Some of you didn't think Emmett acted in character. I understand. It was kinda pushing it, but I would love to see how Emmett acts when Rosalie isn't around. Not that he would be unfaithful, (and he wasn't being unfaithful here). I just feel like Rosalie reigns him in much of the time. He is just such a playful, big brother-like teddy bear. He is also smart and clever. In Midnight Sun, Edward says that Emmett wouldn't think one thing that he wouldn't say or do out loud. I loved writing him into the story.

Okay . . . . .do you guys think you could indulge me with one more chapter of Edward's POV? This is THE transition chapter. From here on out, things will be better. There will be much more . . .oh, I can't give it away. Just please, would you stay with me for one more sorrowful, longing kind of chapter? There were a few more things that had to happen.

There is a song in this chapter called ANGEL. I saw this CD at a friend's house and there was a song on it called, "Angel Passing Through My Room" and I thought of Edward. Then I heard the words . . . . please read them. You will be amazed. It even says Twilight like three times in the song.

P.S. Thanks to Black Daylight for the suggestion of where to go on their date.

(Edward POV)

I didn't know who was the bigger idiot. Emmett, for the way he acted with Bella, or me, for inviting him to New York in the first place. I should have known he wouldn't take this seriously. He didn't get back until 3:30 in the morning, and whether or not he made Bella smile, it was going to take me 1,000 years to blot out the image of the way he and Bella were dancing in that night club. And the way he placed his hands on her hips . . . He was lucky I didn't tear him apart. That was not the kind of "help" I expected from my own brother. His claim that he was just trying to prove a point and give me courage was so idiotic that I didn't even know how to respond.

I should have asked Alice. All she would have done is take Bella shopping. At any rate, if Emmett didn't leave within the week, I was going to tell Rosalie to come here and get him.

But besides my stupid brother, I had other worries.

The last week had been a morbid form of torture. Vaughn had taken Bella on two dates in one week. With everything in me, I abhorred seeing her with Thomas. But, I also loved watching her when she wasn't so guarded. The part I detested and feared the most, was that with each date, they seemed to be getting closer and closer. Vaughn's feelings for Bella were nowhere near the intensity of my feelings for her, but they were indeed very strong. He was playing his game well, trying to lure her in slowly so that she wouldn't run. Much to my distress, it appeared to be working.

He'd had a home game last Sunday and was the game MVP. He was feeling pretty good about things. On their dates, autograph seekers would approach them and Thomas would always graciously comply. I wondered how Bella felt about that. With me, she was doomed to no sunlight, only shadows. Secrecy was a way with my kind. Here, she was thrust into the spotlight. I was certain she'd prefer this life with Thomas to constant evasion.

Tonight was their third date. He took her to the American Ballet Theatre and when they came out, he kissed her forehead longingly and gave her a ballet shoe charm covered in diamonds. I wondered how many more charms would be added.

And then there was me. I could tell that something was building inside of me, that this was all getting to be too much. I needed more than to just be a shadow in her life. I had to have a tie to her in some way. She didn't want me as she once did, I was beginning to accept that, but an idea had been playing in my head...What if I stayed here after negotiations ended and became her friend? Then, it wouldn't be such a strange thing if she bumped into me every once in a while. If we just happened to see each other every now and then, I could hear her voice and still look into her beautiful eyes. I would still be able to see her blush and hear her heartbeat. If I could just stay, I would be whatever she wanted me to be. She could have any part of me that she wanted.

I would be there when she had children. I could be there for all the major events of her life and cheer her on and encourage her. And when she became old I would be able to take care of her. And when she eventually, inevitably, left this earth . . . . . I would be there. I would be there to hear the last beat from the most beautiful heart the world would ever know. And then I would follow. I would find her.

After the ballet, Vaughn took her to Tavern On the Green. It was tucked into a corner of Central Park and was just the kind of restaurant I would have loved to have taken her to. They had a long, quiet dinner and were now on a carriage ride through the Park.

It was a cold night. They were huddled close to each other on the carriage and shared a large, thick blanket. In Thomas' mind I could see him looking down on her. Her chestnut hair nestled close to his cheek. I felt sickened at the thoughts going through his mind.

Just two more dates. Two more agonizing dates and then Vaughn would ask her the question. I couldn't imagine at this point, that she wouldn't accept him, and everything that would surely come with it.

He cleared his throat and began to speak.

'"Bella, I think it only fair that I let you know that I'm falling for you.'"

She immediately stiffened, and with surprise, I watched the panic on her face. He quickly started to speak again.

Just calm down, I know we haven't had our five dates yet. No pressure, I swear. But Bella, before I fall any further, I need to ask you something. I hate to bring this up again, but it's really troubling me."

