WARNING: The following story contains violence, coarse language and mature subjects. Readers discretion is advised.

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue. I don't own Twilight, so please don't sue!

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After such an intimate moment back at the hotel, I was worried that everything would be awkward between Bella and I. When her tears finally dried up, there was a silence between us, and I could only hear the hushed voices of the guys and the sounds of nature surrounding us. I don't know if she felt it but I was a little uncomfortable having her so near. The memories of the passion we shared only a few hours ago was making me uneasy. I had no idea what Bella was thinking. She looked deep in thought as her eyes stared, unblinkingly, at her foot. My heart thumped and I found myself continually swallowing as if there was something stuck in my throat. She was driving me to the brink of insanity with her silence!

"So, what are you?" she suddenly asked me, her gaze never leaving her foot.

I felt a little better that the conversation had resumed, but her question confused my muddled brain.

"That's kind of an open question," I chuckled nervously.

"A city or country boy?" she clarified.

I let out a huge breath of relief and she looked up at me. Her wide brown eyes seared into my own and I felt as if she could see right through me. Like she could see the thoughts that plagued my mind; the dark look in her doe eyes almost made me believe she had seen the inappropriate pictures flashing through my mind.

"Why don't you guess?" I suggested, giving her a shaky smile.

She took a moment, staring at me the whole time. Again, I felt like my skin was transparent.

"City boy," she finally decided.

I blinked at her sure answer. She looked so certain about it with her raised chin and furrowed brows. No blush or insecurity. Was she beginning to feel comfortable around me?

"How'd you know?" I asked.

She shrugged. "It's all in the attitude. I grew up in a small town and you don't seem like that kind of guy. You're more of a…go-go-go type of person." I grinned, laughing and shaking my head. Was I really that obvious? "So what big city?" she continued, eyebrow raised.

"Chicago," I answered. "Born and raised." And it was the truth. Chicago was and always would be home, no matter how long I stayed away.

"Wow," she said with a nod. "Impressive."

I grinned before rounding on her with a curious expression of my own. "So I told you my home town, now what's yours?" I asked.

"You probably don't even know it," she said with a blush, averting her eyes from mine.

"Humour me," I chuckled, trying to catch her eye again.

She sighed in defeat but didn't look at me. "It's called Forks," she said in a monotone voice. "It's like an insignificant little dot on the map a few miles from Seattle."

"You don't sound that happy about living there," I said with a frown. I wondered how someone could hate the place where they grew up. Sure, Chicago had its bad days but I still loved it. The snow was shit sometimes, but there was always a new snow ball fight to create and a warm house to come back to.

"Well it's kind of a Hell hole," she began. "It rains twenty-four seven and it's cloudy and cold. I'm kind of enjoying the heat here." She laughed before sighing, her shoulders slouched again. "It's just so interesting here. I mean...it's dangerous and heart breaking…but the culture! It's just so different from Seattle!"

I was fascinated by her expressions as she spoke. Her eyes lit up and she raised her head to look out the window at the farm in the distance. She used her hands, clutching her chest when she spoke of the culture. This beautiful smile graced her face and she laughed again. God that laugh made my chest ache.

"It's like a rush, you know?" she went on, glancing at me before going back to staring out the window. "Nothing in Seattle could ever compare to this! Just thinking about all those boring stories I could have been given and I got this one!" Her smile widened and she looked at me again. "I worked tooth and nail to be given something as exciting as this assignment. It means everything to me…I guess I just went a little over board with my anger and it shouldn't have been directed at you." She looked at her folded hands, all traces of excitement gone. "After all, without you I'd probably be dead right now."

I swallowed heavily again and ran a hand through my hair. This was going in the wrong direction.

"You already apologized," I chuckled nervously. "We both agreed that I was an asshole. Let's just leave it at that."

She pressed her lips together as if she wanted to say more, but after a moment she nodded and I sighed in relief. Looks like I dodged the bullet, in a figurative way of course.

"So you keep talking about Seattle," I went on. "Do you still live in Forks or is the city your new home?"

"I used to live in Forks," she said, putting emphasis on the 'used to' part. "I didn't want to be stuck there for the rest of my life like my mother…" She trailed off for a moment, but before I could ask her about that little slip, she moved on. "But anyway…I moved to Seattle to go to college for journalism."

"Why journalism?" I asked, actually curious.

