A/n: Thanks to loss4wordsfor beta'ing!

Emmett

3 June 2010 SpecInt Headquarters

I watched them through the one way mirror in the observation room. Bella still had feelings for Edward, and I knew damned good and well that he loved her. He was never as gentle and understanding with Tanya as he was with Duckling.

He gave her an extra hour in her schedule on Wednesday after martial arts. When I asked him about it, he said that she looked like she needed a break. I think I stared at him a little too long, because he started to squirm. He never gave Tanya free time. Tanya was always writing reports, doing practice jumps, or analyzing data.

Watching them in the RV room, I noticed a few little things. Edward brushed her hair back with his fingers while he adjusted the leads for the biofeedback machine. There was something tender about it. He spoke softly to her, but maybe that was just him knowing what she needed. There was something about the two of them that led me to believe the past wasn't over.

I was sitting in the dark with my work, watching him watch her when Rosie found me. A sliver of light spilled in from the hallway as she opened the door. I held a finger up to my lips and she nodded, closing the door with a soft click.

"Man, he's creepy," Rosalie sighed.

"Actually, I think he's in love," I said.

She shot me a glance with her eyebrows raised, like she didn't believe me.

"Have you ever watched them together?"

"No," she said. "I've got better things to do than spy on my coworkers."

"Just watch."

Rosalie settled down next to me and crossed her legs. I slid my hand into her lap out of habit. At some point, we were going to have to have the relationship conversation again. Every few years it cropped up. We'd been assigned to the same unit briefly while we were in the Corps, and this on again off again mating dance we were currently doing had started then.

She left my hand in her lap and pulled out her tablet. She was reviewing security reports, and half-heartedly watching Edward.

"Why isn't the biofeedback machine making any noise?" she asked suddenly.

"He silenced it."

Rosie stared at me incredulously. "Why would he do that?"

"She jumped without it." I shrugged.

"Without it?"

"Yeah, it looks like Edward hasn't had the sound turned on since he got here."

"…and she's doing a coordinate jump?"

"Yep."

"I'll be damned," Rosalie said in awe. She sat back and watched them.

"It's time to come back, Bella," Edward said softly from the other room. He counted back from twenty and she opened her eyes. They were staring at each other intently. They didn't look away from each other while she disconnected from the machine.

"Ooooh, that's awkward…" Rosalie commented.

"They still love each other," I said.

"She's engaged." Rosalie grimaced.

"Have you ever heard of two people sharing a sanctuary?"

"No," she paused, her eyes went wide. "Do they?"

I nodded.

"That's just too weird."

"Why?"

"Edward's sanctuary is a meadow in Oregon. We usually pick someplace that has emotional significance to us."

"And…"

"Has Bella ever been to Oregon?"

"She's from Washington State." I shrugged.

Rosalie looked at me skeptically.

"Totally possible, babe."

"Just not plausible…"

"Take your notes and write a summary. We'll go over it after lunch," Edward said, muffled by the glass. Bella nodded and followed him out of the room.

"I don't know about you, but I see heartbreak on the horizon," Rosalie said.

"Do you think she'll leave the fiancé and give him another chance?"

"No. Edward's broken her heart before. I think she's going to break his," she said grimly.

"Not ducks, she's too nice for that."

"She thinks they're over, Emmett. She's moved on with this Jacob guy. It's highly likely that she won't even notice that Edward is still in love with her."

"How can she not notice that?" I gestured toward the RV room.

"You'd be amazed. The girl's got self-esteem issues, and she has no reason to think that he's still interested. He'd totally have to hit her over the head."

"Which he isn't going to do because he thinks he's being noble," I added.

"Pretty much…"

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

She shot me a withering look. "Nothing," she said. "We're not getting involved."

"But, Rose – "

"No, Emmett! Alice has already screwed around with them enough, don't you think? This is up to Edward and Bella. They're both here, so either he gets over himself and actually learns to talk to the girl, or she cuts the crap and approaches him. Either way, they don't need us sticking our noses into it."

