Isabella Swan stared wistfully out at the waves as they rolled onto the white beach from inside of the condo that the Cullens were renting for summer vacation. She had heard of their plans to take a break and head down to the Caribbean for the summer, and had been invited along. She had, of course, literally jumped—before landing with her foot and her leg going opposite directions, resulting in her twisting her ankle, for which she had just gotten the cast off of the previous week—at the opportunity to go somewhere warm and sunny. Oh how she had missed the sun.

However, she had not anticipated this. No, she was not outside enjoying the sunshine and the warm, clear water like the rest of the tourists. She was supposed to be "resting," for as soon as the sun went down, the entire Cullen clan would head down to the beach, and the real fun would begin.

Of course, Bella was not allowed to play with the other children—she thought rather snidely—because she could "so easily break." So she had to either stay on the sand or let the waves reach no further than just past her ankles.

She had not expected this when she had been invited along. Especially not after Edward, Alice, and Emmett kept saying how much fun it was going to be.

Oh yeah, big fun right here. She was certainly the life of the party.

Bella turned away from the window and yawned loudly, tired from the previous nights of no sleep. She had crashed onto her bed this morning once they had all gone back inside, and had surprisingly fallen right asleep, even though Emmett was making the most noise imaginable that one vampire could make. Edward, Volturi, Newborns, step aside. Emmett was sure to be the death of her instead, all by himself.

Bella stood up and stretched, hearing her shoulders, arms, and knees pop as she did so. She turned back to look out the window just in time to see a guy chasing a girl down the beach, before finally reaching her and grabbing her by the waist, twirling her around while she laughed and swatted him on the shoulder.

Not being able to watch any longer, Bella turned away and headed toward the stairs. She couldn't help the blip of jealousy bubbling up. Edward never was like that with her, carefree and rough. She was just so "fragile."

Bella slammed her door, not caring who heard. Well she was tired of being fragile and of not being able to have any fun. Edward refused to change her—it was her life! She should be able to choose what to do with it. But no! It was always Edward behind the scenes, pulling at the strings of her great puppet show, and it seemed that she was the only participant.

No Bella, you can't be friends with Jacob; I don't trust him. No Bella, you can't go out with your friends if I'm not there too. No Bella, we can't go out to the park, it's too sunny. No Bella, we can't kiss, I'll lose control. No Bella, you can't spend the night—what would your father think? No Bella, I'm not going to change you, I don't want you to lose your soul like I have.

Well what did he expect her to do? Just sit back and be happy when she was old and ugly and wrinkly and he was still gorgeous and young?

Bella hadn't even been realizing that she was crying until a tear went inside her mouth and she tasted its saltiness. She was shocked and horrified by her thoughts, and buried herself under her covers. She ignored the knocks on the door by Edward, asking if she was alright.

I love you, Bella, and I will for as long as I live, but I don't want to turn you into a vampire and take away your humanity.

A sob shook Bella and a chill ran down her spine, leaving her feet cold.

I love you, Bella, but I don't want to spend all of eternity with you.

He had never said that, but he might as well have.

And here she was, lying in her bed, crying while outside it was sunny and people were laughing and having fun.

Bella wiped away her tears and waited until her sobs subsided before sliding out of bed and placing her cold feet on the even colder wooden floors, sending goose-bumps up her legs and down her arms.

Bella made her decision quickly as she walked over to the wardrobe she had in place of a closet. Opening up a drawer, she cringed as she pulled out one of the bikinis that Alice had bought her before the trip.

She turned to the mirror in the room and held the top up to her body. She wasn't heavily endowed, that was for sure, but she was certainly bustier than Alice, who could wear something like this easily. She said it was the most modest bikini she could find. Bella didn't want to think about what the others looked like then, if this was the best.

It was emerald green, matching the bottoms. Alice told her it would compliment her brown hair and brown eyes, and Bella had to admit that it did look sort of nice with them. But it would be shining like a beacon against her pale skin.

Emmett's booming laughter resounded throughout the condo, and her eyes narrowed. All right then, let her shine. She would take twisted pleasure in telling Edward that no, she would not change—because she knew what he would say already. He wouldn't want anybody but him to see her so…out there. And right now, she was tired to doing what her boyfriend wanted.