I concentrated harder on his thoughts, hoping to get an advanced clue as to what he was going to ask.

"Okay," she replied, her voice muffled under the blanket.

"I...I can't stop thinking about how your face looked when you saw Edward at the Waldorf. Bella," he stopped and swallowed nervously, "You've never looked at me the way you looked at him that night."

I froze.

Bella winced slightly, then her eyes tightened as she stared off into the distance. "He was my first love," she whispered, "And then he left."

Through Thomas, I saw deep pain in her eyes. It was the pain Jasper had told me about. It was the pain she never let me see. She swallowed hard and said quietly, "But I found my way again. Time has a way of forcing you to accept and move on."

"So, you have moved on?" He was encouraged.

She nodded slowly. "That party at the Waldorf was the first time I had seen him in seven years. He'd claimed he loved me so many times, and then...everything changed. Just before he left me, he promised I would never see him again." She bit her lip and whispered,"So you can understand my shock at seeing him there in front of me."

I couldn't stop staring at the haunted, empty look in her eyes, but Thomas was ebullient in his relief at her answer. He believed her.

"Can I ask you one more question?" He asked. Bella nodded her head.

"You said Edward told you he loved you. Do you think Edward is still in love with you?"

"He never loved me."

All the air escaped out of my lungs. She hadn't even paused. She had answered so quickly, emphasizing each word with conviction.

Thomas was skeptical. "Are you sure?".

She seemed so sure of herself. I was surprised that Thomas doubted her at all.

Bella lifted her chin and set her jaw. It was a look of stubborn defiance I used to know very well. "If there's anything I'm sure of this in this world," she said in a hard tone, "It's that Edward Cullen doesn't love me now, and he didn't love me then. I was nothing more than a simple diversion to him."

My head fell in my hands. All this time she had really believed it. Sobs found their way out of my chest. I clenched my teeth and snarled at myself.

Crashing into my mind came the scene I'd played a million times. I watched her eyes dim and desperation take on a life of its own as I told her I was leaving and promised I'd never come back. I had lied that day and told her there was no place for her in my life. But she never knew that I'd only made it two miles into the forest before I'd collapsed on the ground and curled in on myself to fight the pain.

She'd spent the last seven years in her own hell, just like me. I was the only one that could have fixed it. Instead, I escaped to the slums of Brazil, and licked my wounds in Ireland. She was the one who had been fighting through every day. She had been the strong one.

The carriage had brought them to the entrance of the Park. They were crossing the street and approaching her building. He held her close to him and rubbed her arms against the cold. I held my breath to see if Bella would again say good-bye to him in the lobby or if this time she would invite him to her apartment. I'd been encouraged by the hug and the peck on the cheek she had given him after every date and had taken great joy in the desolated thoughts that ran through his mind every time he watched her get on that elevator alone.

Tonight, his thoughts ran wild for her. I bit down on the pain and watched helplessly from across the street. She was turning to the elevator after saying good-bye, but then he pulled her back and put his hands on each side of her face. They stood motionless for a moment, staring at each other, and then he moved in. She didn't stop him.

The kiss was at first very calm, but as it changed into something much more, an involuntary growl built in my chest. I felt the burning venom rise like hot lava in my throat and the muscles in my back tensed as the monster in me fought to spring and attack. I was shocked at how murderous my thoughts were for Thomas. I painfully swallowed at the venom pooling in my mouth as his hands moved across her body and pulled her even closer. I recoiled and fought against the image. I couldn't bear to see it. But ultimately, I did the only thing that kept me sane. I closed my eyes and went into his mind and felt all I could of his closeness to Bella.

I felt her soft lips and the warmth of her skin as her blood pulsated through her veins. I felt her body against his and groaned inwardly as he pulled her still closer. I reached for the curve in the small of her back that I loved so much. His hands moved up her sides and my fingers flexed as I felt her ribs and then her arms and shoulders. I whispered her name as he ran his hands along her neck and face. And then, my jaw clenched as I felt Bella put her warm hands on his cheek and felt a cry escape from me as her lips parted for a moment as she kissed him. I could feel her, smell her, taste her. I was lost in the kiss. And as much as I relished it, I felt so empty again when she pulled away from him and ended it.

I opened my eyes and stared into the lobby. I was in agony to know her thoughts. Was she realizing she loved him? Would she pull him close and start kissing him again? Was she about to take his hand and lead him into the elevator? I crumbled with each thought. What would she ever want with me if she could have someone human? Someone warm, with a heartbeat and a pulse. Someone who didn't crave her blood. Someone who didn't have urges that in a careless moment could take her life. Someone who could give her children and grow old with her.