She laughed. "Well I always had a passion for books and writing," she admitted. "But you know how difficult it is to be an author in this day in age. So I picked the next best thing. Of course I'm about print not broadcast. I wouldn't be caught dead in front of a camera." She blushed and giggled nervously.

I nodded, taking in all the information she was giving me and storing it away for later use. "So, go on," I said. "You said you moved to Seattle…"

"Yeah," she answered, continuing on with her story. "Well it's pretty expensive to live in a city like that so I had to find a place that was cheap and cheerful. My Dad, Charlie, found out I wanted to move to Seattle and got worried. I mean, he's a police chief of a small town. It's natural for him to worry, right?" She turned to look at me questioningly. Shit. Her father was a cop? Well that didn't bode well for me. He'd probably pull the hand gun on me as soon as he figured out how much I wanted his daughter. Not such a good first impression.

"Yeah, sure," I answered shakily.

"Well," she went on. "He found out that a friend of his lived in Seattle. Carlisle and Esme Cullen had an old house that they were remodeling. It had a student apartment in the basement and was only a few blocks from the college I wanted to attend. He felt satisfied that I would be in safe hands so I went and lived with them, paying less than half of what other students paid for housing." She smiled. "And they were and are really nice people. Esme would always ask if I wanted dinner or breakfast made for me. I would never starve in that house."

I chuckled. "This Esme kind of reminds me of my mother," I said, thinking out loud.

She must have noticed the distant look on my face. "Do you miss home?" she whispered.

I found myself reaching into my pocket and pulling out the picture Alice had sent me. I twisted it around and around, watching my family disappear into a white background and reappear with a happy sister, mother and nephew.

"All the time," I murmured.

I felt rather than heard her move closer to me so she could peak at the picture in my hands. I could almost feel her chin resting on my shoulder and her hand on my arm. But she kept a safe distance while surveying the photo.

"She's beautiful," she said, pointing at the grinning Alice sitting on the bed. Was it just me or did Bella's voice seem…heartbroken?

"It's my sister, Alice," I answered.

"Your sister?" she asked in surprise.

I nodded before pointing at my Mom. "And that's my mother, Elizabeth, and my nephew, Masen."

"Your nephew," she whispered. Her eyes met mine for a moment. "It's funny thinking of you having such a normal family," she went on.

"I'm hardly indestructible, Bella," I said with a grin. "I'm made of flesh and blood, just as much as you are." I inhaled deeply and sighed. "I'm sorry if I come off as cold. I'm just always feeling…pressured. It's a hard job…"

"But somebody's got to do it," she said with a smile.

"Hey," I said, chuckling before running a hand through my hair again. "Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I love the people I meet and the places I go but sometimes I just want to…"

"Settle down?"

"Live a life without danger," I corrected with a smirk. "The thing is I don't think I'm cut out to be a settling down man. I'm too curious and flighty for my own good."

"Hasn't your girlfriend ever mentioned settling down?" she asked. Blushing brightly she covered her mouth. "I'm sorry," she said through her fingers. "I shouldn't have asked that."

"Naw," I chuckled. "It's all right." She opened her mouth to apologize again but I just held up my hand. "I can't really have that conversation with a girlfriend when I don't have one."

"You don't?" she asked with wide eyes.

I laughed. "You look surprised," I said. She blushed again and pressed her lips together as I continued. "No, I don't have a girlfriend. It's kind of difficult to keep up a relationship when you're moving all over the world for months at a time."

"Your comrades seem to be able to do it," she contradicted.

"Well I guess I've never found a woman willing to wait for me," I answered with a shrug. "The girls I pick are just as flighty as I am. My sister always says I have a terrible taste in women," I laughed half heartedly.

"So what is your taste in women?" she asked with a frown and a look in her eyes that I couldn't define. "Blond? Tall?"

My laugh was real this time. "You're describing Emmett's taste right now," I chuckled but didn't answer her question, hoping she'd give it up.

"So…" she said after a moment of silence, dragging it out as she waited.

Oh God. She wanted me to actually answer? I sat there, staring at her like a deer in headlights. If I answered her question, I would be describing her: brown hair I wanted to touch, brown eyes I get lost in, full lips I can't wait to taste, pale skin I want to kiss again, perfect body I want to worship for the rest of my fucking life...

"Brunettes," I blurted out. I couldn't help but let my gaze wander down to her lips.

