I do not own Twilight or any of its' characters

BPOV

Chapter 34

You're my Emmett

It was Sunday and I had felt like I had been on the phone all day between Angela and Alice and Jasper, flight arrangements, pick up times, but by Sunday afternoon, it seemed liked everything was in place. Jasper and Alice would be flying out the day Edward and I finished classes before Spring break. Angela would be flying in by herself the day after that, which was a Friday. Jasper and Alice were planning on staying for a week and Angela was going to stay for five days. That would give me plenty of time to speak to Alice and possibly Jasper in private about the goings on at school and also allow me to spend some time alone with Edward for a few days before classes started up again. The bulk of my time would be spent with Angela though, seeing as she was my guest. Whew. I sighed as I collapsed onto the couch.

I was excited to be seeing everyone in three weeks, but before they came I had tons of schoolwork to do that would undoubtedly keep me very busy up until the last moment before they arrived. I looked over at the clock, it was close to three, Edward had gone to the gym and I was alone. I decided to indulge myself with a nap. I grabbed the fleece blanket off the back of a nearby chair and as if on cue, Topaz appeared on the arm of couch chirping eagerly at the prospect of taking a nap with me. I tucked myself in and lay down and he curled into a ball on my chest, purring until we both fell asleep.

The room was dark when I woke up aside from a dimly lit desk lamp in the little reading corner of the living room. Again, I looked over at the clock, it was now five o'clock. Topaz had disappeared, probably long ago, and I slowly sat up and stretched my back. Everything was eerily quiet; I assumed Edward had gotten home at some point because I hadn't put that lamp on. I groggily went up to the bathroom to wash my face and saw that the hallway light was on. I could hear very faint music at the end of the hallway, and I figured Edward was in his music room. The entire upstairs smelled sweetly of steam and soap, when I entered the bathroom the walls were still dewy with the aftermath of Edward's post-workout shower. No other trace remained of it however. The towels were all neatly folded, the shower floor rinsed off, his razor was tucked away in a drawer, all of his dirty clothes nestled hygienically in the hamper; he really was the world's cleanest guy. I smirked as I dried my face off and tip toed down the hallway towards his room.

I could hear more clearly now that I was closer. The music was coming from him; he was strumming on his guitar and singing to himself very quietly the words to the song he was playing. I felt like every time I found him like this, it was some kind of intrusion on my part. It probably wasn't to him, but I always felt like I was invading his privacy. I know that back in Forks he spent a lot of time playing music, and I was sure that the rest of his family weren't nearly as considerate as I was to his need for space so I didn't know what I was so paranoid over. I just knew I wouldn't want someone hanging around me every time I tried to do something creative. I stopped in my tracks in the hallway and turned to go back downstairs, and one of the wide pine floorboards groaned under my stocking feet. He stopped playing.

"Shoot," I grumbled to myself.

I heard shifting and footsteps in the music room. Edward appeared in the doorway and smiled crookedly when he saw me, crossing his arms in front of him.

I must have looked like an idiot; the stance I held was an exaggerated, mid-sneak movement, resembling something that you would see in a cartoon or an episode of the Pink Panther.

"Why are you standing like that?" His smooth, thick voice asked behind me.

I looked behind me at him and said sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I thought you were listening to a CD and I was going to come and say hi, I didn't know you were, playing. You probably want your privacy." I said continuing toward the staircase.

"Not particularly," he said behind me raising an eyebrow. He really was stunning.

There wasn't much else in life I enjoyed more than watching Edward do anything with music, except maybe watching Edward work out. I almost had to nail down my feet to prevent me from running down the hall, sitting down and demanding a personal concert from him. My plan was to legitimately refuse casually and leave him to his music, but before my brain could get that message to my vocal chords, I heard myself squeak out in a small voice, "really?"

He chuckled softly and averted his eyes to the floor shyly, "really, I was just finishing up something. You can come join if you like." He invited.

"No. It's alright, I'm going to go start supper." I refused, thumbing toward the staircase.

"Suit yourself." He said casually and went back into the room.

I stood like a statue in the hallway for a moment, and then heard him start up where he had left off, his voice still very quiet. His voice was so gentle and calm, but husky and sharp at the same time. I was drawn to it, even though I could barely hear it. I walked away from the stairs and into the room, sneaking by him, so as not to disturb. I saw him smirk a little as he saw me enter. His eyes flashed to my face for a split second and then back to what he was doing. I settled quietly onto the couch and lay on my side, folding my hands under my cheek and listened, shutting my eyes.

"There now, steady love, so few come and don't go, will you won't you be the one I always know. When I'm losing my control, the city spins around, you're the only one who knows, you slow it down.

Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh, be my baby, oh oh oh oh, I'll look after you.

If ever there was a doubt, my love she leans into to me this most assuredly counts, she says most assuredly, oh oh oh, oh oh oh, I'll look after you."

He strummed more intensely on his guitar, and made no notice of me, like he was in his own little world and continued.

"It's always have and never hold, you've begun to feel like home. What's mine is yours to leave or take, what's mine is yours to make your own. Oh oh oh oh oh oh, be my baby, oh oh oh…"

It was like our theme song. If it hadn't been a giant number one hit in 2007, I would have thought Edward had written it himself, rather than The Fray. I was moved, and the best part was that he hadn't even been playing it for me; he was just playing it just because. Maybe he thought it had theme song like qualities as well.

"So, what's for dinner?" He asked, turning to me and ruining my fluffy moment.

"Oh, umm, I was thinking about shepherd's pie. Is that alright?"

"Sounds perfect, I don't think I've had that yet."

I was convinced that because Edward was becoming such a 'foodie' he had a list of things he wanted to try going in his head. It was just a hunch though. Someday I would ask him if I was right.

"It's good, you'll like it." I confirmed.

"Does it take long to prepare?" He asked.

"No why?"

"Would you feel like taking a ride with me after we eat?"

"Sure." I said shrugging my shoulders, "where are we going?"

"You'll see."

I had expected something, more, actually, I didn't know what to expect, but I certainly didn't expect to be parked outside of our school on a Sunday night. It was bad enough I had to be there five days a week, let alone weekends too.

"Why are we here?" I asked, confused.

"We've got to get some blood." He replied casually, getting out of his Volvo.

I looked a little closer to what part of the college we were at; the infirmary. Infirmary sounded so much more threatening than nurses' office, which is really what it was. Infirmary sounded too similar to asylum to me.

I couldn't resist lightening the moment, "are you regressing to your former self?" I asked in reference to his blood comment.

"You know, you really are hilarious. I think I've told you that before." He said sarcastically. "No. we're not getting blood for me, we're getting blood from me."

It had been less than a week since we discovered Edward's unusual talent and I had forgotten that he was supposed to send Carlisle a blood sample to run tests on. "How are we going to do that?" I asked, "The infirmary is closed this time of night."

Edward gave me a look as if the answer were very obvious.

"What? No, we're not breaking in." A wide grin slowly crossed his face. I looked at him, incredulous, "No. I'm not helping you." I said backing away from him and putting my hands in front of me. He stepped toward me, his grin getting larger by the second. "No, absolutely not…" I tried to fight him off.

"Bella…" he purred at me, taking my hands in his.

"No, come on Edward, seriously?"

He pulled me close to his chest and in his most persuasive, irresistible tone, murmured lowly "Bella, please?"

I sighed in frustration. He got even closer to me and said wetly in my ear "I can make it worth your while."

I sighed again and relented to his demands. "Fine, what do you need me to do?"

He pulled away from me and was suddenly composed and very serious, no longer relying on his darkest charms to persuade me now that I had agreed. "I need you to just stand by that window, right there and wait for me." He said pointing around the corner of the building.

"That's it, you're making me the lookout?" I asked, uninterested, glancing at my partially chipped painted nails.

"It's a very important part of the whole operation."

"Okay."

He walked me over to my spot, not saying a word. It was nearly pitch black outside with the exception of a flickering flood light and the night was thick and soundless all around us.

"So, do you, uh, do this stuff a lot? The breaking and entering I mean?" I asked following him to the window, trying to keep up with his long strides.

"On occasion," he replied, "I usually have Emmett with me though. I guess you could say that you're my Emmett." Because of the inky darkness around us I could barely see Edward's face, but when the moon hit his face for a split second, I saw him smile warmly at me.

It was no secret, of everyone in his family, Emmett was Edward's best friend, if vampires qualified into those types of categories. When he made that comment I realized that I was no longer just his spouse, I was his friend too. We were companions, and we were equal. During this short time in which Edward had been human, I had grown even closer to him, but in a different way. We were buddies, we always put each other on a pedestal, but now, we had an edge to us. An edge that allowed us to joke around with each other like we hadn't before, we could compete with one another, we could hang out, have all the causalities of a friendship with all the meaning of a spousal relationship, we had matured. Things weren't as grave and serious and as tragic as they once were. Edward had become my best friend and I had become his.

"Thanks." I replied, "You're my Emmett too." I reached over and touched his hand and he took mine in return.

"Okay, stay here, I'll be right back." He ordered.

"What if someone comes?"

