A/N: Before I go into my usual Authors note, I just wanted to say, I don't mind people telling me that they don't really feel the story I'm writing. I don't mind people pointing out mistakes or even saying they hate the whole plot. Because after everything is said and done, I know that I wrote what I wrote for me. Sure hearing you guys say you love it is awesome, but nothing can compare to the accomplishment I feel after I've finished something that was festering in my brain for sometimes months. I know I'm not the greatest writer, by no means am I anything close to the people I look up to and admire for publishing the stories that sit on my shelves. But I do this for me. To be able to say that I did it. So please, remember that when you're reviewing. And keep in mind that writing three paragraphs of why you hate this story is a waste of your time, and your time alone because as soon as I read "no offense but..." I stop reading.
Alright, on to happier things...
Sorry for the wait. Thanks so much to irritablegrizzlylover. Whom I love and is the only person I would even consider sharing Emmett with.I wasn't too big on this chapter. Inspiration is getting tough to come by. Especially when you're writing around a bunch of two and three year olds because your computer hates you. But I really hope you guys all like this. Let me know.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Bella POV

I was an idiot. A complete and total idiot. Not only had I made a complete fool out of myself when I thought I was going into labor, but I had gotten my hopes up…again. Thinking that maybe, just maybe that kiss hadn't been a mistake. Maybe he had meant to do it. Maybe he had wanted it.

I purposefully waited until the last possible minute to board the bus for the last part of our trip. I didn't want to end up confessing my undying devotion to the copper headed beauty that was out of my league. And I didn't want to end up falling harder than I already had.

I got a few glares from the other passengers as I waddled toward the back of the bus to return to my seat. Edward was already sitting, staring out the window at the light snow flurries that had begun to fall from the sky. I slipped my arms out of his jacket and sat it down between the seats before settling myself down and closing my eyes.

"I can't fly."

I opened my eyes to see Edward staring at me, his green orbs seeing right through me. I was sure my face showed my confusion as I stared at him, but he kept going anyway, his eyes never leaving mine for more than a few seconds as he pressed forward.

He took a deep breath and ran his long fingers through his hair. "When I was eighteen I was engaged. Her name was Tanya and I was in love. She meant everything to me. We had grown up together and she was my best friend. When I went to Dartmouth, she went to Dartmouth. It was never a question as to whether we would get married or not. I guess I just thought that because we were each other's firsts, we should be each other's lasts. I asked her to marry me after our first semester of college. She said yes and we went home to tell our parents…" He swallowed thickly and turned his eyes away from mine to look down at the jacket I had set between us. "Our plane hit some turbulence before we got to SEATAC. Before I know it the oxygen masks come down and we're losing altitude. Tanya died that day before they could even get her out of the plane. I used to feel so guilty about it Bella. So guilty, that I pushed everyone away who wasn't family. My best friend and I had a fall out and until a few months ago, I hadn't spoken to him at all. He's marrying my sister, and I didn't even know until she called asking if I had gotten the invitation."

"Edward…" I whispered and I felt tears trickling down my face.

"I've put it behind me for the most part. I realized a lot of things after it happened. And some it took me a little longer." He shook his head. "I still can't step foot on a plane anymore without freaking out. It's like my throat closes up and I can't breathe properly or form coherent thoughts. My palms get sweaty, my stomach turns over, and my bones just turn to mush. So…I didn't fly to Alice's wedding because I was terrified of getting on that plane. But Bella, I'm experiencing those same symptoms right now."

"What are you…"

"When I look at you, it's like a giant fire has erupted in my chest and it makes my heart beat so erratically that it's not healthy, I can't think straight enough to form a coherent enough thought and actually seem mildly intelligent. My palms get sweaty, my stomach turns over, and my bones turn to mush. Love is fear Bella, and until you embrace that fear, you'll never know what it really is. As much as I loved Tanya and hate that she never got to experience this…this feeling. I know that I wasn't in love with her now. Because Bella, you're all I can think about. You make me feel alive and for the first time ever, I want to let someone in. I…Bella I love you. As absurd as that sounds. I love you."

He took a few deep breaths and I let go of the one I had been holding in my lungs, not even noticing it.

I was speechless. It was the first time ever that I had no idea what to say. I was aware of some kind of commotion going on around me but I was too absorbed in my own world, in my own protective little bubble that I couldn't pay attention to whatever was going on. It seemed like forever that Edward and I sat there, staring at each other. He was waiting for me to say something and I was desperately trying to figure things out.

"Bella." I was pulled out of my thoughts by the booming voice echoing throughout the front of the bus. I turned my head reluctantly to look and see that the bus was empty and we were the last two on board. And then I saw him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I stared up at his huge frame as he slowly made his way toward me.

"What do you think I'm doing here? You wouldn't answer your phone calls and listen to reason, so I'm here to get my little sister."

"I told Renee not to tell you." I cursed and I clenched my jaw as my big brother bent down to pick up all of my bags and sling them over his shoulder.

