A/N: So, this may be what some of you are waiting for... Not QUITE what you're probably hoping for just yet, but a step in the right direction. ;-) All in good time, my loves, all in good time. My major gracias to LittleLea05 for putting up with my endless chapters. Thanks so much, dearest!!! Thanks to my rad reviewers, I love the love you guys send me!!!! I'd love it if more people could tell me what you think, that'd be really awesome, and I'll love you forever, I swear. ;-) And also, this chapter goes out to BlackHawk13, who finds himself in a similar predicament as Emmett these days, and I can't exactly make it out to Maryland to be his nurse like sweet little Bella. Sorry hun, hope you're feeling better. :-)

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, though I do own copies of Blazing Saddles and Airplane! as well we all should.

EmPOV

I felt like a dumb ass waiting for Bella to come back. She had left soon after our conversation, presumably to find Edward and break it off. I had assured her that I would be just fine on my own for a few hours. If I could have, I would have shoved her out the door.

I wanted Edward out of the picture, and fast.

My heart was racing and my stomach felt queasy. Anxiety and hopefulness shot in my chest, and for the first time, I didn't try to squash it down. I had to come to terms with the fact that I liked Bella, and that I wanted more from her than was currently offered.

I was restless, waiting for her to get back. I couldn't find anything on TV that distracted me. Any car driving by had me straining to hear if she was coming up the walk. My iPod didn't help much either.

I must have fallen asleep, because soon I was being jolted into consciousness by the sound of jingling keys at the front door.

"Emmett?" Bella called, and any happiness I might have felt at her arrival died when I heard the tone of her voice.

She turned the corner into my room, and I could see that she had been crying. Still was crying, I corrected myself.

"So, I ended things with Edward," she said, and smiled weakly, but I could tell she was still upset. "He wasn't too happy about it."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?!" The very idea of Edward's hands on Bella in any capacity was enough to make me want to vomit, but if he had hurt her… I clenched my good hand in a fist.

"No, of course not, it was nothing like that," she said quickly, and I relaxed, but only slightly. Her eyes were red, and she kept sniffling. "He just said some things… it felt bad, you know? We weren't in an official relationship, but it still hurt, the way it ended." She bit her lip, and I could tell she was fighting off another round of tears.

"Please don't cry," I pleaded quietly. "I don't like seeing you this way." It fucking hurt to see her hurt, even if I was still dancing on the inside that Edward was fucking finito.

She brushed her tears away with the back of her hand, and she smiled at me again. Even crying, she was incredibly beautiful.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Do you want to hang out here with me? Maybe watch a movie?" I suggested after a moment.

"Sure. Let me just change. What movie?" she asked, still brushing away tears that kept falling down her cheeks. I wanted nothing more than to brush them away. No, make that kiss them away.

"You're the one that's crying," I said. "You pick."

"Okay," she said, and then she was moving to the living room, presumably to pick out a movie and find clothes to settled into.

I quickly fluffed a pillow next to me, trying to make it presentable to her. The movement made my leg shift slightly over my pillow, and I winced with pain, but it wasn't too intolerable. Day by day, I felt better, though I knew I was still far from being okay. The very idea of walking was still laughable at this point.

I turned on CNN to occupy myself before she returned. More crap in the world… I should watch this more often. Makes me feel slightly better about my own situation, which probably makes me a bad person, but believe me, when you lay in a bed all day long with no reprieve from your body and its inabilities, you want something to seem worse than your own life.

Bella reappeared around the corner just then, and my heart stopped. She somehow had squeezed herself into these tiny little shorts, and a skimpy little tank top, and all I could see, all I could fucking think about, was how much skin I could see. How clear and pale and soft looking it was. How I wanted to explore every inch of it with my hands, my lips, my tongue. How I wanted to explore what was under those clothes, and just…

I was staring. And she knew it. Shit.

I made eye contact with her, and she smiled sweetly for a minute. She held a DVD case in one hand, and a bag of candy in the other.

"What movie didja pick?" I asked, trying to seem like a normal person that didn't ogle his caretaker after she just broke up with her non-boyfriend.

"Blazing Saddles. I really need a laugh right now."

"Excellent choice! I fucking love that movie!" I was genuinely happy. It was one of my favorites, and we both were in dire need of a laugh, which was guaranteed with this movie.