After she had changed into the bikini, the first thing Bella noticed was that she was freezing. The second was that she didn't look too bad in it. She ruffled her hair a little and put her hands on her hips. Okay, so she didn't have Rosalie's figure, but she still looked rather nice.

There was a knock on the door, and Bella jumped before scrambling to put a long gray T-shirt over her body to cover it. "Yeah?" she called out, her heart pounding loudly.

"Bella, Carlisle and I are going to go visit a friend. He lives on the other side of the island, and since it's daytime we're going to be driving. The others are staying here. Will you be alright?" Edward asked from outside the door.

No, Bella thought as she glared at the door, I'm going to wither away without your constant attention.

"Don't worry, I'll be great." She told him.

"I'll call you when I get there. Just let Esme know if you need anything." He said.

Bella wanted to tell him that she already knew that. She wanted to tell him that it was safe for her to leave the house and get something if she needed it. She wanted to tell him that she wasn't some little child that had to be looked after.

But she remembered that he only said the things he did because he cared about her and wanted her to be safe and happy. He was always thinking about her.

She sighed. "I will. I hope you and Carlisle have fun." Bella said in a softer voice.

"Thanks. Could you come out and say goodbye?"

"I'm not really decent at the moment."

"Okay. Have a good time. I'll see you soon."

"Bye," she replied, and then it was silent. She waited two more minutes before grabbing a towel from inside the wardrobe and dashing down the stairs, careful not to miss a step.

Bella felt bad for how she was acting, how she was treating Edward, and for her thoughts. She didn't want to dwell on them and make herself feel even worse. A swim would be good—even if it would be alone.

When she got downstairs she saw that Emmett was watching some sports game on the TV while Alice and Rosalie looked through a fashion magazine together. Jasper was watching the game as well, but wasn't nearly as interested as Emmett. Esme was studying a local cuisine cookbook, ever the good host. And though she'd never said it, Bella could tell that cooking made her happy, even if she couldn't eat it. It brought back a piece of her human life.

Jasper was the first to notice that Bella was heading toward the door, but he didn't say anything, which she thought was a bit odd. But he'd always respected others' privacy. His wife, however, was a different story.

"Bella!" Alice said, all hyper and smiles. "Where are you headed?"

Bella tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I was going to go down to the beach."

"By yourself?" Alice looked troubled at this. Bella appreciated the Cullen family. They were always looking out for her. But she wanted to have fun, and if that meant having it without them, then so be it.

"Yeah," she replied. When Alice's expression didn't change, Bella continued, "I'll be fine."

"If you're sure," Alice replied uneasily.

Smiling, Bella nodded and waved to her. "I'll be back before you know it."

Once she was outside, Bella took a deep breath of the sea air. The condo was right on the beach. She walked down to the water, clutching her towel to her. There were so many people. Would she be able to take off her T-shirt?

When she reached near the water, she began toying with the hem of her shirt. No one would probably look. No one would even notice her. With that thought, she laid her towel down on the sand and took off her shirt, dropping it on the towel. She nervously looked around, and indeed no one was watching her.

The water was warm, and she could see down to the bottom. She was excited as she waded further down into it, past the kiddy-pool restrictions set to her when she was with the Cullens at night. The water was at her knees when she noticed people were starting to go in. Sunset would be soon, and they were heading off to eat at the many restaurants surrounding the area.

Bella tilted her head back and smiled at the sky. It was so beautiful.

When sunset started, she was lying on her towel, getting what little sunlight was left. The sand was hot to the touch, and after a while it felt relaxing. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Forks would be a dismal place after this.

"It sure is quiet out here."

Bella squinted her eyes open and looked to her left. Spread out on the sand beside her was Emmett.

"It was," she told him before propping up on her elbows and searching for the rest of his family. But Emmett seemed to be the only one with her. And now the beach was nearly empty. There were a few stragglers, too far away to see them, and too focused on the sunset or something else to notice Emmett's skin.

"Jasper said you wanted to be alone," Emmett confessed after Bella had lied back down again, "so everyone decided to stay inside." Bella smiled at Jasper's kind gesture. "But I thought you might be lonely, out here by yourself. No one wants to be alone unless something's bothering them."

He turned to lie on his side so he could face her and propped himself up with an elbow, resting his head in his hand. It was then that Bella noticed that she had never seen him in the sun before—well, maybe she had, but she'd been to preoccupied with Edward to remember—and his skin glistened nicely in the sunset. And she also noticed that he was only wearing swim trunks.