Suddenly the air became tense and uncomfortable. We had come to the topic both of us had wanted to ignore. I could see the look in her eyes that said she had realized this at the same time I had. There was definitely a big, fat ass elephant in the room, one that we wished we could just ignore. Better yet, there was a snarling, man-eating tiger in the room. There was no hiding. It was bound to have come out and now it was time to face it. Would it be a mistake or a path to bigger and better things?

"Edward," she began in a small voice without looking at me. There was a pregnant pause in which I thought about what to say. Only two words really came to my mind at that moment.

"I'm sorry," we both said at the same time. Our heads snapped up to look at one another in surprise.

"Bella, I was the one that did it!" I hissed, my eyes looking over at Jasper and Mamun across the room.

"But I was the one that made you!" she snapped back.

"Bella, don't start -"

"Edward!"

We both looked up quickly to see Mamun waving me over. We had become so intense in our conversation that I hadn't noticed how close we really were. Our sides were touching and my hand was only a few inches from her knee. I gave one last look at Bella before pulling myself up and jogging over to where Jazz and Moony were sitting.

"Take a look," Mamun said, handing me the binoculars he had been using. I felt relieved that he didn't bring up Bella and I. Somehow I knew that I just couldn't take it.

I brought the lenses up to my eyes and stared out into the distance. The sky was an orange colour, a telltale sign that sun down was upon us. One hour more and we'd be surrounded by the night and that wasn't good. Staying out in unknown, enemy territory at night was an advantage to them and a disadvantage for us. We had to move quickly if we were going to search the premises.

But it was just our luck that there was a dirty, red truck driving down the lane towards the farm house. The dogs that had been chasing chickens were now barking wildly at the vehicle as it came down the road. It looked like there were four men in the truck bed and at least three more inside the cab. All seemed to be armed. The vehicle screeched to a halt near the front door and the people in the back leaped off quickly. They jogged up to the front door, pushing it open, and allowing the dogs to follow them eagerly inside.

The boys in front slipped out, slamming their doors and talking to each other as they leisurely strolled up to the front door. They obviously weren't worried about an ambush.

When the door finally closed and the windows lit up with what looked like candle light, I lowered my hands. Everyone had their eyes on me and I felt the pressure to make a decision. Sighing, I handed Moony back his binoculars and turned to face them.

"We have to move in," I said in a whisper. "They might have some kind of information about the blast. If we don't hear anything of importance we can just leave quietly. Agreed?"

They all nodded as Emmett and Newton slipped down the ladder to join us. "All right," I said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Em and Jazz take the back. Make sure you cover all exits." They nodded and moved to collect their things. "Moony, you're with me out front. I need you for translation." I turned to Mike who was nervously fiddling with his shirt. "Newton, you stay here and lay low with Miss. Swan. Call back to base if anything goes wrong." He looked half relieved and half scared as shit. Plus, he wouldn't have to come into the battleground with us. Negative, he'd be alone. I continued to second guess myself. Newton and Bella alone? It made my skin crawl but it had to be done.

I went back to the corner that Bella was now standing in, to get my rifle. She glared at me, but I ignored her, choosing to load my gun instead.

"Lieutenant," she hissed. Huh. I wondered what ever happened to calling me 'Edward'. "I do not appreciate getting left behind again."

"Trust me," I chuckled darkly as I straightened up to look at her. "You don't want to be down there."

She paled when she saw the look I was giving her. At least her mouth was shut. Winking once at her playfully I jogged over to the other guys that were slowly filing out the door. Newton was standing there and I stopped to glare down at him. "Right, Newton," I growled and he stared wide eyed at me. "If anything happens to Miss Swan, and I mean anything, I'll make sure that you'll never be able to procreate." His mouth dropped open in horror. "Got it?" I hissed.

"Yes," his voice came out higher than normal before he cleared his throat. "Yes, sir."

"Good," I said, stepping back from him and glancing over my shoulder once more at Bella. She was sitting in our corner now, cross legged and writing furiously on her notepad. I chuckled before going out to meet Moony in the trees.

We moved forward silently but quickly, our eyes always trained on our target. The air was humid and heavy again. I could feel the sweat dripping down my temples and I rubbed the back of my hand against my forehead as we moved closer again. It was difficult to move quietly when there were twigs and leaves to crunch under our feet but it was our job. We were trained to be able to go in and out without a sound. And that training was coming in handy at this moment as I stepped carefully over each and every twig which held the potential to raise the alarm.

