A few things. First, I have no idea why there was no author's note the last time. I put them on and they disappeared. If they had appeared, you all would have read my HUGE thank you's to my reviewers who've helped me get over 100 reviews! Love you guys! As usual, a shout out to Cait! Second, this one deals with some pretty mature sexual content. It's rated M FOR A REASON! It's not ground breaking and I'm not that good at writing it so don't hate me for putting it in. Third, it's a bit longer than normal because I didn't get to do this yesterday. There's a lot going on in this one.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns these characters and the awesomeness that is Twilight! I'm just subjecting them to my fun little schemes. I do own Jasper Cat. Literally. I have a 17 lb tabby named Jasper Cat. :)

Previously on Waiting for the End: "Rose just left...with my car...can you give me a ride home?" Emmett asked, kind of looking like a scared little kid.

Chapter 26

The three of them pulled up in front of Emmett's house and were all glad to see that Emmett's car was still there. The tension decreased exponentially. "I know you don't want to talk about it but if you change your mind I'm here, man," Edward said to his brother as Emmett got out of the backseat and shut the door. Bella watched him walk towards the garage instead of the house. Edward seemed to be doing the same because he didn't pull away. After Emmett looked into the little window on the side, he punched the concrete wall. Edward muttered 'shit' under his breath and got out of the car.

Though it was muffled, she could here both boys outside talking. "She fucking left! I know it! She's not going to come back!"

"What are you talking about? It's Rose. You two are perfect for each other. She's probably just trying to cool off."

"You don't understand. She's been threatening to leave for awhile now..."

"What the fuck did you do?"

"It's not something I did it's something I want to do! Look, I really don't want to talk about it. Take Bells and go home. I'll be fine."

"Do you want to come stay with us tonight? The couch has a pullout..."

"No. I'm staying in case she comes back," Emmett said, his mind made up.

The two brothers got closer and she couldn't hear what was being said but soon, her husband returned to the car. Bella stayed silent when she saw how tense he looked. For the first time since he'd gotten out of the car, she could see that he actually might be agreeing with Emmett. Maybe Rosalie did leave for good.

Once back at the apartment, Bella got his suit ready for work the next day and walked back into the living room. "Are you okay, baby?"

"Um...yeah..." he said unconvincingly.

Bella let it go and walked over to the diaper bag that was now on the table. She took out the items she'd gotten from the house and set them down gently. She pulled out a frame and added the ultrasound pictures to it, along with the couple pictures of her and Edward that were already in there. The frame stuck out from the wall far enough that she was able to put his elephant on top of it, hanging them both. Next, she took the blanket and walked back towards the bedroom. This, she hung on the back of their bedroom door.

When she came back out, he wasn't doing work on the laptop like she had suspected, he was staring at a blank document. "Edward, talk to me. What is this about? Tanya? Emmett? What?"

"Emmett. I'm fine, really. It's just hard thinking about our split and seeing Emmett that way kind of reminded me of how I felt."

"Why do you think she left?" Bella asked, coming around and sitting down beside him.

"He won't tell me but it has to be bad...first because normally he doesn't keep anything from me. Second because the two of them have been together for as long as I can remember. Why leave him now?"

"I think maybe you're both over reacting. So they had a fight. How many times have we fought just in the past month?"

"That's different. They weren't having problems...do you think he cheated?"

"I don't know but I can't really see Emmett doing that...then again, I couldn't really see you doing that either. I don't know, Edward."

"I have a bad feeling about all of this."

"Rosalie might be at work tomorrow, maybe you could talk to her," Bella said hopefully, "If not, just give it a couple days, I'm sure they'll work things out."

"I hope so. Emmett isn't someone who's meant to be alone."

Bella knew she had to do something to get his mind off of things. She went into their room and sat down, contemplating whether or not she could pull this off tonight. When she finally set her mind to it, she went through his drawers but couldn't find anything that would help her. With a sigh, she grabbed two older ties from his closet, closed the door, and laid them out so that they ran the sides of the bed. Taking off her socks and sweatshirt, Bella stood at the foot of the bed, facing the bed and looking away from the door. Calling out to her husband, she stood in a pair of skinny jeans, a light blue shirt with a dark blue cami underneath, and a pink bra and panty set.