I sighed.

"Leave it," she said.

"…but, Rose – "

"Promise me, Emmett."

"Alright, for now, I will keep my mouth shut."

Rosalie smiled flirtatiously at me. "Good boy," she whispered.

"How good?"

"Tonight?" she asked.

"Tonight," I whined.

"We have work to accomplish. You know, that thing they pay us to do."

"Yeah, fine," I pouted.

"It'll be worth your while, Em." She lifted my hand from her lap and kissed the center of my palm, lightly touching her tongue to it. The sensation traveled like a shock wave through my body.

"Rosalie," I growled.

"Tonight." She dropped my hand and left me alone and thoroughly frustrated. I took a few deep breaths and thought about my Aunt Mabel's upcoming hip surgery until I felt presentable.

I was going to have that talk with her soon. It was making less and less sense over the years for Rose and I to remain friends with benefits. There was more of an emotional connection there than either of us had ever admitted. I didn't want to end up like some idiot watching the girl he loved marry someone else because he was too chicken to say anything. I would not be Edward Cullen.

~V258~

Bella

3 June 2010 SpecInt Headquarters, MD

For all of the frustration Edward Cullen caused, he seemed to understand me better than anyone else. I'd made more progress in three days working with him, than three weeks with Rosalie. He understood and made accommodations without thinking about them. Having said that, he was still bossy and irritating. How had I ever dated him?

His tone of voice was always soft, like I was some sort of wild animal about to bolt. He also treated me like I was fragile. Working with Jasper, in contrast, was a relief. The past two mornings he worked my butt off. I was sore, and tired, and probably a little cranky. However, I could throw a punch and a kick. His continuous assertion that I would be able to beat up Edward was surprising, and somewhat appealing. Part of me wanted to prove to him that I wasn't some fragile little girl, and hitting him held a certain appeal.

I stepped into Jasper's office for lunch and Edward immediately handed me a Styrofoam to go box. I opened it and realized that this meal had been intended for him. It was a serving of fried ravioli and an Italian salad complete with peppers and olives. I smiled. It was like he was serving some sort of penance. He ate spaghetti instead.

Emmett patted the seat next to him and I sat down. He eyed my food, looked at Edward in a disgruntled manner and shook his head. Emmett had some sort of grilled vegetable concoction with pasta.

"I had her eating healthy, man," Emmett whined.

"Keep your new age 'diet is everything' crap to yourself," Edward responded. "She needs the calories."

"I'm right here," I mumbled.

"Sorry, ducks."

"I apologize, would you prefer something else?" Edward asked, full of his usual apologetic tone. It kind of pissed me off.

"No, this is good," I said, taking a bite out of the ravioli.

"I hear that you made a training jump today," Jasper said.

I nodded.

"It went better than expected," Edward said.

I could feel my cheeks heating under the close scrutiny of my colleagues. "It went well," I muttered.

"Bella executed the jump perfectly. I haven't debriefed her yet, but I'm sure that she'll have all of the required components in her summary."

Why did he have to use the word debriefed?

I was beet red.

Emmett was shaking slightly next to me. There was a sudden pop, and he grunted.

"Rose!"

"You're a perv," she said unapologetically.

"Tanya's movements are still erratic," Alice announced. "The woman makes no sense. I can't figure out why she's sitting on the stolen data, but she hasn't sold it yet."

"We need to consider the possibility that she's freelancing," Jasper commented.

I didn't have anything to add to the conversation. From what I'd gathered, Tanya was a viewer Edward trained. She left SpecInt with sensitive information, which wouldn't have been suspect except for the fact that she walked away without any notice, and refused all contact. Edward seemed really invested in the search, it was almost like he felt betrayed.

Most of these meetings went in one ear and out the other. I really didn't have any investment in the case, but if it wasn't solved by the time I finished training, I would be helping with it. I should have been paying attention.