"If anything seems suspicious, hide. I'll come and find you."

"Okay." I agreed. He kissed my cheek and jogged off around to the back of the building. I stood out there for about five minutes, ten at most. It felt like an eternity and I was freezing. I looked down at the thin fabric of my corduroy coat and wished I had worn my North Face coat instead. I shoved my hands in my pockets regretting leaving my mittens on the kitchen counter. Honestly, I lived in Alaska; you would think I would be more logical in my clothing choices, especially in the middle of winter.

I heard a grinding sound directly behind me and cried out loud, my voice echoing throughout the empty campus. An owl hooted in response.

"Bella," Edward hissed behind me. I turned, the grinding sound had been the window opening, "come on," he reached his arms out of the window and helped drag me into the exam room.

"How did you do that so fast?" I asked, still shaken slightly.

"I have my ways." He said as he shut the window.

He didn't turn on an overhead light, but rather a floor lamp, and that was only after he drew all of the shades in the room. I looked around me, taking off my coat and throwing it on top of Edward's lying on a chair.

It looked like a standard exam room; the counter was fairly clutter free with the exception of jars of cotton and bottles of alcohol. There were locks on everything and in the corner sat a padded exam table, complete with arm rests and fold out stirrups. I shuddered as I remembered I needed to make a doctor's appointment for an annual soon.

"Gross." I said, still staring at the stirrups.

"From what I hear, men have to endure some pretty obscene things as well as they grow older." He said in response.

"Nothing is obscene as that." I explained pointing to the chair.

Edward was doing something with one of the locked drawers when suddenly I heard a popping noise. Within moments, he had the drawer open and was pulling out a tourniquet, a vacutainer, and several different blood tubes with various anticoagulants inside of them. He was very good at breaking and entering.

He hopped up onto the exam table and rolled up the sleeve of his sweater. He tied the tourniquet snugly over his bicep, pulling it with his teeth to tighten it further. He pulled the cap off the vacutainer with his mouth and dabbed a vein with alcohol. He tightened his fist to stabilize the vein and was about to make his stick when he noticed me staring at him with a sickened look on my face.

"Are you going to be alright if I do this?" He asked gently.

"Of course," I answered shakily.

"Can you come closer?" It was more of a request than a question.

"Sure." I took one step forward hesitantly.

"Closer please." I reluctantly stood by his side. "When I ask you, I need you to hand me those tubes as they fill up. Can you do that?" I knew he wasn't trying to be condescending; he knew that the sight of blood made me faint. He was trying to be considerate.

"I'm fine, really."

"Do you want to try?" He asked brightly holding the vacutainer out to me.

"I'm not fine enough to do that! But I can hand you tubes."

He nodded and stuck himself with the needle and blood immediately started to flow from his pulsing arm. As each tube filled, I would hand him another and with skilled hands, he would connect it to the end of the vacutainer. He took a total of six vials of blood, snapping off the tourniquet when the collection was finished. I handed him a cotton ball with a piece of tape and gathered up the vials. As I held them in my hands, I noticed that they were still warm. I wondered if he were still a vampire, if his blood would be cold. I stared curiously at the tubes and swirled the blood slowly around under the dim light. It amazed me that one substance could be so essential in so many ways.

The paper made an irritating crinkling sound as he got down off of the table and took our coats and went into the office area of the infirmary. The office was larger than the exam room, equipped with a desk and a wall of filing cabinets for student records. There was also a mini fridge that Edward pulled an ice pack out of. He packaged up the blood and was done. Again, the only light in the room was a dimly lit desk lamp, I perched myself up on the desk next to it.

"Thank you for helping me," Edward said sauntering over to me and facing me.

"I didn't do much."

"I know, I just like you being here with me." He said shyly, playing with the zipper of my sweatshirt.

I playfully hooked my feet behind his calves, pulling him closer to me. "You said you would make this worth my while." I said very seriously to him. "When can I expect payment?"

"Well that depends, would you like it in increments or one lump sum?" He said snaking his arms into my sweatshirt and resting his hands on my waist.

"A lump sum would be ideal," I answered coyly, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"It might take me a little longer to come up with that then." He breathed, running his lips over my jaw. "I am, after all, a penniless college student." He slowly dragged his bottom lip along my neck and kissed my collarbone.

"I'm sure we could come up with some kind of arrangement." I whispered, running my hand down his chest and tucking my fingertips into the hem of his jeans so I could feel the blade of his hip.

Edward moved his hands up my sides and spread his fingers to the point where he had almost my entire upper rib cage in his possession. His lips covered mine and I slowly kissed him back, licking the roof of his mouth sensuously. He pulled me closer against him to the point I felt like he would crush me, when suddenly, I saw headlights reflect off the back wall.

