Emmett's Point of View

It was just about three in the morning before Emerson finally fell asleep. I tucked him into his bed, knowing full well that he would probably be awake again within the hour. The kid doesn't require much sleep. While his brother has only woken up a few times in the last few hours. Wanting to be changed, or needing some milk. Greyson was still asleep. I made sure to check on him often. It was rare for them both to be asleep at the same time. It was peaceful, but it also felt a little weird. It was a bit lonely. All the people I love the most in the world were asleep. I wish that I could sleep as well. It's something I never really cared much about in the past. But now that it was a more common thing in my life, I truly wished I could experience it for myself.

Edward and Jasper were waiting for me in the backyard. We planned on doing a little sparring. It was a good way to blow off some steam. But I was keeping tabs on everything that happened in the house. I could hear Bella tossing and turning a bit, her heart thudding softly in her chest. It reminded me of the wings of a hummingbird. I heard Greyson's heart as well, it sounded really similar. But Emerson's heart didn't beat. I had to rely on the sound of his breathing. I felt a bit distracted tonight. Something just felt a little off. I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

"Come on Em, what's wrong?" Jasper asked with a raised brow.

I approached the two of them with a heavy sigh. "Nothing, it's just been a long day."

"Don't tell me your little romp with Bella has left you worn out for the day." He teased with a wicked grin.

I rolled my eyes. "Are you kidding, I could have gone for a week straight in that bed. But relationships with human women are a little different." I turned to throw a smirk in Edward's direction. "Go ahead, tell him Eddie. Honestly, we are both dying for details."

Edward instantly pinched the bridge of his nose, leaving out a short grunt. There was embarrassment clear on his face. And I was loving every second of it. "It's hardly anyone's business."

Jasper snickered. "If that's the case you shouldn't have made such a big show out of it. Alice and I could hear the two of you, the moment you entered the house."

"Hell you walked right past Bella and me in the living room, without so much as an acknowledgement. It's a wonder that poor girl didn't suffocate." I laughed.

Edward growled quietly, glaring at the both of us, but he took a second and calmed himself down, before replying. "Look, are we going to spar, or not? Because if not, I'm going back inside."

"Nope. You aren't going anywhere until you dish out the details." I challenged; getting into an offensive crouch. Jasper did the same, with a nod of agreement.

"The both of you are impossible." Edward grumbled, folding his arms across his chest. "Fine, what do you want to know?"

"I know that you have been interested in Ana for a while now, what convinced you to act on those desires?" Jasper asked, taking a seat on the porch step, relaxing into a more casual position.

Edward sighed. "I couldn't stand it anymore… I couldn't keep lying to myself. I wanted to be with her, even though I know it's selfish. I'll be putting her at risk for my own happiness. But as twisted as it sounds, she wants the same thing." A faint smile came to his lips.

It was nice seeing my brother happy. It was something I wasn't quite used to seeing. He was always so gloomy and depressed. Maybe this chick would pull him up, dust him off and give his life some excitement and purpose. I didn't personally see what made her appealing. She was nothing compared to Bella. But we couldn't all be lucky enough to have a good-looking mate.

Edward narrowed his eyes at me with a heated glare. "You must have lost your mind. Bella is a nice girl, sure. But Ana is truly the most beautiful."

"Don't be an idiot," I glared at him coldly. "Bella is basically a goddess. She makes Ana look like a science experiment."

Jasper quickly got in the middle of us, giving us both an annoyed look. Suddenly waves of calmness washed over me. I felt my shoulders relaxing almost instantly. I leaned my head back, rubbing the back of my neck. "I didn't mean that, I just meant… you know… that's how I feel about Bella. No one is better than her. In my opinion. You don't have to agree."

Edward's eyes softened, shaking his head. "I know, I just overreacted a little. Really I should be relieved that you feel that way."

There was a noise off in the distance and a very familiar scent wafted through the air. I jerked my head in the direction of the noise, just in time to see Rosalie emerge from the depths of the forest. She was sporting an all white outfit, with glass heels. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail. It was an outfit that she had worn in the past to tease me. It was skintight and draped in just the perfect places to give the illusions of curse. Now, I had to bite down on my lip to stop myself from laughing. She looked ridiculous. Nothing special in the slightest. Bella would be able to pull off an outfit like that easily.

I felt a shiver roll over my shoulders at the image of Bella in that outfit. The urge to be by her side was almost too great to ignore.

"What an incredibly stupid argument, just a bunch of lovesick fools." Rosalie muttered snidely.

"Rose, what are you doing here? I thought you were no longer affiliated with this family?" Jasper spoke up, a glare on his face. Out of everyone, he was the one taking this news the worst. The others more or less were compassionate and understanding of Rose's situation. But Jasper took this personally. He was angry. She is a traitor in his eyes now. There would be no changing the way Jasper would see her from now on.

She rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. "Well at the time, I had no plans on living here with all of you anymore. It's hard to be considered part of a family, when we all aren't exactly talking and living together anymore."

"So what are you doing here?" Edward repeated Jasper's question, a guarded look on his face. He angled himself between Rose and the door to the house.

