A/N: Hello, gorgeous people. Let's get down to it eh?

When Emmett found out Edward had left the house on his own, without protection, he was livid.

"You need to start taking this more seriously."

Edward leaned back in his seat to find Emmett standing over him, beefy arms crossed and a stern look on his face. His stomach twisted. His brother-in-law was rarely as solemn-faced as he was right then. If Emmett was this concerned… But no.

"Emmett, I spent the vast majority of my twenties jumping at shadows. You remember how paranoid I was when we first met. It didn't matter where I went, someone always knew. Someone was always stopping me on the street, telling me these creepy things about how they thought about me all the time, how they knew this or that intimate detail of my life. For fuck's sake. I'm so famous, my parents get recognized from time to time when they're not even with me."

Edward shook his head and closed his eyes. "I used to be terrified to go anywhere, to live my life at all, in part because of the weird things people said and sent me. I'm not going to start down this path. I'm not going to start thinking every crazy little thing people say means someone is going to...what? Attack me? Jump me? You think some woman is going to jump out of the shadows, pull me into a dark alley and have her wicked way with me?" He scoffed.

"What if she has a gun, Edward? What if she's got a van and a roofie? What if she's a he?"

"What if she's an alien with mind-reading abilities here because she feasts on souls and she needs mine?" Edward waved his hand as though unconcerned. It wasn't as though he hadn't thought about all of those things many times before. The paps were proof enough that his every move could be, and often was, tracked. Knowing his whereabouts sure made things easier for would-be kidnappers, murderers and the like.

Emmett gripped the desk chair Edward was sitting in and spun it around to face him. "Read these," he said, throwing a few letters in Edward's lap.

He considered refusing, but the look in Emmett's eyes was serious. Filled with trepidation, he picked up the first letter. Then the second. By the third, his hands were trembling. He tossed the letters on the desk and clenched his hands in fists, taking deep breaths through his nose.

"You still think they're nothing?" Emmett asked.

Edward glanced at his bodyguard, assessing the situation. "They are nothing, Emmett. The delusions of an obsessive mind, that's all."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously." Edward picked up one of the letters and shook it in his face. "These are words. Just words. You and your team have been on high alert for two weeks now. Bella and I have been going out for coffee like clockwork for a week. The tabs are giddy with the story. Every entertainment journalist in town has called Benjamin. My own mother wants to know if it's true that I'm with Gianna. In all of that, have you or Jasper actually seen anyone who could possibly be a threat? We go to that coffee shop, and everyone is grinning, waiting for us."

Gianna was shy, the tabs said. Since the paps couldn't come into the buildings, they were constantly catching mere glimpses. Now, there were a lot of grainy photos of Bella entering the back of the coffee shop with him, her features mostly hidden behind her long hair-cut just like Gianna's-and a bulky jacket. The interior of the shop was too dark to allow the customers who tried to get any more than a blurry photo of Bella ducking into a booth where she was mostly hidden to wait for Edward.

"You see this?" Emmett said, showing him two envelopes. "The first letters we assumed were from him were sent from halfway across the country. The newest are from right here in L.A. Do you understand that? He's on the move."

"You're assuming they're the same person. You're seeing what you want to see."

"Edward, why the hell would I want to see this? I've been protecting your stupid ass for how long? Why would I decide now I need a conspiracy theory to chase?"

"It's my fault, I think," Edward said, rubbing his chin. "When we first met, when I was a piss-my-pants newbie at all this, you were hypervigilant then. I brought you Gianna in the same state. You're just feeding off her fear."

"When we met, you were just a client. You give the clients what they want. You wanted me to take every scrap of paper, every person who looked at you wrong as a threat. I did what you wanted, but I knew better. I knew you were fine. This is different. You don't want to think you might be in danger, and I suppose you're right. You might not be. The fact it's you this person is obsessed with might keep you safe. Then again, obsession is often the motivating cause for deranged murderers."

Edward blew a breath out of his nose. "You're exaggerating."

"No," Emmett said, his voice firm. "Think about how hard you're working to brush this off. After you realized there were a lot of strange people in the world, you got someone to go through your fan mail for you. They only forward you the letters they think you should look at-the kids with cancer, the really well written ones, and the ones that set off alarm bells, right?"

Edward grimaced. He knew where this was going, and he didn't like it.

"Obviously, this person's letters got on someone's radar, because you read them. You read them. You read them and didn't tell me-which is dumb as hell, by the way. I don't know why you'd keep me employed if you keep shit like this from me." Emmett shook that off. "But when I asked you about it directly, you did tell me, which means you hadn't dismissed this as nothing. You're in denial, and that's not helpful for me. I need you to snap out of it."