Bella couldn't stop her eyes from wandering the length of him. She couldn't tell if she had even tried not to, actually. His body was certainly something to behold. It was a perfect hero from ancient paintings and statues. Emmett's chuckle brought her back up to his eyes. He was smiling, and his eyebrows were waggling up and down. Bella felt her face and neck grow warmer.

"Don't be embarrassed," he told her, still smiling. Bella could tell he was amused. "I won't hold this," here he gestured to his body, "against you." She was more embarrassed, though, because that sounded like an innuendo. She didn't do well with innuendos. "Honestly," Emmett continued on, laying on his back once more and resting his head in his hands, "I don't know how you've managed to resist me for so long."

Bella rolled her eyes. She could hear the joking tone in his voice. But she didn't remove her eyes from him. He was sort of mesmerizing, like Edward. She wasn't sure if it was because he was a vampire, because of the air that surrounded him, or because of his body. She was ashamed to think it might be the last one. But who would be able to blame her for that?

"Guess Edward must have you captivated with his pretty-boy face and charming personality."

"Yeah," Bella said absentmindedly. "He's a gentleman." She didn't feel like thinking or talking about her boyfriend right now.

"Did you come out here to swim?"

Seeing this as almost an invitation to remove the sudden awkwardness she was feeling, Bella stood and adjusted her bikini self-consciously, feeling nervous all over again now that Emmett was here. After all, she was no Rosalie.

Bella walked down to the water. She turned around to face him when she was ankle-deep. "Aren't you going to come too?"

Emmett was sitting up, and he grinned at her. "The view's pretty good from here." Bella thought he meant the actual scenic view, until she realized that he was staring at only her.

Turning away from him quickly, Bella's breath evolved rapidly, and she walked further into the water.

He shouldn't affect her so much. He was just joking around, being his usual self. He didn't mean anything he said seriously. She was overreacting. Besides, she had an amazing, wonderful boyfriend who loved her. And although she was a little miffed at him at the moment, she loved him as well. And Emmett was married to what could be a supermodel.

Bella was letting her hormones run away with her, like the silly teenage girl that she was.

She was almost to her shoulders in water when she suddenly found her foot tangled in seaweed. Bella groaned and tugged on her leg. She was about to yelp but slid under before a sound came out.

It was less clear under the water now that she was further out. She found the offending seaweed and struggled to free herself from it, but it had found a way to knot itself up, and it was too thick and wet to tear. Bella was going to go back to the surface, because she was running out of oxygen, but now only her eyes could get out of the water. She didn't tip her head back for fear that water would flood her nose, and so she went back under to work at the knots again.

And then there were larger, stronger hands pushing hers away, before they skillfully ripped the seaweed from her skin and pulled her up to the top.

Bella took several large breaths and rubbed her eyes. Emmett's hands were steady on her upper arms. He didn't expect it when she hugged him, pressing her wet head against his equally wet chest. It didn't take a second for him to wrap his cold arms around her in return, though.

"Thank you," Bella breathed out. She repeated it several times. Her head bobbled from the laughter bubbling in his chest.

"We can't trust you to be alone for three minutes."

She pushed herself away from him, glaring at him. He continued to grin, and she gave up. She was never a good glarer anyways. Intimidation—especially when with vampires—was not her thing.

Bella wrapped her arms around her chest, glad that the water was so warm, because Emmett's cold hands were on her shoulders.

"Please don't tell anyone." She said. "Please don't think about it. I don't want Edward to know."

Emmett lifted an eyebrow, "Because then you won't even be allowed to get your feet wet."

She nodded; glad he was able to peace two and two together. He'd proved that he wasn't a Neanderthal a long time ago, but he still had his moments. Mostly, he was so goofy and silly that it was impossible to take anything he said seriously or regard it as smart. There was a look on his face, though, that made her think perhaps he was more intelligent than she had guessed.

A coldness filled Bella—something colder than Emmett's hands. It was fury. She'd always thought it'd be hot like lava, not something that chilled her to the bone. But it did, and she got goose bumps on her arms. "This is ridiculous!" she stated. "When did I hand over my life to Edward? Allowed? That's just it though—I'm not allowed to do anything! And if I am, he has to be there with me. He doesn't seem to realize that I've survived my first eighteen years without him. I know how to live and take care of myself!"

