"So, what's in the bag, Doc?"

Bella wanted to smack Emmett so badly for asking that. It was bad enough the big leather bag sat like a bloody boar's head on the coffee table. She didn't even want to imagine what kinds of "tools" the petite lady doctor kept inside to share with the couples. From their body language and the fact that she and Emmett didn't sit so close to each other must've given her a clue as to the nature of how friendly they were…or weren't.

"Oh, well nothing I'm going to use…this time," she said with a wink. "We'll have to see where we are next session."

"Next session?" Bella asked.

"Well, possibly. I'm here to assist making a connection with you and your husband, Bella," she told her. "But at this time I don't think either of you are ready for that. Though, I've seen the footage of Vegas and the two of you holding hands and that's something."

Bella and Emmett looked at each other. "It is?"

"Absolutely. You two are quite natural with each other. It's just a matter of moving to the next level…you know…" She leaned in toward them. "Out of the friend zone."

This made Bella very uncomfortable and she began knotting her fingers together. "Well, I mean, you can't force these things…"

"No, but we can help it along."

Bella looked to Emmett, who just sat, uncertain, brows crinkled as though this was some sort of experiment. This whole thing was a social experiment, wasn't it?

"What do you have in mind, Doc?"

"Let's start with something that's not unfamiliar territory. Emmett, take Bella's hand in yours."

Holding Emmett's hand wasn't unfamiliar to her, and yet it hadn't meant anything either. Nor did it have to. Bella's cheeks felt so warm and as the camera man moved close, heat prickled its way down her neck. Emmett held his hand out to her, and Bella simply looked down at his hand.

"Emmett, she's your wife. I asked you to take her hand in yours, not to offer it. This is new for you both, I realize, but I want the two of you to get really comfortable with affection. Take her hand in yours, Emmett."

Emmett looked to Bella for permission, the hesitance marked by the way his brow rose, and by this time Bella decided that refusing the doctor's request was not an option. He took her hand in his finally, and his hand lay stiffly there.

"Okay, good, but where's the warmth? Is that how you hold someone's hand that you care about? I mean, touch is very personal. What else can you do while your hand is in hers? Maybe stroke her knuckles…"

On cue, Emmett's thumb ran along the back of her hand.

"There. How's that for you, Bella?"

Awkward. But she would be lying if she said it wasn't a little nice. "Uh…okay."

"Now, see how what he's doing affects you…and don't forget that actions have reactions. How you react or don't shows him what is welcome. Is his touch welcome?"

"Uh…I guess."

A snicker came from the camera man, but Bella ignored it. The doctor, unfazed, sat on the coffee table in front of them and she put her hand on top of theirs.

"How does it feel? Bella, I want you to close your eyes."

Bella did as the doctor asked and took a breath, the blush spreading now down her neck. "It feels…do you want me to be honest?"

"Honesty is good."

She opened her eyes. "Okay, it feels weird. Sorry, Emmett." Bella pictured an imaginary chat box appearing off to the side, responding to her foolish reaction - a legion of women hurtling comments, demanding to know what the hell was wrong with her? They would no doubt exclaim: Take Me!

Emmett exhaled a breath then opened his mouth as if he were about to say something.

"No, no, Emmett. She feels what she feels and that's good. We can work through this. Now, Bella, it looks like you're overthinking this. I want you to close your eyes again. Now, I just want you to feel his hand on yours. You don't have to attach any emotion to it right now. Think about how it feels."

"Big. Warm. Heavy."

Emmett snorted. "That's what she said."

Bella ignored his little joke as the doctor continued. "Do any other words come to mind? Like secure? Safe? Welcome?"

None of those words came to mind, but she followed what the doctor said, and once again, Emmett's finger ran along her knuckle and squeezed hers. At that moment, she imagined Edward's face, smiling at her - feeling his hand and its gentle warmth, the tingles of desire that crept up from her wrist and she squeezed Emmett's hand in response, exhaling at the contact.

"See, there was something," Dr. Muncher said, "Emmett, did you feel that?"

Emmett shifted his hand a bit, so that his thumb extended past hers and their palms rubbed against one another, and it became more of a dance with their hands with their fingers lacing into one another. At this, Bella smiled as her hand followed Emmett's.

"You are doing great. How does it feel, Bella?"

"Intoxicating."

"Whew!" Emmett said. "Okay, wait a minute. Open your eyes."

Her eyes opened, and the spell was broken as she met the curiosity on Emmett's face. Of course, she realized it was wrong to picture Edward, but at least it was getting her through this exercise.

"I think you two have made great progress. I want holding hands to become normal and comfortable for the two of you. In fact, Bella, I want you now to take his other hand in yours."

Bella was feeling singled out. Maybe it was because Emmett was not expressing discomfort. But still, she didn't like being put on the spot. She extended her other hand out to him.

"Take his hand, Bella."

She bit her lip and took his hand in hers. Now, here they were, in front of God and everybody, holding hands.

"Now face each other."

They shifted so they were now face to face, and Bella hadn't realized how intimate this really was.

"Now, look at each other."

When she met his gaze, Emmett's eyes crossed and his tongue stuck out at her, and Bella chuckled.