"Yeah, well I would have figured it out soon enough when I showed up for Christmas dinner and you weren't anywhere to be found squirt." His tone wasn't mad or accusatory but I could see the seething beneath the surface of his deep brown eyes as he pulled me up by my arm and nudged me toward the front of the bus.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked once he had literally carried me down from the bus steps and lead me to a rental car parked in front of the bus station.

"Because you're eighteen, you're my little sister…"

"And I'm pregnant." I argued as he threw my bags into the backseat and opened up the passenger door.

"Yeah squirt, I can see that."

"I'm not a baby anymore."

"Really? Because you're acting like one. Running away Isabella? Why? Because mommy didn't want you to give birth and give up your future?"

"Bella?" Both my brother and I turned to see Edward standing there, his hands in his pockets as he glared at my overbearing protector.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Edward Cullen, and you are?"

"I'm Emmett McCarty, and I'm Bella's older brother."

"Half brother." I corrected him and I yanked myself away from his grip. "And you have no right to tell me what to do."

"We'll talk about this at the hotel. Get in the car." Emmett commanded.

I crossed my arms defiantly and shook my head. "No."

"Isabella Marie Swan." He growled. "Get. In. The. Damn. Car. Before I put you in it."

I glanced quickly between Emmett and Edward. I had no doubt that Emmett would put me in the car and strap me in if that's what it took, but I had to tell Edward…

"Goodbye Bella." Edward said and before I could stop him he had disappeared into the bustling crowd on the sidewalk around us.

XxxxX

I was pouting, and I knew how childish it was, but I was secretly hoping that Emmett would fall prone to his bouts of brotherly love and set me free like when I was younger and he would get me out of trouble. But as I watched him shaving in the mirror, I could tell that he wasn't going to.

I spent the rest of the night watching television, watching Emmett watch me and eating everything room service brought while he was in the shower, just to piss him off. By the time midnight rolled around and Emmett was still wide awake, I gave up and crawled underneath the covers, turning off the bedside lamp and resting my body into the pillows.

I tried to sleep, I really did. But every time I would reach the cusp of slumber my mind would replay Edward's words from this morning. "I love you."

It had been a shock. Not because I didn't feel it too, because I knew I did. I could feel it in every inch of me. No, it had been a shock because his words had affected me "Love is fear."

It was the same thing that kept me from saying it back to him. My brain was shouting at me, telling me how stupid it would be to reciprocate his feelings. We had only known each other three days. I knew nothing about him. But my heart, my heart was a different story. It was burning and yearning to get back to him. To feel his fingers around mine and feel the sparks he sent radiating from the top of my skull to the tips of my toes.

I wanted that. And apparently my baby did too, because anytime I thought of him it was like I was suddenly housing a Riverdance show instead of a sixth month old fetus. His voice did things not only to me, but to my unborn child as well. That had to mean something right?

I stayed awake for what felt like forever, listening to Emmett's rhythmic breathing, not daring to get up and set off the Emmett booby trap. I could sleep through a tornado while Emmett…well he couldn't sleep if there was a pea under his mattress.

I finally gave up trying to dream up ways of sneaking out of the room when my eyelids felt like they weighed ten tons. I resigned myself to the fact that tomorrow Emmett would wake me up and make me talk about this. About me. About the baby. And then we would go home in his rental car and face my mom again.

Suddenly, I couldn't help it anymore and the tears flowed hard and fast down my cheeks. These weren't the kind of tears I was used to. They weren't the hot, angry tears that so often cascaded down my cheeks. No, these tears were the tears of heartbreak, of failure, of guilt.

I didn't know how to make them stop as I pulled the pillow out from behind my head and pressed it gently over my face, trying to muffle the sobs emanating from deep in my chest.

"Bella…Bells…shhh…" Emmett pulled the pillow out of my hands and pushed the hair out of my face as he used his thumbs to brush away the tears. "I'm here…"

"That's the problem." I moaned and I felt more than heard, him chuckle against me.

"Look, I know you don't want to come home. But Bella, I'm not going to let my baby sister go through this alone. I'm here for you. And whether you want to believe it, Renee is too. And Phil."

I took a deep breath, trying to force the words out. "Mike's…Mike's parents don't think this baby is his. They told anyone who would listen that I was…well that I was less than honorable."

Emmett's face changed drastically in little time, his eyes burning as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. I could tell he was trying really hard to think before he spoke. Something he didn't do very often.

"So because those idiots are trying to make you wear a scarlet letter, you think you have to run away?"

"No one wants me." I whispered as I held back the sobs that threatened to start again.

"That's bullshit Bella."

"Is it? Because mom and Phil couldn't look at me without getting that look in their eyes."

"I want you Bella. You're my baby sister. I'll always want you."

"I know that. But…I had to listen to people talk behind my back about what kind of girl I was. I had to endure the looks and the whispers any time I went out. Emmett, I can't live like that. I won't live like that. And I won't make my baby live like that either."

Emmett stared at me for a while, his eyes piercing through me as he looked for something. Finally, when it felt like I couldn't bear the scrutiny of his gaze any longer, he nodded his head and pulled me into his arms.

"So what do you want to do?" He asked and I smiled.

"First…I want to sleep. And then…I have something I need to do."

A/N: Review for a sneak peek.