"It was either this or Airplane!, if you'd prefer…"

"Both," I said promptly, and she grinned.

"Awesome. I love them both so much."

"Really?" See, I knew I liked this woman for a reason. We had similar tastes in movies, which was one step closer to me knowing more about her. Clearly, she had a fuck-awesome sense of humor.

"So which first? Mel Brooks or the Zucker Brothers?" She held both cases in front of my face, biting her lip adorably.

"Mel Brooks, for sure. But don't you dare think you're leaving this room before we finish with the Zuckers."

"Deal," she said, and smiled brightly at me. Her eyes were still rimmed with red, but she seemed more at ease already. She popped the DVD into the player, and then whirled around, looking awkwardly at the bed.

"Where should I sit?" she asked.

I patted the bed next to me with my casted arm.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," I said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

She sat next to me, gingerly.

"You can relax, you know," I said. "I won't bite… hard…"

"Shut up, Austin Powers," she said, adjusting herself on the bed, settling deeply into the feather pillow, and turned towards the movie.

The opening credits began, and the joy and wonder that is Blazing Saddles filled the screen. It wasn't too long before Bella and I were cracking up, and Bella was mouthing along with the best quotes. Her eyes were finally clear, and they were shining with happiness.

Damn it, if she kept this up, I was going to fall in love with her before the movie was over.

As the movie continued, she sank deeper and deeper into the bed, until she was stretched out parallel to me. All I could see was her mile-long legs, and the way her face would light up as she laughed at all the good parts. I was staring, and I couldn't help it.

The movie finished, and Bella got up to switch the movies. As she rose from the bed, I caught a whiff of her perfume, or lotion, or whatever the hell it was she wore. I couldn't identify it, but it wasn't some disgusting floral crap, which was good. In any case, she smelled amazing, and now my bed would smell like her.

Damn it all to hell.

"I love this movie so much," she said. "It was probably the one thing my dad and I would bond over. It was always funny, because he and I weren't really into laughing or hanging out, or being silly, but for some reason we bonded over this movie when I was a kid, and it always reminds me of him."

"Do you miss him?"

"God, I miss both my parents. Your parents, too, honestly. They're like my second parents. I love them so much."

"They love you, too. And I really like your folks, too. So why in the heck did we spend our entire lives hating each other? Doesn't make much sense, does it?"

"No, it doesn't," she said, and her voice sounded faraway. Did she regret it, too? All the jabs and cheap shots? All the pain I'd caused her, all the prejudices she held against me?

"Well, anyways… that's all in the past now, right?"

"Right."

She slid back onto the bed, and I wished to God I weren't all broken so I could roll over and cover her body with mine, and kiss her until she moved beneath me and begged for more. And oh, how I'd give it to her…

Her peal of laughter interrupted my thoughts, and I focused back on the movie. Once again, we were laughing at the same parts, and I was spending more time trying to keep my thoughts (and my hands) to myself than anything else.

The movie ended, and we ended up watching stand-up comedy. It seemed we just needed to laugh. I was glad my ribs could withstand it by now.

Bella was snuggled deeply into the covers of my bed, and not too long after the third comedian took the stage, her eyes drifted shut and she was asleep.

I'd never seen her look so peaceful before. Considering how she'd looked this morning after coming back from Edward's place, it was a miracle. I hoped that I was even a small part of the sleepy smile on her face. Her lips were parted slightly, and just the corners of her mouth were pulled up, but goddamn it if she wasn't the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life. I felt like a creeper, just staring at her when she was asleep, but this was really the first time I'd been able to truly explore the curves of her face, every single feature of her.

And then, out of nowhere, she murmured my name, so softly, and then sighed contentedly.

And suddenly, I was lost to her.

Fuck my life. I think I love her.

BPOV

"You can't end this," he said, and a smug, self-satisfied smirk crossed his face. How could I have ever thought that half grin was sexy? Why did it make me melt?

"Oh, can't I? It seems to me that we weren't truly committed to each other in the first place. You didn't want to make this official to begin with. So I don't see why you'd be upset that I really don't want to see you anymore."