"Okay play is good, but now, let's have the two of you just gaze into each other's eyes. Without making or forcing anything. Just allow whatever feelings to come. Also, allow for there not to be anything. But usually touch and eye contact are things that become overlooked in relationships. It is and should be the foundation for intimacy."

She gazed into Emmett's pale blue eyes, trying to keep a straight face after Emmett's little stunt. She found that the shade had specks of light brown, that he held a lot of warmth in his eyes. They sat that way for about a minute before Emmett cleared his throat.

"How long we gotta sit like this, Doc?"

"You can stop for now. Eventually, this practice will get you more comfortable with each other."

Bella was relieved to look at the doctor again, although she didn't feel so embarrassed anymore. "Do we have to hold hands still?"

The sexologist laughed. "You don't have to do anything, but if you want to make a go of this relationship, I recommend getting as comfortable with gazing and touching as you can."

Emmett removed one of his hands from Bella's and they both rose after the doctor announced that was all for today. The cameraman, in front of them now, walked backward toward the front door,and then stepped around the sofa to capture a different angle as they faced Dr. Muncher. Still hand in hand as they stood there, they waved goodbye to her, but unfortunately, their cameraman, Sean, stayed.

Emmett

They held hands for a moment, and the silence seemed to swallow the room. Especially with Sean watching them.

"What do we do now?" Emmett asked.

"I don't know. I guess be normal."

What did that even mean? This was so odd to Emmett because the act of holding hands was something that two people did when they wanted to do it, because they wanted to touch each other. But if there was one thing that Emmett knew was that women liked to be touched…if you touched them the right way.

"Bella, I have an idea. Let's order pizza, and then I want you to grab your brush."

A few minutes later, Emmett sat on the couch, smiling proudly to himself as he looked down at the back of Bella's head, her seated on the floor in front of him, facing the television as he ran the brush from the crown of her head to the ends of her hair on the middle of her back.

"How's this?" he asked, knowing by the soft moan she'd just given that she was enjoying this. No woman could resist.

"Don't stop. Keep brushing."

It helped when you had brothers who had a vast knowledge of females. The McCarty brothers were a formidable lot when it came to bedding women. Though the eldest 2 had married, they'd never believed their little brother would settle down…especially this way.

"So tell me, Emmett, do you brush a lot of women's hair?"

He had not, unless it was a woman that was going to take a bit more effort. There hadn't been many. It was more of a last resort, really. "Not a lot. I just know that it works."

"Works? For what?"

"Err…I mean, it's a good way to get someone to relax."

"Well, that's for sure."

He put down the brush, enjoying the soft sighs coming from her. This even gave him a new way of looking at her. Not just as his wife, his bride, someone he was forced into a relationship with, but as a woman.

"Are you done? Is it my turn?" Bella asked.

He heard the disappointment in her voice. "Nope." His fingers threaded into her hair and combed through the chocolate locks.

"Emmett, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why are you here? You can obviously get any woman you want."

His thoughts turned to Rosalie - the other bride. The chemistry there had been electric. He imagined that he and the voluptuous blonde would have been able to bypass the hair brushing altogether, neither would they require help from a sexologist. "Maybe the kind of women I want aren't the ones that stay…if that makes sense."

"Have you ever been engaged?"

"No. I've dated, even had girlfriends, but we end up finding out sooner than later it's not going to work."

"But why?"

"Because it wasn't right. The way I see it is you don't stay in a relationship that's not going anywhere." Once he said it, he wished he could yank the words back. Was that the truth of their relationship? Or was this trial period about giving it your best effort? Wasn't that what he was doing? Or was he interested only in the physical aspect at this point? Emmett had not ever had to wait this long.

"You're right." They were quiet for a moment then the doorbell rang.

"That's the pizza. I'll get it."

He rose but then she rose also. "We can both get it." She took his hand in his. "We have to try, don't we? Both of us?"

"That's what the doctor said."

Bella bit her lip, and Emmett smiled as she squeezed his hand. The hair brushing was a fail safe. Women couldn't resist. And he knew that he couldn't just dive into anything with her. He had to take his time, had to allow for her to want it. He opened the door, and they stood in the doorway, which must have seemed awkward to the pizza man. It didn't take two people to answer the door.

The teenage boy smiled as he handed them the pizza, and they had to release their hands so Emmett could pull a bill out of his wallet.

Bella with pizza box in hands, rushed to the dining room table. "Perfect timing."

"Yes."

She didn't waste any time and grabbed a slice and was already nibbling the end. Their cameraman was still there, and Emmett had no idea how long Sean would stay, or what he would have to do to make him leave.

"Thank you for brushing my hair, Emmett."

He smiled. "You're welcome."

"Do you like that?" She cleared her throat. "Having your hair brushed?"

"It feels nice. I come from a very handsy family. We are all about hugging and touching, so it's easy for me."

"Wow. My family- we're not really huggers."

"You'll see when we go to my mom and dad's for dinner."

"Have you ever…brought a woman home?"

There had been Brigitte, but that was years ago, back when he thought there was something more than there was.