Moony stopped half way, allowing me to over take him and lead us towards the house. I kept to the shadows that the setting sun gave us, moving swiftly towards the two cars that were parked beside the target. Once we reached the small white vehicle, I dropped to my knees and crawled towards the house. I felt Mamun, drop behind me but I didn't check on him until my back was against the wood of the building. He inched closer until he was sitting next me, both of us breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

I felt him hit my shoulder suddenly. He nodded his head towards the white car we had just passed and I looked up at it with confusion. Then my eyes widened in realization. There, on the back window, was a small, black symbol: an X with an eye in the middle, the symbol of the terrorists.

"Fuck," I mouthed. Moony glared at me and my rude words but I ignored him. We were definitely at the right place.

I shoved him and jacked my thumb towards the window that was above us. He rolled his eyes and strained to listen to the words that the men were speaking in their rapid tongue. As Mamun listened, I turned to keep watch around the farm. The cows hadn't even noticed us and continued to graze easily in the setting sun. Everything seemed at peace and there was nothing out of the ordinary. Right, I thought. There wereonly seven armed terrorists inside the building we were spying on. Nothing out of the ordinary, my ass.

As I sat there and kept watch, I couldn't help but let my thoughts drift towards Bella. I still felt antsy about leaving her there with a creep like Newton, but what else could I do? Take her down here with me? That definitely wouldn't be a good idea. She'd have tripped already, the sound of her fall alerting those inside the house that something was wrong.

She might have even gotten shot already. I winced at the thought and Moony looked down at me with concern. I shook my head and he went back to his task.

This was not healthy, especially for me. How could I be so obsessed over one woman in such a short amount of time? One who was clumsy and stubborn…and beautiful and smart and…

My eyes shot up as I noticed movement at the building where Bella was. I almost swore out loud when I saw Newton in the window. Fucking asshole was going to blow our whole cover! I tried to quietly reach for my walkie to dress him down but it was too late. They had noticed him just as I had.

The alarm was raised as one shouted and alerted the others. Chaos erupted as doors opened and running was heard. Moony and I were forced to sneak away from the window and hide behind the cars. Breathing heavily again, I peeked around the side and saw the men running towards the building where Bella was, dogs barking at their heels.

"Fuck!" I hissed. They were going straight for her and she wasn't protected! My heart was so loud that I couldn't hear anything but its frantic rhythm. I didn't even think as I raised my rifle and shot at the first guy in my range. He went down with a cry, alerting the others who turned and ran for cover before the shots rang out in our direction. I ducked and Moony began shouting at me as he raised his own weapon.

"You foolish, adolescent, moronic, idiotic man!" he cried as he skinned one of the terrorists with a bullet.

"Fuck off, Moony!" I shouted back, while firing at one who hadn't found appropriate cover and was crouched behind a narrow rusted barrell. Everything was better now because they were coming after me and she was safe, although now I had to find a way to get the team out of this mess.

I shot off a few bullets, grazing a lot of the men and hitting some, mostly in the calf. The animals had gone crazy around us. The dogs were barking like mad and the cows were running for cover. I felt a little relief when I saw shots coming from the other side of the house. Jazz and Em had joined the fight. Hopefully they had found as good a cover as Moony and I. This little white car was a great shield.

I ducked back down to reload, the adrenaline getting the better of me and making my movements slightly shaky. While I was focusing on my gun, I didn't notice that my arm wasn't hidden very well. It was in SEAL 101 and I didn't notice it. How dense could I be?So now that my arm was a perfect target, one of the bastards took a shot and grazed my bicep. I hissed out profanities, dropping my gun and grabbing my wounded arm. I could feel the warm wetness of blood and saw it seeping through my fingers and down my arm.

"My God, Edward!" Mamun cried, dropping down to help me.

"I'm fine," I hissed, squeezing my arm to try and stop the bleeding. It hurt like a bitch but I wasn't about to whine.

"You are most certainly not fine!" he yelled over the gun shots, ripping a piece of his shirt off and reaching forward to wrap it around my bicep. "It could have hit the muscle."

"Naw," I groaned. "It just grazed me." He tied it tightly and I gritted my teeth together. "I'm fine, Moony!"

"No!" he growled. "You are not fucking fine!"