"It's because of him, isn't it? That stupid jockstrap you've got all snug in a bed someplace. You've probably been fucking him since the minute I walked out the door, is that right? He doesn't know that we fucked on his couch, does he? Think he'll care? Think he'll kick you out because you're a slut?" I had never seen his face look so cruel, so indifferent.

"It's not like that, and you know it!" I shouted, trying to reign in my anger. "Emmett is my friend, nothing more. Even though we were never official, I was always loyal to you. Always! Can you say the same to me, Edward? Can you really?"

"Would it matter either way?"

"No. But I hardly think its fair you're accusing me of cheating on you when you can't even confirm or deny that you haven't been fucking around, either."

"I thought we weren't really dating. I thought this was just for fun."

"That's what it was, and you know it. But I know how to stay loyal to a person. Care for only one man at a time!"

"I think you're way past caring for him, Bella," he sneered. "And I'm not going to be with some girl who doesn't care for me and only me."

"Hypocrite," I muttered under my breath.

"Whatever, Bella. This is done. You were a nice little fuck, but I'm done with you."

"I'm really sorry I ever met you, Edward Masen."

"You and me both, Isabella Swan. What a disappointment. I hope you and your little cripple are very happy together." He gave me a condescending sneer, and then the door was shut in front of my face. I flipped off the door, and then whirled around to my truck.

I didn't cry until I got to the front of Emmett's apartment. I had convinced myself that I wasn't going to cry, not now, not ever, but it was too inevitable. When I'm angry, I cry. Fucking stupid tear ducts.

I wasn't sad in the least bit about ending things with Edward. Everything he'd said to me simply proved that this was a bad situation I had to get out of. I didn't deserve to be treated badly by him, I knew that.

I was just angry at being accused of things I hadn't done. Sure, I'd thought about it, but there was no way I would have acted on them when I was still even semi-attached to anyone. It just wasn't right. My parents had taught me better than that. I wasn't that kind of person.

Too bad Edward's parents hadn't. My final straw had been the text I'd gotten soon after dragging Alice's butt out of Emmett's bedroom, away from Jasper.

It was from my friend Angela, a picture of Edward wrapped around some fake blonde in some seedy bar, kissing like they were in some kind of porno. I'm so sorry, I thought you should know, was the caption.

I hadn't cried then. Alice had grabbed the phone from me, studying the photo, and gasped, offering instant comfort. But she knew I was already going to end it, and I figured now was as good a time as any.

So I'd gone over there, and ended it. The entire time, I fought to keep from slapping him, or kicking him in the groin. It was severely tempting, but I wanted to be better than that.

And I'd walked away without a tear.

Until now. It was just so damn frustrating, but relieving at the same time. It didn't matter what he'd said, none of it was true. And goddamn it, I was a good person. I was going to walk back into Emmett's apartment, and be his friend, and be the person he needed me to be in order to heal, and I was going to forget all about Edward and my stupid mistakes.

So far, so good. I must have fell asleep during one of the shows we were watching, because when I opened my eyes again, the room was growing dark, and Emmett was asleep, too, stretched out across the bed so that our feet were tangled up together.

My heart skipped a beat, feeling the weight of his body against mine. And it was my freaking foot. Calm yourself, Bella. I rolled over, and saw that his body was turned towards me as much as he could manage with his leg and arm. Some small part of me wished that it was because he wanted to be closer, but I knew that was ridiculous. He just wanted to be comfortable. He was getting better with time, but I knew he was still in more pain than he would ever admit to even me.

He groaned, and his eyes opened slowly. I looked away quickly, so he wouldn't catch me staring.

"What time is it?" he groaned.

"Uh… 8. Shit, we slept a long time!" I said, springing up from the bed. No need to admit the fact that we'd been sleeping in the same bed for over five hours. "Are you hungry?"

"Sure," he said. He had an odd expression on his face, one that I couldn't quite read. Then his face shifted into a grin, one that showcased his dimples perfectly, and said, "I guess Edward was right, we did end up in bed together."

My face burst into its nearly permanent blush, but I laughed anyway. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Wouldn't mind it again," he said in a voice so quiet that I could barely hear it, but oh, did I hear it. My heart pounded so loudly in my chest I was sure he could hear it from across the room.

"Me either," I whispered, and then turned on my heel into the kitchen to make us some dinner.