Edward gave an irritated grunt, but he didn't say anything. He rocked in his desk chair, his eyes on the letters he'd thrown on the desk. Tentatively, he picked up the latest one.

The dust on the paper told Edward that Emmett had been looking for fingerprints. There were none. Edward understood what that meant. This person knew enough, at least, that he or she didn't want to be identified. The letter itself was typewritten, as was the address on the envelope.

Despite himself, Edward's heartbeat began to stutter. Those things in and of themselves were quite a bit more serious than the average obsessed fan.

Then, there was the content of the letter. The tone was concerned. This person wrote at length about a supposed plot by Gianna to use his fame and now, to break his heart. They lamented about how it would have been better if Gianna had remained off the project. They thought it was all a ploy, that she'd backed out of the project so no one would suspect what she was up to.

Delusional ramblings and conspiracy theories. But it was the words interspersed in those ramblings that sent chills down Edward's spine.

I understand, they had written. Your hands are tied, but it's okay. I'll help you.

I'll help you.

"Dammit," Edward muttered under his breath. He rubbed his temples. "And you let me drag Bella into this."

"We've been over that. You and Bella and Gianna are all fine when we're out with you. When I know where you are. I got your back, boss, but you have to work with me. I know it's not what you want, but you have to tell me if you're going out."

Edward hummed. "And nothing you can take to the police yet?"

"I've been in touch with my contact, but you know the drill. Nothing in the letters was directly threatening, and there was no identifying information. They're not going to spend taxpayer dollars until there's a physical threat."

"Dammit," Edward said again. He pounded his fist on the desktop. "This was nothing. This was a pretty young actress, new to the scene, running scared from nothing. How could it possibly be something?"

"Look, in all likelihood, it won't amount to anything. What's that line? Like a dog chasing a car. Even if this guy gets to you, it's not like he'd know what to actually do with you. Just...we're trying to prevent a Misery situation. That's all."

"Oh, sure. Wouldn't want to end up with my feet hacked off, after all."

~0~

Principal photography was with the good guys currently-Gianna, the sidekick, and the love interest-but that didn't mean Edward had the week off. He had a rather intense action sequence to film in a few weeks. The more complex moves would be done by his stunt double, Alec, of course, but he still had wire work shots to do. Getting yanked around by wires wasn't his favorite thing, but that was what he was paid to do.

Edward wasn't worried about the training. What filled him with a certain amount of trepidation was the fact he'd be spending a solid week with Charlie Swan. It was somewhat awkward, though Edward told himself a million times there was no reason to feel that way. It wasn't as if he was defiling the man's daughter. Sure, the tabs thought he was, but they also believed Bella was Gianna.

Anyway, it was just uncomfortable. Edward wasn't sure whether to bring it up. He wasn't even sure Charlie was aware what was going on. Had Bella even told him they were hanging out?

The fourth time Charlie left him hanging-dangling above the safety mat on the floor while he calibrated for an unnecessarily long amount of time-Edward figured the odds were high that Charlie knew something was going on between him and Bella. The harness wasn't painful per se, but it wasn't comfortable either.

The kick when he was yanked backward-that was painful. That happened a number of times. Of course. His character was supposed to have some fancy technology that allowed for some kind of crazy parkour action-jumping off buildings and walls etc. Charlie insisted on practicing that move over and over again.

Still, Charlie was nothing but professional. He spoke with the whole team, Edward included, in a sure, kind voice. He led them through the steps to get used to the jerk of the wire and helped take them through the moves the scene required.

All in all, it was a productive day. At the end of it, Edward approached Charlie. They assessed each other.

Charlie, Edward supposed, didn't say anything because to do so would be disrespectful to Bella. She was an adult, and he had no say in her life. But he was also her father. If he knew everything, he likely didn't appreciate Edward dragging his daughter into his drama. If Bella hadn't told him anything, he probably wasn't fooled like the public was by the tabs' stories. He would have recognized it was Bella with Edward in those photos, not Gianna. He didn't like it, but he wasn't going to say that out loud. Not to Edward, anyway.

As for Edward, he had no claim on Bella. Defending their actions would have been presumptuous. There wasn't anything going on between them, but it wasn't up to him to explain that to her father.

Instead, he offered his hand. "It's a genuine pleasure to finally work with you, Mr. Swan," he said, shaking Charlie's hand with a firm pressure. Charlie squeezed back in a predictable handshake grip of death. Edward didn't flinch. "Everything I've heard about you is true. You and your team are excellent."