Holy shit! My head snapped up to catch his angry gaze. He just cursed! This shit deserved a segment on CNN or a national day of celebration. We had been working for years to try and get him to say some sort of swear word and he finally did it! The stress must have been finally getting to him, but I didn't have any time to speak as the roar of an engine reached our hiding spot. Was it back up for us or for them? I had no idea if Newton had called back to base but it would take them some time to get here. I was guessing it was the terrorist's backup. My guess was proven correct by the squeal of tires far from where we were. Shots continued to be fired from both sides as they piled into the pick up truck that had zoomed in.

"Take the tires out," I muttered to Moony who had gone back to shooting.

A loud pop and the angry screams of the terrorists alerted me to an order that had been followed through by Mamun, but the tearing sound that followed shortly thereafter told me that it didn't make any difference. They were still getting out of here on three wheels. The metal rim of the popped tire was scratching against the dirt ground and making a horrible noise, which was quickly fading. The targets had escaped…under my watch.

As soon as the truck disappeared it was silent for one tense moment. Then Emmett's booming voice sounded, calling our names frantically. I closed my eyes and rested my back against the car, my head tilted skyward in relief that none of us seemed to be hurt. Well except me, of course. The thudding of my comrade's boots became louder until they were right beside me.

"Holy shit, Ed!" Emmett cried. "What the fuck happened?"

"I got skimmed," I sighed, opening my eyes to see their concerned faces. "It's nothing big."

"Nothing big," Mamun snorted while slinging his gun over his shoulder.

I ignored his sarcastic comment and turned to Jasper. "Were you guys hurt?"

Jazz shook his head. "We're fine. We had a good hiding spot behind a metal shed off to the side of the house. What tipped them off?"

I sighed in frustration. "Newton was fooling around and they caught sight of him. It blew our cover and the bastards were taking off for the barn so I shot at one of them."

I watched as they all looked at one another, almost knowingly. "What?" I barked. "You know, I'm really getting tired of this shit. What's the joke?"

"Drop it, Ed," Emmett sighed with a shake of his head. "We need to get you out of here before you bleed to death." He reached forward, grabbing my good arm and slinging it around his shoulders.

"I can walk!" I spat while trying to escape his iron grasp and show them I was fine. This was ridiculous! They were treating me as if I'd broken my leg or something. I wasn't that weak!

I continued to struggle against Emmett's iron grasp but he didn't let go. "Will you stop whining?" he chuckled as we began to walk through the muddy ground towards the barn. "Man, you remind me of my aunt's old parrot. Always squawking!" The guys chuckled and I pouted, allowing Emmett to drag me forwards without any more words. Trust Emmett to make a joke out of something serious.

We walked quickly towards where Bella and Newton were hiding, and on the way we passed the terrorists hiding spot. I couldn't help but feel terrible when I saw two bodies along with a few dead dogs lying in the dirt. I could see they had only been wounded but, to escape persecution and questioning, they had killed themselves. It was enough to make someone sick. I was glad that we could move away from the horrible sight that would be seared into my brain. They might have been dangerous but they were still people.

As we reached the barn, Newton came running out to meet us. He was pale white in the face and his eyes were wide as he saw Emmett dragging me along. I gave him a death glare and I could feel a growl growing in my chest. "Newton, you fucking dick!" I barked, throwing myself at him. Emmett caught me before I could wrap my fingers around the asshole's scrawny neck. "I'll kill you myself!" I roared.

"Settle down, CO," Em said, but I could hear the beginning of a chuckle in his voice. He thought it was funny that I wanted to ring the bastard's neck. Well he could watch. I wouldn't mind.

"What the hell is going on?" came a female voice. We all turned to see Bella hurrying towards us with a confused expression on her face. She stopped beside a still shocked Newton and my blood boiled.

"Edward was shot," Emmett explained with a grunt as I struggled to go for the bastard that was standing too close to her for my liking.

"What?" Bella shrieked and it actually made us all jump in surprise.

"It was just a scratch," I hissed, shooting daggers at Em as he shrugged innocently. I nodded to his hold around my stomach and slowly, hesitantly, he let me go and backed away. I still felt like tearing Newton to pieces, but an unusual calm had settled over me and the blood lust had been shoved to the side…for now.

