Chapter 14 – It's Done Out Of Love

Amber's POV

It has been a long couple of days. After all of the shenanigans on my birthday things seemed to settle down. I wish I could say the same for the few taser burns that are left over. Thankfully they're more irritating than anything. What really hurts is the rope burn on the back of one of my shoulders. Thankfully I have a pretty high tolerance for pain.

As I'm driving towards the Cullen's house I can't help the smile that over takes my face at the thought of these past few weeks.

I still can't seem to get over how the weeks following my return from Thule have turned out. I have always felt like there was a big hole in my life. I mean I have friends and I have the select few that have become my family, but I always seemed to crave more.

Not to say that my team or the people that I serve with aren't my family, but there is a difference. I always wished I had a bigger family and I had always thought that was a pipe dream, but the Cullen's seemed to have sucked me in. I just hope that I haven't been reading too much into what I've been feeling. Just because I have started to view them as family doesn't mean that they feel the same way about me. I mean what are the chances that they would welcome me into their family?

These thoughts won't help me do anything but go down a dark spiral.

I'm pulled out of my darker thoughts by the song 'Spinning' – By: With Confidence. I can't help the enormous grin that over takes my face as I crank up my stereo and sing at the top of my lungs.

I'm brought right back to the night of the concert and hearing this song live while I had Rosalie in my arms, at least before everything seemed to blow up between us.

I still have a hard time understanding why Rose acted the way she did, but I'm glad that things between us seem to be going a lot smoother than they were.

Rosalie and I have talked through everything and she has tried to show through her actions as well that she is sorry. I have to say that a big part of me has loved the attention that she has been doting on me with. I just have to remember that she is only doing it, because she's trying to show me that she's sorry and not because she is interested in me.

I can't allow myself to fall into a false sense of reality. But that doesn't mean that I can't whole heartedly enjoy the attentiveness that she's showering me with….I am only human after all.

Almost immediately after I knock on the door I'm pulled into the house by and anxious Alice. She grabs my hand and all but pulls me into the living room. Once we're fully into the room Alice all but demands me to agree with her. I am truly amused and confused as I ask "Alice what exactly am I suppose to be agreeing to?"

"Tink here says that the movie 'Top Hat' has a more romantic dance scene than the movie 'Dirty Dancing'"

"Well it depends on the mood I guess. Dirty Dancing has a faster pace slow dance, where you move to a faster beat. Where Top Hat's cheek to cheek dance scene makes you want to pull someone in really close." I said as I take the hand that Alice is still holding and drape it around Alice's shoulders and pull her into me while still holding her hand.

"There are also times when you just want to spin a girl around a dance floor." I state as I twirl Alice away from my body in a spin and then spin her back towards me as I dip her.

"Hey now, don't be tryin' to steal my girl." Jasper jokingly says.

I briefly notice Rosalie, Esme, and Carlisle entering the room when Emmett laughingly says "You should work your charms on more available woman." As he grabs and squeezes my shoulder, I couldn't help but wince in pain as he accidentally squeezes the rope burn. Almost immediately Rosalie and Esme are on both of my sides and Carlisle is in front of me. I can feel the concern that everyone has for me around the room.

"I'm fine." I say almost immediately. I can see the skepticism in Carlisle's eyes.

I suddenly feel tingles going through my neck. I already know who was the cause. Only one person could cause that kind of reaction, Rosalie.

Rose was softly stroking the back and side of my neck with the tips of her fingers. When I turned my head to give her a smile I'm confused when I see her eyes harden as she's staring at something near the back of my shirt collar. I instinctually know that Rosalie's fingers must have moved my shirt's collar enough to expose one of the small taser burns.

Rosalie suddenly has such a grip on my shirt that she nearly tears my shirt off trying to get a look at my injuries. I wasn't that concerned until she inadvertently was causing my shirt to choke me in her haste to move my shirt around. I started to cough and stutter out "Rose, (cough) Rosalie!? You're choking me."

It was almost instantaneous how quickly she dropped my shirt. The look she gave me nearly broke my heart. She looked so troubled and heartbroken at the thought that she hurt me as she dropped her hands away from my neck. I gave her a soft smile as a grabbed her hand and put it back on the front of my neck as I quietly say. "I'm alright, it was an accident." We seem to hold each other's gaze until Carlisle clears his throat. He exchanges a look of remorse at Rosalie. It happened so quickly that I wasn't even sure that I had actually seen it.

"I should really take a look at your injuries." Carlisle says slipping into his doctor voice.

"What happened dear? It looks like you have a few small burns." Esme asks in her always lovingly concerned manner.

I can tell that everyone is confused and highly confused as I relay the events that took place.

"So they did all that for no reason?" Emmett asks what I'm sure is everyone's first question.

"Well it's kind of a tradition to give someone a hard time during important days or milestones. It was my fault for forgetting, because birthdays are always extravagant compared to other occasions." I say as if it wasn't a big deal, because it really wasn't.

Almost everyone shouted at me at the same time with different variations of "Your birthday?" What do you mean it was your birthday?" and "We missed your birthday?"

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, because I was confused as I responded with, "Yes?"

Alice seemed to pop in front of me out of no where and she grabbed the front of my shirt as she gave me a few shakes as she almost screeched out at me "How could you not tell me?! I would have been able to throw a party!" I could only stare back at Alice with wide and stunned eyes as she seemed to trail on and on about party ideas.

Jasper saved the day by grabbing Alice and covering her mouth as he said "Alice loves to party plan." We both share a smile and a chuckle.