Charlie grunted and released his hand. "Always nice to work with a professional, Mr. Cullen. Call me Charlie."

"And call me Edward."

Charlie nodded. "Fair enough," he said, and with a nod, walked away.

"What was that about?" Emmett asked, peering around a corner. Edward hadn't known he was on set, but that wasn't a surprise.

"Just my life," Edward said with a laugh. "I'm pretending to date a woman being played by a stunt double who just happens to be that man's daughter." He rubbed his side, sore from the wires. "To be honest, I wouldn't have been surprised if he 'accidentally' hung me upside down."

"This is why you don't go to work with your father," Emmett said with a laugh.

Edward stroked his chin. "I think I could have made a decent doctor."

~0~

Just as Edward was locking his trailer, ready to go home for the day, he raised his head at the sound of approaching footsteps. A smile stretched wide across his face when he saw who it was. "Hello there, pretty lady. I didn't think you were on set this week."

"Heya, stud," Bella said, coming to a stop a few paces from him. "I'm technically not on set this week. I have another job. No big thing. Nine-day shoot."

"Ah, so you're only here because you couldn't stand to be away from me, huh?"

She snickered. "Sure, okay. It might have been that. Or it might have been the fact I still have to pick my dad up. I don't know what the hell he did to his truck, but it's not looking good."

"A likely excuse."

"Uh huh. Also, you, sir, are horrible at picking up your phone."

Edward screwed up his face. "It died."

"Yes, and I'm sure there is a shortage of chargers on a movie set."

"Why were you trying to call me?" Edward leaned up against his trailer, giving a knowing look. "Phone sex, right? You wanted a phone sex nooner?"

"You do have an active imagination, don't you?" Bella clucked her tongue as though lamenting his condition. "Gianna was trying to get a hold of you, actually."

Edward's grin fell. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine." Bella glanced around to see if anyone was in listening distance. She stepped closer, leaning in. "She wants to go out with a friend tomorrow night, so she was wondering if you and I might deign to draw the attention of the paps in the opposite direction. She also gave me a ridiculous bonus, so I was thinking, we could hit the town long enough to be seen, then you could come over to my place for movies and pizza."

Edward hummed, pretending to mull it over. "I don't know, Swan. That sounds suspiciously like another date to me. I have to say, if you get me over to your house, I fear for my virtue."

"Have no fear, little boy." Bella leaned in again, her lips so close to his ear, he shivered. "I invited Emmett and your sister before I invited you."

She stepped back, out of his bubble space, and Edward blinked at her dumbly. "Wait, what?"

"I said Gianna gave me a ridiculous bonus. How much could pizza and movies for two possibly be?" she said, smiling a sweet and innocent grin. "A pizza party on the other hand…" She shrugged. "I think Jasper is coming too. He's having someone else cover Gianna tomorrow."

"Sneaky, Swan. Very sneaky." He fell into step beside her as they made their way to the parking lot. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, why not?"

"This whole thing we're doing. Are you scared at all?"

She glanced at him, a perplexed look on her face. "No. Why would I be?"

"You've read the letters."

Bella snorted. "Crazy fans, man. They say a lot of weird shit." She shook her head. "No. As far as I'm concerned, this is the easiest money I've ever made." She winked at him. "Come on. Not many people get paid to hang out with their good buddies, right?"

"Oh, we've graduated to good buddies, hmm? I hardly know you. Next thing you know, you'll be writing our wedding vows."

"There you go with that imagination." They stopped at his car and she turned to him. "You know, if it's such a chore to hang out with me, I can split my salary with you. That might make it a little more palatable."

"You think you can pay me off, huh?"

"I don't think I can afford your rates, stud, but at least it's fair. Things should be fair, I think."

"See? There's something new for my list of things I know about you. Bella Swan. She likes things to be fair."

"Yep. I'm also a Virgo who likes long walks on the beach." She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Is that enough information to be buddies now?"

"Hmm. Buddies is moving a little fast," Edward said. "How about we call ourselves casual acquaintances?"

"Whatever floats your boat, buddy."

Edward sighed, feigning agitation. "Always taking such liberties with me."

"Yeah, I'm so pushy." Bella's grin fell slightly and she she coughed into her hand, looking across the lot to where her father had emerged. "Anyway. I'm sure I'll see you tomorrow."

Unable to help himself, Edward took her hand and shook it. "Looking forward to it, casual acquaintance of mine."

A/N: Many thanks to my team of lovely people who keep me on my toes and make my docs an awesome place to be.

How are you doing, lovelies? It's almost the weekend.