BELLA'S POV:

Always the cautious one, Edward reached forward and grabbed me around my waist, pulling me behind his back to shield me from whatever it was in front of us.

The person didn't seem to be threatening. I leaned to the side to peek shyly out from behind my love.

"Emmett?" I heard myself ask.

What was Emmett doing here? I had just been having the time of my life with Edward. We were just exploring the depth of our love for each other when Emmett had broken through.

I felt suddenly drawn toward him. I felt the need to hug him and hold him. And with these new emotions toward Emmett, I felt new emotions to Edward… I was furious with him, accusing him.

I was interested, vitally engrossed in the dream; I wanted to know what would happen next. But it never ended.

I was standing halfway between them, leaning more in the direction of Emmett than Edward, when the dream dissolved into subconscious nothingness.

EMMETT'S POV:

I could feel the moment her dream turned into a nightmare. Her body had tensed up and she was saying everything in a panicky, hurt tone.

"Why?" she said over and over.

And then she said my name, and Edward's too, all jumbled up with other things I couldn't seem to make out. Then she said, "Who do I pick?"

I was confused and a little hurt, so I left the room.

It was foolish of me to feel hurt. She was Edward's not mine… But if she was… NO! I stopped that thought before it could plant painful seeds in my head that would only make me muse endlessly about what might have been if she picked me. So if she didn't, I wouldn't be surprised.

She was Edward's… Never mine.

BELLA'S POV:

I woke to an empty bed. Just me and the pillow that would have been suffocating had it had the ability to breathe. It seemed my life depended on my grip on the cloth-encased feathers.

I tried to remember the dream I had had. Before I could pull the dream completely back into my train of thought, a small knock sounded at the partially closed door.

"Yeah?" I asked shakily, my voice raspy from sleep.

"Can I come in?" came Emmett's voice from the other side of the white door.

"Sure." I said quietly.

He walked in slowly and sat on the bed next to me.

"So I heard some things from your dream." Emmett started out awkwardly.

I blushed and put my face in my hands, embarrassed.

"What did you hear?" I asked.

"'Who do I pick?' You should pick Edward. You were his before you even knew me. I want you to pick Edward."

I looked up, shocked. "Why?"

"Because, you two belong together."

I still didn't get it.

"But he is cheating on me." I said.

"He might not be… We could just be mistaken."

It took a moment to process all of that. Well, I didn't have any actual proof, and Edward had always said I was the only girl for him. But wasn't that what all guys told their girlfriends before they cheated on them. No. I guessed that with vampires, relationships ran more deep than that. Edward really was a good guy, the odds of him cheating on me were very slim.

I sighed in defeat, realizing now that I had just cheated on him, when he had actually probably not been cheating on me.

I felt terrible. Like maybe I would throw up.

"Hey," Emmett said, using the side of one knuckle to lift my face. "It'll be okay. Edward cant read your mind and I can just not think about it."

I tried to convince myself he was right. But if I found out that Edward had actually not been cheating on me, I would probably tell him what had happened anyway.

I closed my eyes and leaned back on the bed. Before I knew it, I was asleep again.

EMMETT'S POV:

The rest of the week passed with little talking and little contact with each other at all.

She did all of her own cooking and I stayed in Alice's room, not knowing why this room, of all the rooms in the large house, provided the most comfort.

I listened intently to the sound of her heart beating and the things she did. Mostly she sat on the couch and read or watched TV.

I wished I could hear what she was thinking the way Edward couldn't.

BELLA'S POV:

The rest of the week passed slowly and quietly.

Even with all of the distractions of TV and books and the Cullen's seemingly endless supply of board games, my thoughts still managed to find their way back to Emmett in whatever room he was hiding out in. Even if I had known where he was, I wouldn't have gone to find him. I was too confused.

What would happen after the rest of the family came back? Would Emmett stay pretending like I didn't exist? Or would he put on a smile and make everyone believe that nothing had happened in the week they were gone?

On the day they were supposed to arrive back home, I stood staring out of the long, windowed wall of Edward's room, my forehead pressed against the cold glass, my breath making a small circle of fog right in front of my mouth.

I felt a gentle arm wrap around me and some small kisses were placed right along my neck.

"What is the matter?" a familiar voice whispered in my ear.

"Edward, I've just missed you so much." I lied smoothly, turning and wrapping my arms around his cold, rigid sides.

"I've missed you too, Bella." he said so intensely that I was reminded of my assumption and kicked myself internally for ever doubting what I had with Edward. "So how was your week?" he asked, pulling my hand and leading me to the bed where he cradled me in his lap.

"Good… Emmett has expanded his arsenal of klutz jokes." I lied again, hoping this seemed a legitimate enough claim.

He chuckled and nodded, adding a soft kiss to my forehead.

I smiled and wished he had never left and all of that childish nonsense with Emmett had never happened. I felt horrible for having kissed Emmett, even under the impression that Edward was cheating on me.

He shifted for a moment and said, "It was going to be a surprise, but I cant keep this from you. I don't want you to think that I was sneaking off with Rosalie for anything that you wouldn't approve of because, no doubt, you have noticed us both going away at the same times."

I sometimes wondered if maybe he really couldn't read my mind. I used extra care in making sure I didn't think about anything bad that had happened this weekend. Just in case.

"We were working on something, a construction project. That's where all of us were this week, building on it. I… Well, I'm not going to tell you want it is, but I will tell you that it is a surprise for you. So act surprised when you see it, please?" Then he laughed to himself and said, "Who am I kidding? You're a terrible liar."

I was glad he still thought that so he would never have any reason to think twice about the friendship between Emmett and I.

Bella and Emmett never let up their façade of "only friends" around Rosalie and Edward, but every now and then, one or the other will sneak a glance at them and when they are alone, they remember what passed between them in those few days they were given. Nobody ever suspected anything had happened, but they will always wonder what might have happened, had they not been mistaken.