"It's been a while. And believe me, my brothers saw right through it." Bella was quiet as she ate, and Emmett knew he had said too much. "Hey, I told you already. You don't have anything to worry about." True that Bella was no Brigitte. Brigitte was a personal trainer he'd met at his gym, but she liked her freedom more than she liked Emmett. The years had taught him that he didn't want a woman that didn't want children, that didn't want family, that didn't want him. So, it hadn't taken him long to weed that out from his prospects. Plus, how could his brothers fault Bella? She married him. She wanted what Emmett wanted, didn't she?

When Bella finished the last of her two slices, she set her hands on the table and fixed her gaze on him.

"What?" His fingers wiped across his lips. "Sauce on my mouth?"

"No." Redness filled her cheeks. "Am just trying to follow Dr's orders. You know, the gaze."

That had been the most awkward thing. Staring into each other's eyes. "I don't mind the suggestion, but how about something more natural?"

"Like?"

"Hugging. We can start slow."

Her eyes darted across the room and anxiety lit her features.

"What? It's not like we've never hugged. We've even cuddled in bed."

"Yeah, but that wasn't intentional."

"The point is to be intentional about it." Emmett shook his head. This became more and more like pulling teeth. "Okay, how about we do this in the most non-threatening way possible? You hug me?"

"Oh, um…so I hug you and then you will just keep your hands to yourself?"

"Yeah." Something like that. Or they could just see where it went. But for now, he rose from the chair. "I like to think it will become natural, but we have to start somewhere."

"Okay." She nodded and her eyes looked up at his. Slowly, she approached him and put her arms around his back. He stood a foot taller than she. Sean's presence was palpable. Emmett could feel him, waiting, watching as she left her hands on his back with the lightest touch. Emmett chuckled. "What?"

"That's not a hug, Bella." Emmett kept his arms at his side.

Her face flushed. "I'm sorry. This is really awkward." She backed away from him, hugging her arms to her chest.

"Okay, stop apologizing. You do that, you know. You apologize for everything. You don't have anything to be sorry about."

"I'm sorry… I just…okay…I will stop talking now. I'm just not good at this stuff. The only other relationship I was in was with my best friend."

"And how did you get past that?"

"He kissed me."

"Were you already attracted to each other?"

"No…not until after…"

This gave him an idea, but the look on her face shot it down.

"I'm just not ready for that. Let's try the hugging again. I'll do better this time."

"How about I show you? You can just stand there. You don't have to do anything. I will just hug you. Is that okay? Do I have your permission?"

She giggled. "You're asking for permission to hug your wife? That's funny. Okay. Yes. You have my permission." She took several deep breaths, shook her hands out as if she was getting ready to run a marathon.

"In fact, just keep your hands at your side. I don't even want you to hug me back."

She nodded but Emmett knew reverse psychology worked when used sparingly. He leaned in toward her and pressed her into his chest, then exhaled as he wrapped his arms around her back. Bear hugs were his specialty and most women couldn't resist the comfort and security of them. After a few seconds, he felt the tension melt in the embrace and her breathing relaxed. His hands began to squeeze her with even more pressure. "Is this okay?" he asked softly after about 10 more seconds.

"Yes," she said, laying her cheek against his shoulder. "Good. You're a good hugger."

He was good at other things too, but that would have to wait. With a smirk, Emmett kept the words in his mouth. "Thank you."

"It's…nice… being held."

"And?"

"Okay, so maybe I want to hug you back."

"Well, you can't."

"What? What do you mean I can't?"

"Nope." He was enjoying this, looking down at her arms as they made ready to embrace him. "Keep your hands to yourself, Missy." Emmett believed this was the key. Women always wanted what they couldn't have.

"But, what about what Dr. Muncher said?"

"She has her methods, I have mine."

"But, isn't that counterproductive?"

"Not if it makes you want to hug me more."

"Ohhh… I see what you're doing there."

He squeezed tighter, but then she pulled away. "What?"

"Playing hard to get? Or something. Like you can touch me, but I can't touch you."

Emmett sighed. "Look. I'm just trying to help get us started."

"Well then I wanted to hug you, so you should've just let me."

"Or maybe you shouldn't have asked."

"Wow. This is getting too hard. Seems like you're playing games."

"Okay, okay, now I'm sorry. Maybe that was the wrong approach."

She put her hands up. "Let's just…not…anymore tonight. Okay? I think we need a break."

Emmett had failed. He was not used to failing, but the look on her face…and as embarrassing as this was for the cameraman to be there to capture it, Emmett knew he had to cut his losses. "Okay, maybe you're right. We still have weeks to get this right."

Weeks. 3 to be exact. This was taking much more patience than he thought. Was she worth it? A panel of experts seemed to think so.

A ring at the doorbell caught their attention, and they looked to each other in question. Unlike before, Emmett made his way alone with Bella following behind him. On the doormat sat a box wrapped as a present with a big red bow. He lifted it up and Bella's fingers found the attached card.

"Dear Bella & Emmett," she read, "Please accept this little gift as encouragement to bring you two to the next level. Sincerely, Dr. Muncher."

A/N: I appreciate that you're still with me. Always more to come! Loving you all for hanging in there and sending lots of love for the reviews and follows.