. Bella let go of my hand and looked around at the racks of clothing. She grabbed a few things and made her way to the dressing room. She drew the curtain closed and I watched as her jeans slid down her legs. I could only see from her knees down, but damn, she had gorgeous calves. I felt like a total perv. I was getting turned on by her calves.

Who the fuck gets off on that?

I went back to looking at the clothing and grabbing a few shirts. I was busy looking at jeans when a felt someone tap on my shoulder. I spun around and was greeted by a small woman.

"Hi. Are you finding everything alright?"

I nodded and lifted my hand to show the number of items I was holding, "Yes, thank you."

"Well if you need anything, at all, let me know."

"Thank you, I will."

The sales girl's blatant flirting was very obnoxious and shameless. She had watched Bella and I come in together but that didn't stop her from flirting with me. How any woman could act that desperate was beyond me. She sauntered off and exaggeratedly swayed her hips. I shook my head and went back to looking at the stack of jeans, grabbing a few pair before quickly escaping the glances of the sales girl. I drew the curtain closed and prayed that she wasn't desperate enough to barge in on me.

I tried everything on before folding each item and getting dressed again. When I pulled the curtain back, I saw Bella walking away from the sales girl with a very pleased smile on her face and a shopping bag in hand. It wasn't until I saw the paled expression on the sales girl's face that I knew Bella had been up to no good. Bella walked happily over to me and smiled brightly. I looked back up at the sales girl and then back to Bella. The girl looked absolutely petrified.

"What did you do?"

"She and I came to an understanding."

"What did you do?" I asked again, punctuating each word.

"I simply told her that you were my husband and I didn't appreciate her coming on to you. It's as simple as that."

I looked back up at the sales girl, she hadn't looked at me since I came out of the dressing room.

"What else did you say to her? She looks like she's about to throw up."

"I may have told her not to fuck with my man or I would show her what her kidney looks like if she hit on you again. No big."

I kept my voice a harsh whisper, "You can't threaten people like that! Low and inconspicuous. Threatening disembowelment is not keeping a low profile."

Bella smiled and shrugged, "It won't happen again."

I took my items to the counter and paid for them, wanting to leave as quickly as possible. I bid the sales girl a good day and left the store with Bella by my side. Though I didn't approve of Bella's method, I did like her spunk. I was always a sucker for a feisty girl.

I placed the last of the grocery bags on the counter while Bella got to work putting everything away. We moved effortlessly around each other and quickly cleared the counter. Bella stepped around me and stopped in front of the stairs and turned back to me.

"I'm going to go change. I'll be right back."

Bella ran up the stairs and I watched her go. A sudden twinge of panic hit the pit of my stomach.

Why was Bella changing? Dear God, what was she changing in to?

I paced around the kitchen and braced myself for the apocalypse. After the no bra thing she had pulled the night before, I was a little afraid of what she was going to pull this time. If I didn't know any better, I would swear she was doing everything on purpose just to tease me. I froze when I heard Bella's footsteps. What new torture was she bestowing on me this time? I tried to act like I was wiping the counters down as she walked up to the counter.

Don't look up. Don't look up. Don't look up….

"I'll be in the exercise room if you need me."

I kept my head down and nodded. I waited for a few seconds before I looked up. Bella was walking away and fuck me. She was wearing tight black yoga pants and a white sports bra. I bit my lip and forced myself not to groan. Bella had one of the best asses I'd ever seen. I could see several tattoos on her. The first one I noticed because of it's close proximity to her ass was on her side. It started as a black star and had a trail of smaller stars coming off of it. My eyes trailed up and I noticed a small fleur de lis on the back of her neck that I had never seen before since Bella usually wore her hair down. I unabashedly stared at her as she walked away. Bella suddenly turned around and smiled at me, catching me staring. That raised the tally to three.

BPOV

Edward didn't even bother looking up from cleaning the counter. I slowly turned and walked away, counting silently in my head.

1...2...3...

I looked back and caught Edward contently staring at my ass. I smiled at him and went back to walking away. I may have walked a little slower than usual, but I had a captive audience to think about. I entered the workout room and got on the treadmill. The machine flashed to life and I set a steady pace for myself. I spent the first half mile focused on running. After that, my thoughts were fully on Edward. I had to get a solid plan. I knew Edward wouldn't go willingly, so I had to coax him. It was too bad I didn't have Alice to talk to about this. She always had great ideas when it came to seducing men. I looked at the display on the treadmill as it flashed a mile and a half. I didn't even realize that I had run that much.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

Edward's voice startled me and caused me to stumble into the front of the treadmill. I quickly hopped to straddle the moving belt so I wouldn't go flying into the wall. That was the last thing I needed.

"Hi, no, uh go right ahead. I was done on the treadmill if you want to use it."

I pushed the buttons quickly and jumped off of the treadmill. Edward moved around me and stepped on to the treadmill, leaving a trail of his cologne behind.

Focus! There's seducing that needs to be done!

I cleared my head and looked around the room, carefully calculating my next move. Naturally, I walked towards the corner of the room and I unraveled a yoga mat and started stretching. I had only done yoga once before because Alice and Jess forced me to go with them. I tried to remember as many yoga poses as possible, which wasn't many.

Well, if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.

I bent and stretched myself in awkward ways that I guessed could be construed as yoga poses. All that really mattered was teasing Edward. I bent over at the waist and touched my palms on the floor. I heard a muffled groan from behind me. I straightened into a standing position and smiled. Mission accomplished.

