DISCLAIMER: The characters do not belong to me…they are all the creations of the wonderful Stephenie Meyer. All are human.

Telling Emmett 2

"Edward," I croaked, looking up at his house, all the lights blazing.

My stomach was filled with butterflies. Emmett had been having enough trouble seeing me as an adult lately. How was he going to react to this?

"Bella," he chuckled. "You have to relax, love."

"What's he going to say?" I asked, nervously biting my lip. I turned to face him; his eyes were soft and loving, willing me to calm down. "Are you ready, Edward?"

"Very." His smile was beautiful as he looked down at me.

"Aren't you nervous at all?" I asked.

"That depends," he said, lifting my hand up and kissing my ring finger. "Will he be able to say anything that will change your mind and cause you to take this ring off?"

"Never."

He leaned closer to me and softly brushed his lips against mine. "Then I'm not worried."

"What about for you?" I asked. "Can anyone change your mind?"

"Only you, Bella. And even then I doubt it."

I smiled at him, trying hard not to blush, but failing miserably. "Then I guess we should head inside." I opened my door and got out.

He met me at the front of the car and took my hand, squeezing tightly. "Bella, I honestly believe Emmett will be okay with this."

I stopped and stared back at the Volvo. "Maybe we should just wait until tomorrow."

He pulled me into his arms and lifted my face to his. "This morning, you threaten someone with a new nose job. Tonight, you act as if there's a firing squad in there waiting for you. Where did my brave, fearless Bella go?"

"I was protecting you this morning," I said, surprised at my own honesty.

"And you don't think I need protection tonight," he said, resting his forehead against mine. "I think I need your protection. I need to know you are just nervous of Emmett and you aren't having any doubts about me, about us. That knowledge from you would certainly help protect me."

"Edward," I whispered, brushing my lips to his. "I have no doubts about you. I truly am just nervous about Emmett. If you remember, I walked out in club clothes and he bruised a rib."

"I do remember, love," he said as he kissed my forehead. "But I promise not to let him get that close if he seems like he's being overprotective of you."

"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath and lifting my head. "Let's go in."

Edward moved a lock of my hair behind my ear and kissed my cheek. "There's my brave Bella."

I smiled at him as I took his hand and pulled him up the stairs with me. He wrapped an arm around my waist. We opened the door to face our family.

Alice was the first to notice … of course! "They're home!" she yelled as she ran to us. She hugged us together. "Did you love it, Bella?"

"All of it, Alice. Thank you for helping Edward do all of that," I said.

"Squirt! Eddie." Emmett called from the floor by Jasper. They were deep into their video game.

"Bella. Edward," Jasper said, never taking his eyes from the TV.

"Hello!" Rose called from the loveseat, her nose buried in a magazine.

"Where are the parents?" Edward asked.

"Date night!" Alice chirped. "Said not to wait up for them, too! I think Dad's taking her dancing!"

Edward and Alice stared at each other, both chuckling softly.

"What?" I asked, grinning at their faces.

"Our parents enjoy dancing very much. Alice and I were unfortunate to run across them on one of their date nights. No child wants to see their parents that way," Edward chuckled.

"Yes, it's certainly disconcerting to see your father dipping your mother while she's in a very revealing red dress in the middle of a club blaring salsa music," Alice added.

"Disconcerting," Emmett scoffed. "More like please stop burning my eyes."

"Did you see them, too?" I asked my brother.

"Yeah. We were all out together that night," Emmett replied.

"Do they know you all saw them?" I questioned, looking up at Edward.

He shook his head, a huge smile on his face.

"Bella, sometimes it's best to just pretend you don't know," Alice said, winking at me. "Besides, if I ever get into really big trouble with them, I'll have that as my secret weapon!"

"You are absurd!" Edward said, pushing Alice away so we could get all the way past the door.

He pulled me over to the sofa then had me sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms around mine and I rested my head against his shoulder.

"How many books did you end up with, Squirt?" Emmett asked.

"Ten! I tried to narrow it down further, but Edward insisted," I said happily.

"Doesn't sound like you fought him too hard," Rose laughed, putting down her magazine.

Alice jumped down next to me on the sofa, bouncing around. "So?"

"So!" I said, pretending to be lost.

"Bella!" Alice whined.

"Alice!" I chuckled.

"You are as bad as Edward Anthony! What's your middle name so I can yell at you properly?" Alice asked.

"Marie," Edward answered before I could even open my mouth.

"That's very pretty," Rose said.

"Bella Marie you are as awful as Edward Anthony! Now just tell me before I burst from anticipation!" Alice ordered.

"What is all the yelling about?" Emmett asked.

