Here you go. This bit's kind of filler material, but it was what came to me this morning.

Also... I now have a banner for this story that was gifted to me by the very talented, JaimeArkin. You can view it on my Facebook page, or by copying this link and removing the spaces: http : / / i1040. photobucket. Com /albums /b408 /VGMay /Banners / BrokenHallelujahVGMAY4 .jpg

Happy Reading! And Happy Friday! :-)

Ambush…

~(~)~

She jumps in her seat at the knock on her office door and feels her heart start racing inside her chest before she sees a pair of familiar, but mischievous onyx eyes staring back at her.

"Seriously, Tia… I'm going to get you a bell to wear around your neck!"

"I knocked lightly the first two times. You were zoned out, girl."

Bella nods and fights off a yawn. "Yeah, I know."

Tia tilts her head which had formerly been leaning against the doorframe. "What's the smile for?"

"What smile?"

"That barely-there one."

Bella fights off a blush. "It's nothing."

"Nothing, huh? I think I might like to come in and talk about nothing over lunch. Do you have plans to go out? Or did you bring food today?"

"I brought food."

"You need to warm it up?"

"No…"

"Good. Give me five minutes and I'll be back."

She's darting down the hallway before Bella can even answer her, so she shakes her head and decides to make a bathroom run before her overzealous co-worker returns.

Five minutes later, as promised, Tia returns. Bella hasn't even laid out her whole lunch yet when she starts in on her again.

"All right, girlie… Spill."

Bella laughs. "There's really nothing to spill. I saw Edward this weekend, but you knew I was going to."

"Exactly, why do you think I brought a lunch with me today just in case?"

"So you planned this ambush?"

"Absolutely. Now talk. What's with the daydreaming and the goofy smile you were sporting earlier?"

The younger of the two women blows out a breath. "There was no goofy smile."

"Quit deflecting."

"Gah… will you stop assaulting me then?"

Tia laughs and an equally amused Bella finishes dressing her sandwich with the romaine lettuce and tomato she always brings in a separate Ziploc baggie. She waits until she's eaten at least two bites of food before she begins talking.

"He bought me flowers," she says, dabbing the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

Tia looks up at her with raised eyebrows, waiting patiently, but expectantly for her to continue.

"We had lunch like we'd planned then we walked to the Market in the freezing cold," Bella continues. "We spent the whole day shopping and looking around and stuff, but then he stopped at this flower stand and bought these beautiful tulips, saying they were for his mother…"

Tia smirks and shakes her head.

"Yeah, exactly… Then when we got back to my truck he admitted they were for me and tried to hand them over."

"What did you do?"

"I refused them. Politely, of course."

"How did he react?"

"Perfectly. In fact, he was perfect the whole damn day!"

Tia laughs, but tries to keep her amusement in check. "Oh, dear…"

"Oh, no… just wait. It gets better," Bella says, shaking her head. "He called me to say goodnight when he got back to Forks and I got all serious about things and basically asked him what his intentions were, and he still responded perfectly! He was so cool… like, he's just… He's literally taking this one day at a time and not pressuring me at all."

"Except for the flowers."

"Well, yeah… except for that."

"Truthfully, you might as well have taken them. I mean, for all you've been able to ignore the gesture, you could have some pretty flowers sitting on your desk right now, you know?"

Bella smiles at how well her co-worker knows her. "Exactly."

"So what was it that had you so spaced out when I walked in here earlier?"

Bella sighs. "He asked me if I wanted to get together again sometime and I do, I just…"

Tia doesn't say anything, she just waits for her friend to finish.

"It's one thing to see each other when it's convenient of both of us. Like when one of us is going to be in the other's hometown anyway. It's another thing to be seeking each other out for the sole purpose of seeing each other. That's dating."

"Well… it doesn't necessarily constitute dating, but it certainly could be construed as courtship of some kind."

Bella looks at her. "That's precisely how I feel, like he's trying to court me."

"Does the idea bother you? Are you opposed to being courted?"

"I don't know. That's the problem."

~(~)~

*In case anyone cares, I imagine this Tia to look a little like Zoe Saldana. Google her if you don't know who she is. ;-)

Additionally, if you're searching for me on Facebook, try via email which is vgmay(at)hotmail. com I'm also on Twitter as (at)vgmay

And please, if you see her around the fandom, be sure to thank JaimeArkin for contributing her banner-making talents to writers like me! Merci beaucoup, Jaime!