All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

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Chapter 29 – New Digs

BELLA

Jake was attempting to jump excitedly, and Ollie was screaming and swinging from the ceiling. Both of them were thrilled when Edward said it was time to show me my surprise. I was somewhat curious about what it could have been given their excitement. Sam even decided to bark, but I think he was just trying to get Ollie to shut up. Even Edward seemed excited to be showing me what he'd made.

We walked back to a part of the cave I wasn't familiar with. Edward repositioned one of his light-reflecting disks and illuminated the small alcove. I looked down shocked at the strange metal seat. Then he lifted the lid, exposing a metal toilet seat. It was held in place by some large logs.

"So, there was this hole I couldn't see the bottom of, so I thought, why dig one, when there was already one right in our own house?" Edward said shrugging.

I was stunned.

I noticed Ollie playing with a stack of leaves.

"Oliver, drop it!" Edward snapped.

"Toilet paper?"

He shrugged at me.

"So, you got me a potty for my birthday?"

Silly Edward looked so nervous.

"Uh, yeah, you'd mentioned once that you wanted a bathroom."

I jumped on him, squealing loudly, causing Sam to bark, Jake to squeal, too, and Ollie to screech. The chickens came running to see what was going on, and the goats even peeked in. I started kissing Edward and pulled back, looking at his shocked face. "This is the best present ever!"

"I would've made you a shower, too, but I kind of like stumbling upon your naked body under the waterfall," he smirked.

I whacked his arm, and he pinched my butt in return.

Things between Edward and I had been moving slowly, but honestly, I was okay with that. We had been together on the island for five months now, and I think we had made great strides in our relationship. We'd gone from glaring and fighting, to talking, from not touching and not sleeping next to each other, to cuddling, and from stammering and avoiding, to kissing and touching. I should've been happy with the progress we'd made, but I was getting restless.

I did finally figure out why Edward kept feeding me wild yams. Turned out some native tribes used it as a form of birth control. It wasn't as effective as the prescription stuff, but it was better than nothing. I really wasn't ready to have a baby, which was kind of silly when I realized I had Jake and Ollie. Okay, Ollie wasn't a baby per se, but he sure thought he was one, and well, of course I loved Jake as if he was my own. I just didn't think I was ready for the whole being fat and miserable thing. It was a pretty strange life we led as it was. We didn't need to bring another kid into this world, just for it to be trapped on the island with us.

Needless to say, I wasn't that surprised when Edward started giving me a slice of wild yam with every meal. He might have been just waiting for it to be effective, and that was why he hadn't made a move to go any further.

EDWARD

She loved the bathroom. I was glad she did. I had no idea where that hole went, but when I dropped a rock into it, it took a full minute for it to hit water at the bottom, so it was good and deep. I hoped the methane from the shit would dissipate, before it reached us up here. I tried out the potty myself, and it seemed fine. I didn't really smell anything after a few minutes, so I figured it was all good.

I did have plans to make a shower or bathtub of some kind in the alcove with the water. I just wasn't sure how to pull it off yet. I had a large piece of sheet metal I was thinking of banging into the form of a bathtub. I wouldn't have minded soaking my sore muscles. I had never worked so hard in my life.

Bella gave Jake a hug and a kiss, telling him thank you for the present, and he gave her a monster squeeze. I had been playing tickle monster and would tickle him and give him a monster hug as well. He had taken to monster hugging everyone. The chickens did not appreciate his affections.

EMMETT

I got a call from Alice Brandon. Rose was picking her up today, and she wanted my help moving her things. When I arrived, Alice was once again waiting for me at the front door. She quickly rushed me to the sign-in sheet and then pulled me to her room.

Once we were inside, she sat me down and giggled, "I'm so glad you're here. I have all of Edward's things. I was able to sneak them out of his room, before they could throw them away. I didn't want him to lose his things over something as silly as death. Anyway, those six boxes over there are his, if you want to take them, and if you could help me get my stuff downstairs, Rose will be here…now," she said.

Rose tapped lightly on the door, before opening it. "Oh, Mr. Cullen, I didn't know you'd be here," she glared a little at Alice.

"She has some of Edward's stuff. She didn't want it cluttering up you place," I explained.

Rose looked annoyed. "We have plenty of room, Alice. You didn't need to bother Mr. Cullen."

"Emmett, you can call me Emmett, Ms. Hale. It really is no trouble at all, and it looks like you could use a hand getting this stuff out to your truck."

"Truck, Alice, did you call for a truck?" Rose snapped.

"Nope, but Emmett has one," she sang in response and grabbed a couple of boxes and handed them to me. "Come along!"

I shrugged at Rose, and she sighed in response. We loaded them into the back of my truck and headed back inside. Rose was trying to pick up a box, while leaning on her cane.

"I got it," I said coming over to take it.

"No!" she snapped. "I can do it."