He put down his controller. Oh, no! He was going to pay attention! I watched in horror as Jasper turned off the game and TV.

"I just want to know how Bella liked her surprise," Alice replied, trying to appear innocent.

"I'm curious myself, Bella," Emmett said. "I wasn't sure if you would be okay with the plan these two came up with."

"It was the best birthday that never was anyone could have ever had," I replied with a grin. "Mom would have approved." I blushed then thinking of how great other parts had been.

"If it was so great …" Emmett grinned, watching my face closely. "…what are you so red for?" Of all the times for him to pay attention, it had to be right now!

"Because," I said, trying to buy myself some time. "I just did. That's all."

"Bella," Emmett chuckled. "You blush for nervousness and embarrassment. Which is it and why?"

"Jeez, Emmett!" I yelled, trying to deflect the attention. "I expect a third degree from Alice and Rose, but why are you so interested?"

"Temper, temper!" Emmett chuckled. "What are you hiding, Bella?"

"You better just tell him," Edward whispered into my ear. "It's only going to get worse. He's just as stubborn as you and he's actually paying attention."

I nodded my head slightly. "I'm not hiding anything, Emmett. I just didn't realize you were so interested."

"You're my little sister, Bella. Of course I'm interested," Emmett said. "Besides, this is your first Valentine's Day actually having a Valentine. I'm just trying to be the good big brother here."

"I know you are," I said. I leaned over and grabbed his hand. "You're an excellent big brother, Emmett. But I'm not twelve anymore. I'm twenty. And I'm not always going to want to tell you everything I do. And trust me, you aren't always going to want to know everything I do."

"Fair enough," Emmett said, taking back his hand and ruffling my hair. "So, what do you want to tell me about your day?"

"Well! The French restaurant was really great! We sat outdoors and the sky was clear. There were too many lights, though, to really see the stars, but it was still very pretty. And then Edward nearly punched out the waiter because he didn't like the way he was staring at me!"

"Go, Edward!" Emmett laughed. He held out his fist and Edward met it with his own.

"First taste of jealousy," Jasper grinned. "How was it, Edward?"

"Annoying!" he chuckled.

Alice reached over and ruffled Edward's hair. "My little brother is growing up."

He pushed her hand away, sliding us both a little further down the sofa. "Alice," he warned.

"What else, Bella?" Rose asked, coming and sitting next to Alice.

"Edward ordered for us and the meal was excellent. And then we went to the hotel and I figured out what he was doing," I explained.

"I keep telling her she's much too observant," he said, hugging me tighter against him.

"You didn't slug him, did you?" Emmett asked.

"No, Em!" I laughed. "I didn't slug him!" I pulled my hand out from under my shirt and showed my ring to Emmett. "I accepted his promise."

Emmett grabbed my hand and stared at it. "What promise is that?" His tone was unreadable.

"Nothing major," I started. "Just to love me and stay with me and then after college to marry me."

Alice and Rose squealed loudly as they threw themselves against Edward and me, squishing us all against the sofa. I watched from under Alice's arm as Emmett stood up to his full height. He stomped away from the living room, opened up the front door, and slammed it shut on his way out.

"Uh, oh!" Jasper said with a grimace.

"Get off!" I yelled, trying to get out from under the girls. "I have to go talk to him!"

Edward grabbed me tighter, holding me in place. "Bella, give him a moment."

"No!" I cried, trying to pry Edward's hands off me. "I have to go!"

"Bella," Rose said, putting a hand against my cheek. "Calm down. Let me talk to him first."

"I didn't do anything wrong, Rose! Why is he so mad at me?" I asked, the tears starting to fall.

"Honey, he's not angry. He's just surprised. Let me go talk to him and then you'll see," Rose coaxed. "Besides, you can't talk to him if you're all upset, too. Go up to Edward's room and clean your face and calm down. I'll send Emmett up after I talk with him."

I nodded my head as Edward stood up with me. "I'm not changing my mind, if he asks."

Rose smiled at me and kissed my forehead. "Good. And he's not going to ask."

I let Edward lead me up to his room as I roughly wiped away the tears I didn't want to be crying. I shrugged away from him and stomped into the bathroom. I yanked a towel from his shelf. I turned on the faucet with more force than was necessary, sending a rush of cold water into the basin. I stared at my tear-stained face, feeling my anger rise.

I looked to the left and saw Edward's reflection. He was leaning in the doorway, his arms and legs crossed. He was watching me and his green eyes were sad. My anger melted away into sorrow for making him sad. He must have misinterpreted me shrugging away from him.

I turned and ran to him, almost knocking us both over. "I'm sorry. I just … I was really hoping he would be okay with it."