She heard him come in and after his footsteps stopped for a short amount of time, probably trying to figure out what was going on, they started again and she felt him up against her back. He took her hair from the side of her neck and laid it so her neck was exposed. Running a finger from under her earlobe down to her collar bone he whispered, "If you don't want this, you have to tell me. Now."

"I do. I want it," Bella said breathlessly, her blood hammering through her veins.

"Fine but for the record, I think this is a bad idea," he said hesitantly and then stepped back from her.

"Undress, Isabella."

She reached for her shirt and pulled it up over her head. Next, was the cami, which she put on the floor with the shirt. Between his warmth on her back no longer being there and the air hitting her skin, she shivered and tried to stop herself, not wanting to make him think she was scared.

He let her know to keep going, "The bra next, Isabella. Come on." Reaching behind, she pulled the little clasp and it too joined the other clothes on the floor. She made sure to keep her head down and was surprised the he didn't have her tie her hair back. "Good. Now your pants...slowly."

She did as she was told and stood there in nothing but her panties. He let her stand there, not saying anything for at least three minutes. Refusing to let herself turn around, she waited for her next order. When he finally told her to take off her panties, she did so and kicked them onto the pile. After a couple more minutes of her standing there, now fully naked, she felt him against her.

The rough material of his jeans and button-up shirt were cold against her skin and she wanted so badly to see him naked. When she went to turn, he took her by the shoulders and gently spun her back around. "Keep your head down, Isabella."

She tried not to whimper as he walked away from her again. He returned, and ran his hands from the tops of her breasts down to her inner thighs. She moaned and went to lean against him. "Stand," he commanded.

She righted herself and smiled, he was in full ego mode. For whatever reason, a reason she didn't understand, she felt lighter. For the first time in almost a year and half, she felt like herself. The knowledge that Edward was only like this with her made her heart beat even faster. Wanting to see him full force she dared to defy him. Dropping down onto the bed, she sat and looked up at him with a come-and-get-me grin. Ego-Edward would flip out. Ego-Edward would have grabbed her by her hair, spun her around and put her over his knee. This Edward just kissed her.

At first, she was surprised then it turned slightly to disappointment. This was something they did that was completely theirs. They didn't share this with anyone else. Having no idea how to react she slid her body towards the top of the bed, lying right between the two sprawled out ties. Edward was still completely clothed, she was completely naked.

"I've been bad, sir," she said, looking right at him...something she wasn't supposed to do. After another rule was broken, he finally seemed to be getting back to Ego-Edward. His green eyes burned as he walked toward the right side of the bed. Bella squirmed when he pulled his shirt off.

"Stay still," Edward demanded this time. She made a show of sitting up and reaching for him. He grabbed the tie closest to him and wrapped it around her wrist. "You will tell me if this is too much."

"Affirmative, sir," she said with an eye roll.

His lips slammed down on hers after he responded with, "Don't fucking get smart with me, Isabella."

He'd let one of her arms untied and she reached down to unbutton his pants. He allowed it but the second he slid his boxers off completely, her other wrist was tied. He grabbed her legs and gently pulled so that her arms were pulled tight and spread her legs. "Don't make a sound, Isabella."

Now, he bent down and licked the insides of her thighs. She managed to stay quiet until his tongue made contact with her clit. She arched up, her arms straining and cried out loudly. He punished her by stopping immediately and sliding up her legs. Before she knew it, he was thrusting into her. She cried louder and wrapped her legs around him. He stopped again and pulled her legs off. "Keep them spread, Isabella."

His green eyes bore into her as he started his assault on her again. She arched up, this time keeping silent. She could hear him moan into her hair as his body tensed and hers responded. They came at the same time. He pulled out and held himself above her. What happened next shocked the hell out of even her. She pulled at her restraints, trying to twist her body and get him off of her. Her mind just shut down, her body in overload. The next thing she knew, she was untied and her husband was pulling her up. "Bella!"