I stared at my reflection, carefully contemplating my next move. I knew I was going a little above and beyond, but I was sick of being sexually frustrated. I liked Edward and he liked me. He was just too chicken shit to do anything about it. He just needed a little push in the right direction. I gave myself one more glance, a quick affirmation and left my room. Edward was sitting on the giant sofa with Kirby curled up beside him. I adjust my top and my small booty shorts, making sure they weren't crawling into places they shouldn't be. I took a deep breath and descended the stairs. Edward was still afraid to look up at me. I think he was catching on to what I was doing.

"Hey, I think I'm going to go take advantage of the hot tub."

Upon mentioning the hot tub, Edward's head shot up. I acted nonchalant while his eyes bulged out of his head. I stood in the same spot, waiting for him to say something, but he never did. I shifted awkwardly before I turned and walked to the patio door. The interaction hadn't gone how I had played it out in my head.

I shrugged it off and shimmied out of my booty shorts. I turned the hot tub lights on and tested the water with my toe. The water was perfect. I slowly slid into the hot tub and leaned up against the wall. If I couldn't successfully seduce Edward, I would atleast take this time to relax. Seducing such a head strong male was hard work.

I looked up into the night sky and closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by Kirby staring down at me. I didn't remember him following me outside. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a bottle of beer being placed on the patio.

"I thought you could use something to help you relax."

Edward sat cross legged by the edge of the hot tub, holding a beer in his hand. I picked up the chilled bottle and took a long swig from it. I wasn't usually a beer drinker, but I wasn't going to refuse a drink from a gorgeous man.

"It's so nice out here. I've never seen this many stars before."

"That's something I loved about growing up in this area. Good people and great scenery."

"You grew up here?"

"Yes. My dad was moving us around until I was about ten. Then we came to Montana and it just stuck."

"What made your dad want to stay here?"

"I think it was after my mom died. A year after we got here, she was diagnosed with cancer. She loved being here and I think her love of the area is what kept him here."

"I'm really sorry, Edward. That's horrible to lose your mother that early in life."

"It's okay. It was hard, it still is, but she gave me so much in the eleven years she was in my life. And it's good to know you have someone looking out for you."

"Very true. Edward, when you say when you got here, do you mean Belgrade?"

"No, we lived in Bozeman. It's not far from here."

"Oh. Is he still in Montana?"

"I don't know. I haven't talked to or seen my dad in nine years."

"Nine years? Why?"

Edward looked down at his lap and took a drink of his beer.

"I'm sorry, that was really rude of me. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"It's okay. He and I grew apart when I was in high school. I didn't want to follow in his foot steps. I've always wanted to work in law enforcement. And I like protecting people. I think it stems from not being able to protect my mom."

"Edward, there was nothing you could do to protect her. You were so young when she got sick."

"I know, but it's just something that you think of when you're a kid. You just hope that loving someone enough will be enough to keep them with you."

"But you know that there's nothing you could have done."

"I know that now, but I know that that's why I ended up on this career path. And I'm glad that I did. I wouldn't want a different life for myself."

I shifted in the water and turned to face Edward more fully.

"But don't you ever want a family?"

"I don't know. I've never given that any thought, really."

"Why not?"

"I guess it's just something that I didn't think would happen for me."

"So you just put it on the back burner and focused on your job?"

"Pretty much."

"That's almost sad."

"Depends on who you talk to about it."

"Well right now, you're talking to me about it."

"Have you ever thought of starting a family?"

"Absolutely. It's something I've always thought of and knew I wanted eventually."

"I guess it's just hard to think of the future when you're in this line of work. Constantly moving around and putting yourself in danger, it's not the type of life I want to share with anyone."

"That makes sense."

"So I heard from the Sergeant."

"What did he tell you?"

The words came out before I could stop them. I almost didn't want to know what Edward found out.

"He has been keeping me up on the investigation. They have interviewed almost every officer in that department. Everyone seems to be oblivious."

"But what about other precincts? It wasn't just the one Jess worked for. I know there were officers from different agencies involved."

"I know. But it's hard to determine which agencies and which officers were involved with out any proof."

I felt sick to my stomach. Of course they needed proof. There was proof, but I let it slip out of my hands. I had royally fucked up.

"What are they going to do then?"

"They're going to keep investigating. But until something else comes up, we have to keep you here."

"Can we change the topic? This is simultaneously pissing me off and making me want to cry."

"So how about this weather?" Edward said without missing a beat.

I smiled up at him and shrugged, "Its okay, I suppose, if you like seasons."

"I don't. It's nice to visit seasons, but I don't like living in them."

"Well at this rate, we'll be here when it starts snowing."

"Bella, it's September in Montana. It could start snowing tomorrow."

"It's a good thing we have a stocked up cabin then."

"It's good to be prepared."

I could feel myself starting to get dizzy from the heat.

"I think I need to get out before I get heat stroke."

I stood up grabbed a towel from the basket beside the hot tub. I had almost forgotten that I was wearing a slutty bikini until I saw the expression on Edward's face. I wrapped the towel around myself and stepped out of the tub. I picked up my shorts and turned to walk inside. Kirby was happily following by my side. I stopped at the door and turned back to Edward.

"Are you coming? I was thinking we could veg out and watch a movie."

"Yeah, that sounds good. Just give me a second, I want to enjoy this weather for a little bit longer."

"Okay."

I opened the door and stepped inside. I smiled to myself while I went up the stairs. Enjoying the weather, my ass.

A/N: Can we all say it together? Filler chapter! I gotta move it along somehow. And remember, reviews make me happy. A happy writer is a fast writer ^_~ Love all of you!