He pulled away from me instinctively and I saw panic cross his face. He yanked me off the table and looked around the office frantically. There was a large loveseat against the back wall and he quickly pushed it away from the wall slightly and we squatted down behind it and waited.

Sure enough, there was a distinct sound of keys turning in a door knob and someone entering the room. The person snapped on the overhead light and I became anxious, wondering if Edward had shut off the desk lamp. The footsteps were coming toward us and then turned; I heard a file cabinet drawer open and the intruder let out an exasperated sigh. The drawer shut again and the visitor was now pulling the chair out from the desk and turning on the computer. I hoped we wouldn't have to stay here all night. There was a sound of fingers typing and then scratching on paper. He was writing something. The intruder stayed for about fifteen minutes and then I heard him rise from the desk and replace the file in the drawer. I heard the footsteps walk toward the door again, shut off the light, and close the door, locking it behind them. I waited until the footsteps grew fainter, and then finally I saw the headlights turn on and depart.

I popped up from behind the couch with Edward and he went over to the computer and started typing something.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to find out who the last person to use the computer was and what they were looking up." He typed in numerous codes, each with no avail. I could see frustration mounting in him, when I interceded. In a few moments, I had pulled up the most recent activity.

User Name: GScott

Password"******

An internet browser website came up and I clicked under the history icon. A typographic map of Forks, Washington came up, followed by an informational page posted by the historical society regarding the Olympic Peninsula, specifically the town of Forks.

"Who's G Scott and why are they looking up Forks?" I asked confused.

"Gordon Scott," Edward said sternly, hovering over my shoulder.

"Who's Gordon Scott?" I asked.

"My Culinary Arts teacher," he replied solemnly.

Edward strode angrily back to the car, walking so quickly I had to jog to keep up with him. He opened the passenger door and slammed it behind me. He sat in the driver seat and gripped the wheel so tightly that all of the color drained out of his hands. He breathed deeply and for a second I thought he was counting to himself.

"Edward," I said quietly.

"What?" he snapped at me in a voice I could barely recognize. "What are you going to tell me Bella? That this is nothing? That it's probably a coincidence? That I shouldn't be worried? Who the hell else is from Forks besides you and me? Who the hell has even heard of Forks?!" He was shouting at me now and flailing his arms everywhere.

It was my turn to count to myself. I was infuriated, I wouldn't tolerate anyone speaking to me in that tone, let alone the person I loved and respected the most in this world. I certainly wasn't going to let Edward Cullen have one of his tantrums in my presence.

"If you continue to use that tone with me, so help me Edward I will get out of this car and walk home." I said between gritted teeth as I glared at him.

He narrowed his eyes at me in protest, and I held my gaze with him as I quickly put my hand on the door handle. He hit the lock button and then he locked the locks with the child safety button on his side of the car. Damn German engineering.

"I'm sorry," he said cautiously as he clenched his jaw in frustration.

"Fine." I said sitting back in my seat and rubbing my forehead.

"Bella, either way you and I may be in some kind of danger. You can't argue with me that this isn't more than mildly upsetting."

"It's no more upsetting than when we've run into trouble in the past." I said trying to maintain presence of mind for the two of us.

"Things are a little different now. I can't protect us the way I could before."

"We have powerful allies." I said with confidence. "And besides, there's two of us and one of him."

"What are you talking about?" He asked rubbing his temples to soothe himself.

"We're equals now, you and I. I can help."

"Bella, don't think for a minute that I'm going to let you…" I held my hand up to silence him.

"I've done a lot of thinking since all of these changes have occurred. I am no longer going to stand idly by while you run around like some kind of knight in shining armor trying to protect me from every little conflict that comes my way. This is not your fault, nothing in the past ever was, we are partners and we have to face our adversaries together, whatever they may be. I'm not some kind of damsel in distress and I don't want to be treated as such." I was impressed with the lucidity of my improvisational speech. Maybe I should have been a communications major instead. I flipped my hand over and offered my open palm to him as a gesture of peace and understanding.

He reached over and took my hand in both of his and rested it on his thigh. "Bella, if anything ever happened to you…" He started.

"If anything ever happened to you," I replied. He couldn't argue with me any longer because he knew I was right. He was just as breakable as I was. We both now had an obsessive need to protect one another.

"And just so you know," he continued, "I've always considered you to be my equal."

We drove home in silence, neither one of us could predict or explain what was happening around us. Neither one of us had a plan or a next move. We didn't discuss it at all. We just went home and went to bed, grateful for the time we had together.