And then miraculously, she told him goodnight. I watched Thomas enviously as he hailed a cab and drove off and with adrenaline still raging through me, I replayed the kiss again in my mind. My senses were stretched tight as I yearned to taste her again on my lips, but then…my thoughts drifted back to our kisses.

There was something different about this scene, about the kiss with Thomas that I was struggling to make sense of. And then I realized what it was. The way Bella had reacted when kissing Thomas was completely different from how she had behaved when she'd kissed me.

She had never pulled away from me.

I was always the one that had to reluctantly end our embraces. I remembered how her hands had tangled themselves into my hair and her arms went tight around my neck. How I could hear her heart stop and start again, and feel her hot breath all around me every time I kissed her. She had fainted in my arms. None of those things had happened when she kissed Thomas. Was it just youth or reckless abandon that had made her react that way so long ago?

I wasn't so sure.

Could it be that there was a clue in all of this? Did she still love me?

And what about when Thomas told her his feelings for her were deepening? She'd had that panicked look on her face, which led me to believe that maybe her feelings for him weren't as strong as I'd feared.

My adrenaline was kicking in again. But for a much different reason.

I was not going down without a fight.

I was done. I was done watching from afar and torturing myself. I was done living in the past. I wanted a future, and I wanted it with Bella. I had to tell her how much I loved her and wanted her with me and would never, could never, leave her again. If we were meant to be together, and would only be our happiest when we were reunited forever, then I was foolish not to take the chance.

I stared up at the top of the building where I saw a light flicker on. Bella was inside, thankfully alone, but not for long. I sat on the bench and gazed up at my sanctuary.

She was the closest to Heaven that I would ever be. If there was a chance of having Bella forever, I would find a way.

I was going to fight for her.

I wasn't going to fight fair.

And I would start tonight.

ANGEL

Long awaited darkness falls,

Casting shadows on the walls.

In the twilight, how I am alone.

Sitting near the fireplace.

Dying embers warm my face.

In this peaceful solitude

All the outside world subdued.

Everything comes back to me again.

In the gloom,

Like an angel passing through my room.

Half awake, and half in dream,

Seeing long forgotten scenes.

So the present ones seems to the past,

Now and then become entwined,

Playing games within my mind.

Like the embers as they die,

Love was one prolonged good-bye.

And it all comes back to me tonight,

In the gloom.

Like an angel passing through my room.

I close my eyes,

And my twilight images go by,

All too soon,

Like an angel passing through my room.

I close my eyes,

And my twilight images go by.

All too soon,

Like an angel passing through my room.

Angel Passing Through - Sissel

(Bella's POV)

I got off the elevator and went in to my apartment. The silence pushed in on me when the only sound I could hear was from the clock in the living room.

Tick, tick, tick.

For a long moment, I just stood there, struggling in my mind with what my next step should be. Eventually, I dropped my coat on the couch and felt my purse land at my feet, but my mind was a million miles away. All I could think about was the kiss.

I was cold. A shiver ran through me and I wrapped my arms around myself.

Turn on the fireplace, I heard my conscious mind call out. I felt in the darkness for the fireplace and turned it on.

I hadn't kissed anyone since . . .

My fingers absentmindedly ran across my lips.

I tried, I told myself. I tried very hard to kiss Vaughn back. And it was true. I had mechanically placed my hands on his face and tried to give with my lips the answer he was so fervently wishing for. I told myself I could do this, that being with Vaughn was what I wanted.

But one kiss told me I was terribly wrong to think I could even attempt it.

Kissing Vaughn had actually seemed like a betrayal to myself. I just kept waiting for the rush, the heat, the commanding need to be closer to Vaughn and feel his lips on mine. I was sure that at any moment, the urge to entangle my fingers in his hair would come. But there had been none of those things. All my heart did was scream for the one that made it fly.

The thing is, I remembered falling in love, every sordid, minute detail, and it was the easiest and most intoxicating experience I'd ever had. Not once, did I ever had to force one feeling, or one pounding heartbeat. The only problem I'd ever had was trying to rein my feelings in.

So now I knew. Nothing would ever compare to those cold, hard lips that ever so gently lingered on my own. I would never fall in love with Vaughn. And that left me feeling very, very alone.

Because if I couldn't fall in love with someone as amazing as Thomas Vaughn, then things weren't looking very good for me.

I made my way into my bedroom. I dressed in my pajamas and then came back to sit on the floor in front of the fireplace. I wrapped my arms around my knees and soon became hypnotized by the dancing and weaving of the embers, and I could feel the warmth reaching me, but inside I still felt so cold.