She gasped and looked around, disoriented. Did I just black out?

"Why didn't you stop me? Bella, why didn't you tell me to stop. Safe word or not I would have fucking stopped!"

"I...I don't know what happened. I was fine, I swear!"

Edward looked at her in horror before grabbing the comforter and wrapping her in it. When they were both lying down, he kissed her and asked, "What happened? What did I do that set things off?"

"I don't know. I swear I was fine...I was more than fine..."

"It's getting late, you should get some rest," he said quietly.

"I love you, Edward," Bella said, still confused.

"I love you too, Bells. Thank you. Tonight was pretty awesome...up until the end."

"I think the end was pretty damn good to be honest with you," she said with a wink and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight."

Edward walked into his office the next morning to find Rosalie sitting in a seat by his desk. He looked at her confused before setting down his laptop bag. "Where'd you end up?"

"Kate's."

"Did you go home at all? Call him? Talk to him at all?"

"No."

He sighed, "You can't just keep running from him. You saw what happened to my marriage when that shit started. Call him and try to work things out..."

"I can't give him a baby, Edward," Rose blurted out, quickly.

"That's what this is about?" Edward looked at her like she was completely being ridiculous.

"Yes. It's been a constant fight the past couple months. You and Bella...you're smart. No more babies. I mean, look at what you went through with your son. Why would I risk that happening to another baby? Not to mention that I just simply don't have time for kids right now."

Mom and Alice must not have gotten to her, yet. "Well, we might have one someday..."

"Doesn't it hurt though? I mean think about, Edward, really think about it. What if Bella loses another baby? It would kill her. It would kill you. I think you guys are being smart about this."

He debated on whether or not to tell her but maybe she was right...she was always the one who was honest no matter what. If Bella wanted a baby it could just be her wanting to replace Edward Jr. Of course his mother wouldn't argue against it. Alice was on her happy baby high. He was silent for longer than he should be.

"You're mad about me leaving yesterday, aren't you?"

"Rose, you need to talk to him. We both know Emmett. He loves you but he's a bit of a big kid. He needs you."

"Yeah, a big kid who wants a kid. I can't take care of them both, Edward. For God's sake, he was arrested this weekend!"

"He did that to protect Bella. I'm sorry but no way in hell am I holding that against him. Ever. You don't want kids at all? You don't think that a few months or years down the road you'll ever see a baby in your future? I mean, did you and Emmett talk about this before you were married?"

"Yeah but things got crazy after college with work. You know how that goes. We kept pushing the wedding back because I was worried I wouldn't have the time to plan it. He never really brought it up until a few months ago. Edward, career-wise even, think about how much time a baby would take away from you. I love Bella but you're already doing a lot to take care of her. I don't blame either one of you for that but will she have the ability to care for a child..."

"Rose, I know it would take time from work but don't doubt Bella's ability to be a good mom. She loves kids. Teaching is what helped her get through losing Edward Jr. I see your argument. Maybe it is a good idea for Bella and I to wait...but you need to talk to my brother. Try to find a compromise..."

"I don't kow. I just kind of feel like he didn't realize who he was marrying."

"Rose, I'm going to say this because you are always brutally honest with me. I may sound like a dick so sue me but you are more dedicated to this job then you are to him. That's not fair. He couldn't have known this was how things would be. If you don't want to give him a baby, then fine. If you don't want to give him you, not fine. Don't hurt him. I can also say that of all the guys out there, you will never find anyone as loyal, dedicated, and loving as Emmett. No one will ever love you more than he does. Call and talk to him if you can't meet him face to face but don't just ignore him."

"I respect your honesty. I'll talk to him. Now, come on, we have a meeting in like ten minutes."

After Edward left for work and Bella sat down with her phone to call Renee. After a long conversation about nothing important, she turned the TV on and about dropped her cereal bowl. Mike Newton's face took up the screen as the anchor commented, "Newton is charged with the sexual assault of Mrs. Isabella Cullen, wife of the Seattle-born millionaire Edward Cullen. Cullen is a lawyer at the top notch firm Hale Law. Newton had gone missing after the assault and was arrested this past weekend when he was found by Isabella Cullen's brother-in-law, Emmett Cullen. Emmett was also taken into custody but let go after only a few hours. Newton is claiming it was all a set up by Edward, who was at the time separated from Isabella. Edward's whereabouts during the assault remain unknown and he was unavailable for comment."