"Look, you two," I said as Alice walked in smiling, "Why don't you both just sit and chat, and I'll move the boxes."

"That's not necessary," Rose growled at me.

"My mom would have my hide if she knew I let you ladies move the boxes. Feel free to pack up, though."

"What?" Rose asked confused.

"I was raised to not let a lady carry shit, when I could do it myself," I explained.

"Right, and what would she say about that swearing mouth of yours?"

I might have looked a little ashamed. Mom always told me not to swear in front of ladies, but I had never been called on it by anyone. If Rose told my mom, well shit, it wouldn't be good. "There would be soap involved. I'm sorry, she told me not to swear, either. I just…most people don't care."

Rose was looking at me as if she was trying to figure something out, and then she took a seat next to Alice. "Very well, move the boxes," she said crossing her arms, and then she watched as I lifted a stack of three of them easily and walked out. Yeah, I was pretty sure she was checking out my ass.

When I finally got everything settled in Rose's house, she invited me for tea. I hated tea. It tasted like dirt. Why on earth would someone give someone a cup of dirt to drink, I'd never know. I smiled politely, though, and accepted the invitation. I had a feeling that if I didn't, she'd call my mom and tell on me.

"Mr. Cullen," Rose started, and I had to admit it drove me a little nuts that she refused to call me Emmett. I wasn't my dad. I didn't know why the hell she kept addressing me as if I was.

"Yes, Ms. Hale?" I asked politely.

To my surprise, she smiled. "After your story about your brother and how he ended up in the mental hospital, I was rather skeptical of your strength of character."

I looked at her confused. She'd just seen me move a ton of boxes today. I had plenty of strength.

"I see there's a genuine fear of your mother in your eyes when you were called out on your bad behavior," she informed me. "Has she ever raised a hand to you?"

"What? Ma? No," I said shaking my head. "She didn't need to, she's got this look, and then she says, 'Emmett, I'm so very disappointed in you. I thought I taught you better than that.' Then her eyes get all watery, like she's going to cry. I never met a woman who could rock a guilt trip the way she does."

"Have you heard that speech a lot then?"

I shrugged. "When I was younger, I suppose. I knew Edward had it worse, because I only heard her disappointment. He could hear the shame and guilt she put on herself. If we screwed up, she always put it on herself, thinking she was a bad mom. Edward always made me go apologize and fix it. It usually involved flowers, groveling and community service to get her to feel better, but her moods really affected Edward more than he let on. He did his best to hide it from her. He didn't want her to feel bad about it. He always said it wasn't her fault. Of course, that made me feel like more of a douche for upsetting her and torturing my brother at the same time."

"Is that why you went wild in college?"

I shrugged. "Edward graduated early. As usual, he couldn't stand so many minds jabbering on about shit, I mean stuff. Sorry, Ms. Hale."

She smiled and nodded her head in acceptance of my apology.

"When he was gone and it was just me, I have to admit, I finally felt free and was able to goof off like the kid I always wanted to be. The attention from the girls was just a bonus. When Edward was staying with me, I did my best to lay low and not get involved with anyone. I didn't want to have Edward hear me fantasizing about some chick, you know? So when I was finally free to think and do what I wanted, I did. The stupid thing is, Edward ended up paying for it in the end, anyway. That guy has taken way more hell than his fair share." I looked up to see Rose's skeptical face.

"He was a doctor, a surgeon. Everything he accomplished came into question when I messed up his life." I rubbed my neck nervously. "My brother, he isn't a people person. He doesn't like to be around people, and he definitely doesn't like them touching him. He says it's all fake. He only lets family hug him. He knows we mean it. If you doubt his innocence, don't. There's no way he would've let that nasty little girl come anywhere near him."

"And you, since you admit it was you that was originally charged?" Rose asked.

"No, Ma'am, I didn't even know she was in the hotel, until the day the charges were filed. Cindy, the chick from the bar, she came with me and left with me, and she testified as much. Neither of us saw the little liar. I still don't know what that little bitch was trying to pull, but she ruined my brother's life."

She narrowed her eyes at me, and I realized I had sworn again.

"Sorry about the language, Ms. Hale."

She smiled tightly and nodded. This chick was a handful to deal with, but I had a feeling she would be worth it in the end.

"Well then," she finally spoke, "I think it's time we have someone look into this Tanya girl and go over your case files. We'll need to clear Edward's name, before we bring him home. Since his supposed death, it may actually be easier to do. I'll have to get with my men to see what we can do."

I looked up at her surprised. "You'd help us?"

She gave me a smile. "I'm an advocate of truth, Mr. Cullen, if your brother is innocent, I'll do my best to prove it."

"Thank you, Ms. Hale." I caught that she wasn't taking our word for it, but that didn't matter. I already knew the truth and was glad that she was helping me prove it.

For as cold as Ms. Hale seemed, she was still kind of warm on the inside.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!