And then she was crying. And she was still standing waist-deep in the water, and she was cold, and the sun had set, and she was miserable, and she was embarrassed because she was acting so emotional in front of carefree Emmett. And she was just tired of it all.

Why couldn't life be simpler?

Emmett pulled her back into his arms and she wrapped hers around him, crying into his chest. He stroked her back; his hands calloused. They sent shivers down her spine, his touch far different from Edward's gentle, feather-light caresses.

"It's not fair how he treats you." Emmett agreed, and Bella blinked her tears back in surprise. Sometimes she'd catch the expressions on some of the other Cullens when Edward would say or do things. Sometimes they'd object to something. But they'd never voiced their thoughts as clearly as Emmett had.

The cold arms around Bella tightened, and her heart began beating faster, her breath coming out quicker onto Emmett's sculpted chest.

"You are not his equal," the words were spoken right into her ear, causing Bella to fidget. She'd never been this close with anyone other than Edward. Not on an intimate level, at least.

She knew she wasn't equal with Edward. She'd always known that. She'd often had fears that he'd find a beautiful vampire, and he'd change his mind. When he had left her for so many months after her birthday, she'd thought maybe he'd gone and done just that. Maybe he'd left her for someone he wouldn't have to worry about, someone he wouldn't have to be so careful around. Rosalie was always around him, and she was meant for him. Surely the temptation would grow to be too much some day, and he'd cave.

Bella shoved herself out of Emmett's arms.

No. Edward and Rosalie wouldn't have an affair. Rosalie loved Emmett, and he loved her. Bella couldn't imagine anyone breaking Emmett's heart. She didn't want to. And no, she shouldn't be thinking these thoughts about Edward. He was a good man. He wouldn't cheat on her or do something so foul. But that didn't stop the nagging in her brain that said it wouldn't be impossible. Why should he settle for her, when he could have so much more?

"I should go back in," Bella whispered. She didn't move, though.

"You don't have to be afraid." Emmett told her. "Edward's not here."

Bella shook her head. She wasn't afraid of Edward. She wasn't.

Was she?

She was afraid of losing him. That was all. There was no other fear.

Bella tried to get around Emmett's large frame, but he wouldn't let her.

"What about what you said?" he argued, suddenly angry. Was Bella afraid now? She couldn't tell. "What about your problems with him?"

She was weak in her reply. "There aren't any problems. Everything's fine."

"Then what was that?"

"It was…" the fury had left her as swiftly as it had entered. It never lasted long. "I don't know. It was nothing. It was just me rambling about nothing."

She tried again, and again Emmett blocked her. He wrapped his hand around her wrist. "It wasn't nothing!" he was exasperated. "You let Edward control your life! Why?"

"This isn't any of your business!" she shouted at him, angry again. Why was she angry? She didn't know. There was so much going on in her, she wasn't sure of anything at the moment. Except that she felt like crying again.

"Well I'm making it my business!" Emmett replied with as much ferocity in his voice. It was something new to Bella. Neither Edward nor Jacob raised their voices to her. Good or bad, this was something different. "I'm tired of watching how he treats you."

"Then look the other way!" This wasn't like her. Bella would never say mean things like this. She'd never shout at someone in anger.

So then why was she?

"You deserve better!"

Bella froze. She just stared at him. She knew what she wanted to say—that they didn't come any better than Edward. That Edward was better than she had ever dreamed for. That he was the one who deserved better. But they froze as well.

Emmett pulled her closer to him again, and she let him. She didn't know why. Maybe she wanted to hear what else he had to say; because maybe it was about time she heard those words. She'd wanted to hear such positive words for so long. And maybe, when they came from Edward, they just weren't enough. Not anymore.

She stood in Emmett's arms for a moment or two. They just stared at each other. His eyes almost seemed to glow in the near darkness.

"Who are you without Edward?" he whispered. And he sounded so sad that Bella nearly felt bad for him, even though they were talking about her.

But she felt even sadder still, because she had no answer.

Probably my favorite pairing from Twilight. I just love Emmett, and there aren't enough good stories about him and Bella. This will be a short fic, with only a few chapters. Hope you enjoy it. :)