"I'm here to speak with Carlisle."

"About what? Why didn't you call his cell phone, you can't just come and go as you please. There are children in the house. We don't need any issues."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Do you really think I would hurt a baby?"

"We aren't willing to take that chance."

"You're all acting like this is all my fault. I didn't ask for a wolf to imprint on me. I didn't ask for my husband to cheat on me. I didn't want to leave the family to head to Alaska. I've missed living here. And being with all of you. I didn't want to pick sides. But those mongrels at La Push made it clear, if I wanted to be with Paul, I had to pick a side…"

Jasper made a face. "You made the wrong choice. At least when it comes to me personally. I will not forgive and let it go. You picked your flea-bag mutt over your family. You're dead to me."

There was a subtle flinch from Rose, but her expression remained unchanged. His words bothered her, but she was choosing to appear unaffected. Classic Rose. Always acting strong and untouchable. But I knew better. The shattered girl that hides behind the mask. She was more fragile than the others realized. Jasper's words would haunt her for a while. In the past I would have jumped to her defense. It's true, I pitied her. But I didn't feel obligated to step in. I didn't care enough to come to her rescue anymore.

Her eyes searched mine for a while, but when I made no inclination of standing up for her, I watched as she slumped her shoulders. "Do you all feel that way?"

Edward snorted. "You've done some heartless things as of late. It's hard to consider you part of this family after those actions. When Emmett was in distress, with Bella in labor, he reached out to you. He actually swallowed his pride and reached out for some help. But you turned him away. It was hateful and cruel. It's inexcusable. Blatantly refusing to help… well I'm not sure a person like you would be someone I'd welcome back into my life. Not at this point."

Rose swallowed, but gave him a short nod, before her eyes landed on me. "And you? I'm sure it's an obvious answer. You probably hate me most of all. But I have to ask. I don't have anywhere else to go Em. Please…" Her lip trembled. I could see the sorrow in her eyes. She was putting on an act. She wanted sympathy. She wanted to be the center of attention. And she was very good at getting just that.

"What do you mean you have nowhere else to go? What about Paul?" I asked with a raised brow.

"I'm still… not allowed to step foot on his land. Imprint or not. It's for the safety of the La Push people. Paul would eventually like to build a house for us, just outside of the boundary line. But that won't be for a while. Until then, I have nowhere else to go… I've been wandering the forest at night, sometimes the streets."

"I can't have you here Rose. Not with Bella and the twins living here. I don't trust you. I'm not willing to risk anything happening. Because if it did… I don't know if I can burden myself with your death on my shoulders for the rest of eternity."

She heard the threat, loud and clear. Her eyes widened in surprise. "You'd kill me? You'd actually kill me, over her? And those babies?"

"Without hesitation."

Rose seemed to be getting angry now. She turned to look at Jasper and Edward. There was a low growl bubbling deep within her chest. Jasper narrowed his eyes at her, moving into a defensive crouch.

"If you were to touch Ana, the same can be said for me." Edward warned with a dark glare in her direction. "Like Emmett said, I don't really want to kill you… But if I have to choose between her life or yours, I'll pick Ana."

"You're all bastards. I shouldn't even waste my time. I should have known." She hissed, turning her back to us. "Let Carlisle no I was here." Was the last thing she said, before marching with her head held high, back into the woods.

But I knew better. She just took a huge hit to her ego. Rose was insecure, always has been. And the fact that none of us were about to let her back into our lives, would bother her for a while. I never meant for things to happen this way. I wanted to divorce her and continue on with a peaceful life. Not saying that I wanted to remain friends, but I at least was hoping for a civil relationship. No expectations, no bullshit, no feelings. Just two people, existing in the world, that aren't connected, but are just there… barely noticing each other's existence.

I could see now, that wasn't possible. Maybe it was my fault. For how everything ended. I don't know. It was something I tried not to think about. I didn't want to feel like I was some kind of scum bag. I could have left her differently… without having an affair. It was disrespectful to her. Even though I never truly was happy with her… she didn't deserve being cheated on. No one did. No matter how terrible they might have been. Cheating only made me less of a man. One day, I will apologize to her correctly and mean it. But I wasn't at that point yet. I held a lot of unresolved anger towards her. And if I was being honest with myself, at this point, I didn't feel bad about it. Did that make me a bad person? Probably… a heartless asshole… But I just haven't got to that part yet.

Edward heaved his shoulder, turning to shake his head at me. "You aren't a heartless asshole. It takes time to process things. When you are ready, I'm sure things will change. For now, just focus on what's important. Bella and those kids."

His words calmed my frazzled thoughts.

Jasper moved over to my side as well with a small smile. "It sounds like Emerson is awake, we can spar some other time."

I nodded, hearing the sounds of Emerson muttering and stomping his feet. He had no-doubt climbed out of his bed and was walking around his room.

"Thanks guys," I said with a grin.

I was truly a lucky guy to have such awesome brothers.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Sorry it took so long to get this update. Life was throwing some curveballs. Review, Favorite, Alert. Anything is appreciated.