"Well, sounds like quite a story to follow. Thank you, Nancy. Now, let's get a check of the weather..."

Bella turned the TV off, throwing the remote onto the couch and grabbing her coat. She sprinted out the door and down to the Volvo, pulling out her cell on the way. There were two missed calls from Edward and a text. "I'm on my way home."

Stopping in the parking garage, she leaned against the car and ran her hand through her hair. It was no secret what the media was insinuating. Edward Cullen, one of Seattle's most wanted men, was about to have all his dirty laundry aired on television. There was a reason she hadn't given him his alibi. She knew it would ruin his reputation completely if he'd admitted to where he really was that night. I'm the fucking victim here! How could they make it sound like my family members are the ones to blame?

A man in a suit approached her then, holding a phone out, "Isabella Cullen? Do you have time for some questions?"

Backing up against the car, she tried to get herself to breathe. Quietly, she practically whispered, "Um...no...I'm sorry."

"Mrs. Cullen, is it true that you and your husband were separated at the time?" He asked, ignoring her obvious distress.

"I have nothing to say..."

"Is it because Mr. Cullen was involved with another woman? He wanted to end your relationship, is that true?"

"No...I wanted the divorce..." Bella had pushed away and was walking toward the elevators. He followed and she'd blurted out the answer. She was really panicked, not realizing what she'd actually just said.

"So, you did want to divorce him? Was it on the terms of infidelity?"

"Bella, don't say anything to him!" Rose came up behind them and wrapped an arm around her. As they stepped onto the elevator she asked, "You okay? What are you doing down here?"

"Edward...I wanted Edward," Bella said, trying not to cry.

"He sent me. Natalia was watching the news and pulled him out of a meeting when it aired. Soon after, two police officers showed up and they took him to the station for questioning..."

"They did what?" Bella gasped, her heart sinking, "He didn't do anything wrong! I was raped and beaten by Mike! Edward's innocent!"

"We know that. They know they have nothing on him. He went without a fight, Bella. He's a lawyer, he knows how to defend himself. Before he left with them, he was getting things ready to leave and come here. Natalia paged me, asking if I could come stay with you. O'Brien's going to come after the meeting. This isn't a joke, Bella. Don't say anything to anyone without a lawyer present! Understood?"

"Rose, I may have said..."

"What? What did you say?"

"He asked me if Edward wanted the divorce and I...I told him no...That it was me who wanted it."

"Shit!" Rose pulled out her cell and began to make a call.

"Who are you calling?"

"Natalia. I'll get her to tell O'Brien to get his ass here now."

A knock on the door made Bella shake her head. Who the hell is that now? Throwing the door open, she stopped dead. Tanya Denali was standing in front of her...totally disheveled. "What the fuck are you doing here, Tanya?"

"I saw the news. Is he here?"

"No! They fucking took him in for questioning!"

"What?" Tanya exclaimed.

"Why are you here, Tanya?" Bella asked again, seriously annoyed now.

"He has to come clean with everyone. We have to tell everyone where he was that night."

"Fuck you," Bella glared at her. If looks could kill, Tanya would be dead on the plush carpet of the hallway.

"No! Just listen! I can testify! So can Kate and Carmen! Not only am I the alibi to keep him out of jail, the three of us saw you with Mike earlier that night! I'm serious...this could be the one thing that saves him!"

Rose was watching the display like a spectator viewing a tennis match. Bella looked towards her for advice. "Bells...she has a point..."

"God dammit!" Bella yelled, exasperated, before turning around and taking a deep breath. Grabbing her coat again, she grabbed Tanya's arm and pulled her out the door. Rose followed, both of them wanting to know what the hell Bella was doing. "We're going down to the station and we're bringing our boy home!"