"Well I had honestly forgotten until that morning." I say with a shrug.

"I'm more concerned with the fact that the way people thought was the best way to celebrate seemed to involve tasers" Bella worriedly stated.

I couldn't help but laugh as I tried to explain. "Well like I've tried to explain before the military has its own way of life. We will razz and harass each other to the point of actually getting physical with each other." I say as I point at my neck. "We can do that to each other but with that same intensity we will protect each other in all ways. The people that I train and work with, I know without hesitation that they will always have my six. (my back). There's nothing quite like that feeling."

There's a long pause as everyone seems to absorb and try and understand what I'm trying to convey to them.

"I whole heartedly get what you're saying. You can't live, work, deploy, and experience the things that you do all together and not be bonded over basically everything that you share. It has to be a comfort that you can just be around someone that you don't have to explain anything to, because that other person already knows everything." Jasper says with such conviction that it makes me wonder if he's speaking from experience.

"Exactly, if you add in the fact that Sere Specialists has such a small career field it makes that bond even stronger." I add.

"Well that settles it, all of you are crazy!" Emmett says only half jokingly.

"You know my dad told me a story about when he was sent to Goodfellow AFB to take a class for his job. He was an Air Force Firefighter. Well one of the instructors had a birthday and it just so happens that he was afraid of heights. So all of the other instructors and all of the students got together and tied him to a confined space rescue stretcher basket that they use for rope rescues, and then proceeded to take him to the top of the training tower where they slowly roped him down...…head first. He was also afraid of snakes and somehow they had also found a dead snake and tied it to his chest before all of the fun." I laugh at the fond memory that my dad had shared with me.

Everyone laughed as I told the story.

"It was all done out of love and a lot of harassment." I jokingly say.

"I'm starting to understand how and why all of you are so close. I have to admit that I'm kind of envious of that kind of camaraderie." Bella says.

"It truly is special." I fondly say.

"Well I hate to break up story time, but I think that I should take a look at your wounds." Carlisle says immediately goes into doctor mode.

I am about to argue when I feel tingles on my arm and when I turn to look at Rosalie and just like every other time we lock eyes it's like the world stops. I can't help but smile. As I feel her softly start to caress my neck and collarbone I almost melt like putty in her hands.

"Please….for me? It would make me feel better knowing that you were checked out. Just to make sure that you are okay." Rosalie softly says.

I'm not able to do anything but nod my head. The spell that Rosalie seemed to put me under was broken by Alice who gave me one of Emmett's button up shirts.

"You can use one of Emmett's button up shirt. If you put it on backwards Carlisle will be able to check out your wounds." Alice explains.

It doesn't take long for Carlisle to check me out and as I already knew I was fine, He did give me some ointment to put on that would speed up the healing process. Carlisle left to grabs some mild pain medicine to help with some of the pain his poking and prodding had caused. He told me that I could change back into my shirt while he was gone.

As I was sliding my shirt back on I didn't realize that Carlisle had left the door a jar or that someone had come into the room, but I did when I heard 2 gasps. Followed by tingles that where running throughout my back, from where it had to of been Rosalie's soft hands on my back.

When I turn around I see Esme holding a cup of water and some pills in her hand. I take them from her and down the glass of water. She takes the glass back from me as she gives me a worried smile.

I struggled with what to say, so I said the only thing that I could think of, "It was from a long time ago."

I already knew that the whole family knew what the scars on my back were from. Over the time that we have spent together I have told each of the Cullen's about that time in my life. It didn't mean that having them see them was any less painful.

I'm broken out of my darker thoughts by Rosalie softly caressing up upper chest and clavicles. After a few seconds her tender touches stroked all the way back to the back of my neck with her forearms resting on my shoulders. Instinctively my hands find their way to her hips as I feel completely cocooned and consumed with everything Rosalie. My fingers seemed to have a mind of their own as they begin to softly caress where they are laying on her hips. Rose gives me the softest and the most loving look that I doubt anyone has ever given me. As she continues to play with the base of my neck and shoulders she tenderly says. "I don't care about them. If anything they make you stronger." She seems to hesitate before adding "Besides scars are sexy."

As I stand there a little stunned she gives me a gentle kiss on my cheek then proceeds to put in an extra sway to her hips as she leaves me stunned in Carlisle's office near his makeshift doctor's office. It's not that I have a problem with people seeing my scars it's more about the vulnerability and painful memories that usually encompass them. I do find comfort in them in an odd kind of way. Nikita Gill said it best when she said 'I suppose I love my scars, because they have stayed with me longer than most people have.

Not all of my scars leave me feeling that way, but I can't help feeling that way about certain ones.

It takes me a few minutes to get my bearings before I make my way back downstairs. I must have impeccable timing, because dinner was just being served when I made it back to the Cullen family.

Dinner wasn't a very memorable occasion, but it was still special all the same. It seemed like all too soon the family and I were back in the living room watching a movie. Tonight's movie was 'Casablanca'. Apparently Rosalie loved old classic movies and this one was one of her favorites, which I filed away on things to remember.

About twenty minutes into the movie I decided to be bold and laid a pillow on Rosalie's lap then proceeded to lie down.

I don't remember much of the movie, because my focus was concentrated on the way Rosalie was carding her fingers through my hair, with her fingernails lightly scratching my scalp at different intervals. I must have fallen asleep, because I'm awoken by my phone ringing loudly in my pocket. Still half awake I answer it without looking as I groggily answer with a "Blacole" as I try and clear my throat.

The only thing that the voice on the other line says that I'm able to focus on is "I'm sorry to inform you that he passed away."