He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly. He carefully moved me backwards into the bathroom. He sat me on the counter and took the towel from me. He turned down the water and wet the cloth, never taking his eyes from mine.

After ringing out the towel, he gently rubbed it across my forehead. I closed my eyes and he softly wiped them. I kept my eyes closed as he washed my cheeks and neck. Neither of us spoke. I wasn't sure how to thank him for what he was doing. I don't think he knew what to say to me about my brother.

The soft motions of the towel were replaced by his lips as he gave me gentle butterfly kisses all across my cheeks and down to my lips. I opened my eyes when he stopped. I was staring right into his beautiful, emerald orbs.

"Isabella," he whispered, taking my hands into his. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked.

"You're hurting. I never wanted to hurt you."

"Edward, this isn't your fault. Emmett is the one who stomped off."

"But if I had waited …"

I put my finger against his lips. "If you had waited, it still would have happened. And I am glad you didn't wait. I meant what I said outside. No one is ever going to change my mind about you, about us. I love you, Edward. That's the most important thing. No one knows better than you how afraid I've been to open up and accept all of you. But Edward, like I told you last night, I'm not afraid anymore. I can't even begin to tell you how much I'm looking forward to us being our own little family. In two years, we'll graduate and we'll get married. I may even decide to let Alice go crazy with it."

Edward chuckled and I smiled at him. I moved my finger and replaced it with my lips.

"Edward, I didn't want to get close to anyone. I didn't want to loose anymore people. But you showed me opening up added more people to my life. And even though there will come a day when those people will not be around anymore, I'll never regret the time I got with them."

"So I came up here all ready to tell you you're too young to know what you're doing." Emmett's booming voice in the echoing bathroom made Edward and I jump. We turned to look at my brother. "But after hearing that little speech of yours … I guess I'm the one who doesn't know what he's doing. Somewhere along the way, you grew up, Bella. I guess maybe I was enjoying taking care of you so much, I forgot to notice."

I slid from the counter and ran to my brother, throwing my arms around his neck. "I was enjoying you taking care of me too, Em. You've been the best big brother any girl could ever ask for."

"I guess we're both at an age now where we're going to be starting our own little families," Emmett said, holding me tightly.

"But our little families will together make one really big family that we'll always be a part of. Right, Em?" I asked.

"Always, Squirt," he said softly.

"So you're not mad at me?" I questioned.

"No, Bella," he sighed. "I was just surprised. But you meant what you said, right? You're going to finish school first?"

"Of course, Em," I replied, pulling away to look up at his face. "You know how much graduating means to me. And I could never let Esme and Carlisle's gift go to waste."

Emmett tapped a finger against my forehead. "Or your own gift."

"Yeah, that, too!" I laughed. "So are we cool, brother bear?"

"We're fine, Squirt!" Emmett chuckled.

I hugged him tightly again. "Thank you, Emmett. I hope you know how much I love you and appreciate you for all the things you've ever done for me."

"I said I'm fine with it, Bella. No need to suck up," Emmett said, gently pushing me away. His eyes were a little brighter than normal. "Edward, be very careful with her."

"I will, Emmett," Edward replied, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me against his chest. "She means everything to me."

Emmett nodded his head and walked away.

I let out a shaky breath. "That was …"

"I think we should probably change and go to bed and leave the rest of the interrogation for tomorrow," Edward whispered as he kissed my neck. "I don't think either of us could handle anymore melt downs tonight."

"Do we have enough up here or do we need to go back down for our bags?" I asked.

"I think the safest course of action is locking the bedroom door and making do with what we have. If we go back down there, Alice will corner us."

Edward locked the door while I checked his closet to see what clothes I'd left here. I noticed pretty quickly that I had taken most everything home to do laundry. I ended up just grabbing one of his t-shirts. I crawled into bed and tucked myself deep under the covers, waiting for Edward to join me.

He came over a few minutes later, pulling me tightly into his arms. "Please sleep well tonight, Bella. Please don't have any bad dreams."

"You know that's not really up to me. But I think I should be okay. And even if I have one, it doesn't mean they'll come back every night."

"I know. But I hate to see you upset."

"Just hold me tightly and don't let go."

"Never," he whispered, as he tucked my head under his chin, pulling me as close as possible.

I had many dreams that night, but none that I recalled completely. And when I woke up very early the next morning, Edward's shirt was as dry as it had been when I fell asleep.

I kissed his cheek and whispered softly to him, "No bad dreams, Edward. You kept them all away." I snuggled closer and closed my eyes, letting myself fall back to sleep with the man I loved.