There was only one thing that would take away the shivering, that could make me feel whole again. And so I broke my most hard and fast rule. I began to think of Edward. After a minute or so, I caught my breath and shook my head. I can't do this, I whispered. One of these times, I won't be able to piece myself back together again.

But for some reason, it seemed different this time. The reason why, and I was sure I was losing it for even thinking such a thing, was that while I was kissing Vaughn, it had felt like Edward was right there beside me.

And so I fought against every part of my better judgment, lied down on the floor, stared at the flames, and let myself be lost in the memories that I was always trying too hard to fight. I pictured his grace, and his loveliness, and I felt my soul relax for the first time in a long, long while.

I closed my eyes and decided to start with my favorite memory. The one that I pushed farther away than all the others. The one where he first really touched me. The one where for the first time he laid his head on my chest and heard my heartbeat.

The meadow. Oh, the meadow.

I could still feel the slight breeze blow my hair and ruffle the wildflowers as I ran my finger up and down the cold marble of his arm. The diamonds under his skin glittered brilliantly and I again squinted against the glare of the sun. I heard him declaring himself, confessing that I was his favorite brand of heroine, and curled up in his arms until the sun began to fade.

I let the memories of a hundred nights with my archangel wash over me and wondered if I would have given myself to him so freely if I knew that he never loved me; if I knew that he would one day leave. The answer was a resounding yes. I wasn't sure that I had ever really had a choice. From the first moment I saw him, I'd yearned for him in every possible way.

As I lay there watching the lights dance in the fire, it was as if there were ghosts swimming around me, each carrying a memory, floating in, floating out.

Tomorrow would be painful, but right now, I didn't care. I would let this night be filled with Edward, even though I knew that all too soon the light would come pouring in through the window marking another day and I would find reality taking the place of all that played before me this night.

How many days would I have? Life seemed so long without him. At some point, would the memory of his face dim? Would it gradually become more difficult to recall the precise texture of his hair? I thought of all the stupid, reckless stunts I'd pulled trying to keep Edward's voice in my head, but eventually, time had even taken that away from me. After a while, no matter what I did the velvet voice wouldn't come back. So it stood to reason that time would also rob my mind of Edward's vivid details. But apparently, my heart was never going to forget. It would reject all but the one that caused it to stutter, stop, and start again. My heart would never love another.

I was struggling to find all the reasons I had given myself as to why I needed to get up everyday. This torture of loss was so strong. I wasn't sure how it was possible to feel all these years of pain and still be here.

I felt my eyelids close and open again. I would soon fall asleep here, amidst all the scenes filled with him. My cheeks were covered in tears, but as my eyes drifted shut again, I could see Edward coming to lie down beside me. His beautiful face was silhouetted by the fire, and I smiled. My dreams were beginning. And I prayed for a long night filled with memories of my only love. My angel.

The next morning when I awoke, my cheek was burning. At first I thought it was from the heat of the fire, then I realized it was burning with the icy feel that only happened when Edward had touched me.

I lay there groggy, my head completely filled with images that had passed over me during the night. My dreams had almost been unearthly in their beauty, but had seemed so real. All night long Edward's velvet voice spoke to me warmly in that formal, perfect articulation that could only be acquired in an earlier century. And all night long, he'd told me in a hundred different ways how much he loved me. He'd whispered how he wanted me forever and was so sorry for how much his leaving had hurt me.

I rolled over onto my back and realized I had a pillow. And there was a blanket on me. I opened one eye a crack and saw that it was the blanket off my bed. I didn't remember getting it the night before.

I snuggled down into its softness, and as I took a deep breath, I smelled something. I breathed in again and my eyes flew open as my head jolted up off the pillow.

The delicious scent – it was unmistakably Edward's. But it couldn't be. There's no way, I murmured. I inhaled again, and as the smell permeated my senses, I knew that this was one scent that could never be duplicated.

Panic rose in my chest. As the first sunlight of the day streamed through the window, intuition pulled me to my knees and made me run my hand over the carpet next to me. And when I felt that it was ice cold, my heart stopped, stuttered, and then started again.

I jumped to my feet and like a mad woman, began running through my apartment. I ran to the front door and it was locked. I threw it open and when no one was there, I checked the kitchen and then ran to my bedroom and bathroom. Everything was in place. I came back to the living room and stared down at the place where I'd slept.

The night's over, Bella. I made myself stand there until I was sure I understood. I'd let myself have one night. One night. It was daytime now. No more fantasies. The wall was going back up. Nothing had changed.

I turned on my heels and walked swiftly back to my bedroom to get ready for work, trying mightily to ignore how different my apartment felt. I kept my eyes straight forward, never admitting, never allowing what my heart seem to feel.

That an angel had passed through my room.