"So, you're having troubles with the wife. You want her out of the way. We get it. Just admit what you did!"

"I didn't do anything. Mike Newton, who you fucking have in custody, beat the hell out of and raped my wife. I wouldn't fucking touch her like that!"

"We found something interesting in the house. A certain box in the closet upstairs..."

"Oh, come on! You can buy any of that anywhere! It's not illegal to have! You think a couple pairs of handcuffs and some whips are enough to keep me here? I've seen this a hundred times. You've got nothing and you're pulling whatever you can out of your asses!"

They had been going back and forth like this for almost an hour. They'd try to accuse him of something, using different 'evidence' and he'd shoot them down. He was losing his cool and had to remind himself to calm down. The two of them were sitting in a cement room with a two-way mirror...a place he'd been a million times defending clients. The beep sounded, letting them know the intercom kicked on. "Officer Daniels? We have someone hear who is willing to testify on behalf of Mr. Cullen's whereabouts. There's a camera outside of the townhouse where the girl lives. She claims to have spent the entire night with him."

Dammit, Tanya! He knew Bella was going to have a coronary when she found out about Tanya doing this. His reputation could be kissed goodbye. They didn't have anything on him... He was just about to tell him it was a lie...that she was just jealous and wanted to break his marriage, when the door flew open and Tanya, Rose and Bella walked in with another officer. Edward stood up and went to her, just then on the other side of the door, another cop led none other than Mike Newton down the hallway just outside. Bella screamed and grabbed for him. He held her and Officer Daniels watched with a sad, sympathetic look.

"I'm taking you home. In fact, I'm getting you the fuck out of this city," Edward vowed.

"Mr. Cullen, until we have a statement from you and the other girl about where you were that night, you can't leave the county. So what will it be?"

Edward looked from Bella to Tanya to Rose. Rose nodded her head sadly and said, "Edward, you have to be honest with him."

Taking a deep breath, he turned toward Officer Daniels. "I'll talk."

They were just pulling into the parking garage, Rose driving them in her car when they all saw Emmett standing by the elevators. He didn't seem to plan to use them, he just stood there, waiting for them. Bella was sitting on the backseat beside him, her arms locked around his waist, she was asleep on his shoulder. "You need to talk to him, Rose," Edward said quietly.

"I know...I will..."

He turned to Bella, "Wake up, Bells. We're home. Come on."

She opened the door, half asleep and stepped out. He followed her and Tanya opened the front door on the same side. Before she could walk to her car, Bella called out to her to wait up. Edward watched Bella look around, as if to see if anyone was watching, before she got right up to his ex-girlfriend. It was low enough that just their group could hear it, "Tanya, I very slightly appreciate what you did today. If you ever pull the shit you did yesterday, I swear to God, I will make you regret it. This doesn't change anything. You can say whatever the fuck you want about that night. I don't care. Just remember that I have a shitload of nights with him I could talk about. If this goes to court, and I'm sure it will, we'll have to deal with each other. Until then, you stay the fuck away from my husband. Are we clear?"

"Whatever. I didn't do this for you. I did this for him," she said, taking off for her car.

Bella sat on the couch beside her husband and held their seventeen pound cat. He purred away while they talked. "Bad day," he said flatly.

"Yeah."

"Things are going to get worse for a little while. When Tanya's and my statement come out, reporters aren't going to leave us alone."

"I figured," she sighed.

"We could go visit Forks. You wanted to go down this weekend anyway, right? We could go."

"I don't know if I'm up for dealing with Jake right now, Edward. What if we stayed here and just locked ourselves away?"

"If that's really what you want but if you change your mind, we'll go. Just say the word. Things get too difficult, I'll have us in Forks in no time. Got it?"

A knock at the door made Jasper Cat's ears perk up and Bella jump. "Who could that be now? Is it too much to ask for everyone to leave us the hell alone?"

I'm sorry I had to stop it there. It's getting way too long so you'll just have to deal with the suspense :) You know me, though, you probably won't have to wait too long! Review and tell me who you think is at the door! ;) Until next time, LP xoxo