When the take out containers were empty Edward motioned toward the door.

"Conference room?"

"I'll be right there," I said.

He nodded and left.

"I'm proud of you, duckling," Emmett said, pulling me in for a fast hug. This really was the huggiest office I'd ever seen.

I smiled and pulled away.

My summary was in a folder on my desk, neatly typed and ready to go. I grabbed it on my way down the hall. Edward was waiting in the conference room. He pushed out the chair across from him with his foot when I entered.

I placed the summary in his hands and sat He skimmed it quickly as he ticked off items on a check sheet with a pen. He was smiling slyly as he finished.

"This is really good." He allowed the grin to spread across his face.

"Really?"

"Highest score I've ever seen on a first jump."

"What is this, anyway?"

"It's kind of like a scavenger hunt," he explained. "There are certain things you're supposed to pick up. You, love, got all of them and some bonus items."

I bristled a little because he called me 'love.' He failed to notice.

"Bonus items?"

"This was a jump back in time. You picked up Rose and me when we trained on this same jump." He pointed to a couple of blurry figures I'd drawn.

"That's not you." I pointed to the male figure. "It didn't feel like you."

"I was sixteen," he explained. "People change over time, and I know that's me."

I cocked my head to the side.

"The colors on the sweater… It was my favorite in high school," he confided.

"I hope it's better in person, because the colors are pretty hideous."

"Esme knit it. It was the first thing she ever gave me."

"Holy crap, I thought it was familiar!" I remembered it a bit differently than the colored blur I saw in the ether.

"It's still in my dresser."

"The colors have faded."

"You've worn it before," he said.

"I know," I nodded.

There was a storm brewing and the usually hot and muggy early October air was suddenly chilly. I hadn't packed much that was warm for the weekend. Edward and I were on the back porch of his house, looking out over the Savannah River.

I shivered and wrapped my hands around my mug of tea.

Edward looked at me, concerned.

"I'm fine." I waved him off.

"You're cold," he said. "We should go inside."

"No, I want to watch the storm."

"Here…" He stripped off his sweater and handed it to me.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine. You're the one in a tank top."

When I hesitated, he took the sweater and pulled it down over my head, threading my arms through the sleeves.

"Snug?" he asked.

"As a bug in a rug," I answered.

"Good, now you can keep me warm," he said, and pulled me into his lap. He kissed my neck, reducing me to putty in his skilled hands. I turned my head and captured his lips with mine. Kissing him was addictive. The storm was soon forgotten as we made out. Rain battered down on the roof of the porch, and rolled off in sheets down to the waterfront. We focused on each other.

We both remembered it. I turned bright red again. That had been an eventful afternoon. I could almost feel him touching me. His fingers had worked some magic that afternoon, and I'd learned a few things about male anatomy. The conference room was too hot and he was too close.

"And Rose?" I asked, trying to break the spell.

He shook his head quickly, shifted in his seat and went back to the summary.

"You didn't know it was her?"

"She felt familiar, but I couldn't ID her."

"Honestly, Bella, you were doing pretty well to pick up that we'd been there. Most viewers wouldn't have gotten that far. The fact that she felt familiar is phenomenal. Carlisle even has trouble with this."

I nodded.

"You might be able to go to The Farm sooner than we thought."

"Okay." I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Quite frankly, spy school scared me.

"Off the record, you don't have to do this," he said. "You could walk away."

I didn't like his tone.

"Not a chance in hell," I responded.

He nodded.

I could tell that he really didn't want me to continue with SpecInt. He thought I couldn't do it. I was suddenly determined to prove him wrong. I was going to be better at this than he was if it killed me.

End Note:

The next chapter is not complete nor has it been beta'd (partially because I forgot that I set something up, and then had to back up and fill in some blanks). If I don't split it, it should be a long chapter – yay! I'm hoping to get it done and out, but I might really need to take the week off. Review replies shall be forthcoming, depending on how long I have company tomorrow.