"Oh my God! You're bleeding!" she cried, pointing to my bad arm which was now dyed red with my blood. As I moved my bicep, the cloth Moony had tied around the wound moved as well and scratched against the deep cut. I hissed quietly in pain. I needed some mother fucking drugs!

"You need to get to hospital!" she continued in a frantic voice.

There was a silence before I started to laugh. The guys joined me after a moment (except Newton since he had backed away from our little group) and soon we were all in a fit of laughter. I was almost in tears. I didn't exactly know why I was laughing so hard but my stomach started hurting after a while.

Bella was staring at us with that fire in her eyes again and her arms crossed over her chest. "This is not funny, damn it!" she yelled after we had sobered up.

"Bella," I chuckled while wiping my eyes. "It's just a scratch. No biggie. Moony can patch me up later. He's a master with a sewing needle." I heard Mamun laugh behind me and I grinned at an angry Bella.

"A sewing needle!" she gasped. "No! You need a sanitary place!" She quickly came forwards until she was in front of me. "You're hurt, Edward," she said quietly and my heart thrummed at her concerned voice.

I stared into her brown eyes for a moment before inhaling deeply. Her sweet scent was mixed with that of my blood, I thought as I let out the breath.

"I'm fine, Bella," I murmured.

"I can clean the wound and give him a new bandage when we get to the Jeep," Moony called from over my shoulder. "He'll be fine until I can sew him up at the hotel."

She shuddered at his words and I grinned. Bella obviously wasn't used to morbid jokes that included blood and gore. In fact, she almost looked sick. Her face was paler than normal and her brown eyes were large and round as she stared up at me. I felt a little bad for picking on her, but everyone has to have a sense of humour, especially in a place like Tembo Bara. Right?

I suddenly felt terrible that I had made fun of her. Just seeing her shining eyes and her trembling lip made my heart ache. How could I be such a moron? She was fragile, that was obvious, and I had just laughed in her face. Real smooth, Masen.

I tried to give her an apologetic look but she just pushed past me to stand next to Mamun. Damn it, damn it, damn it! I had hurt her again and I felt like shit. The day had started out as amazing, went to depressing, went back to amazing, and it was now ending in depression again. I was getting dizzy with all of the emotions that were running through my system. At times I felt like I was high after taking a drug, and other times I felt like an addict trying to get clean; I craved it when I couldn't have it. Bella was that drug. She made me feel amazing at times and then suddenly fucked me up. I couldn't ride this roller coaster of emotions for much longer. I was sure I was on the verge of insanity. Well, I thought, if Bella was the drug, then I was the willing addict.

We trudged back to the Jeep with Emmett and Jasper beside me, Newton trailing sulkily after, and Bella whispering away with Mamun at the back. As we walked I could hear snippets of their conversation and it drove me crazy that she wasn't talking with me. Jealousy was obviously making me green and I found myself fighting to keep walking ahead and not to go back to get her myself. The God damn woman was going to be the death of me!

When we reached the Jeep, Emmett and Jasper ran to tug the tarp off with Newton trying to keep up. He was trying to prove himself and I guess this was how he should do it. I leisurely strode towards the driver's door, trying to catch more of Moony and Bella's conversation but they were holding back. Sighing in defeat, I opened the driver's door to start the engine and finally sit down, but just as I pulled the keys out of my pocket, Jasper snatched them out of my hand. I glared at him as he smiled innocently.

"Uh uh," he taunted with a shake of his head. "There is no way you are driving."

"What the fuck, man?" I hissed in annoyance. "I'm completely fine to God damn drive."

Jazz raised his eyebrows but there was no look of defeat in his eyes. "Nope," he said. "You'll be sitting in the back."

"The back?" I moaned. "With Emmett? I'm not going sit there while he -"

"No, no," Jasper interrupted me, a smirk still on his face. "Emmett will be sitting with Newton. You, however, will be seated with Miss Swan." I stared, slack jawed at him as he grinned. "You two need to talk things over." He winked before jumping into the driver's seat.

What the hell did that mean? Did he see us fighting before? Did he know what we were fighting about? Did he know that we had kissed? Did they all know that we had kissed? I began to get paranoid and started believing that they had all been hiding in the room and witnessed the whole…private moment between Bella and I.

"Check it out!" Emmett bellowed and I whipped around to see a cloud of dust coming down the road. My heart sped up. Could it be the terrorists with even more backup? As soon as they came closer, we all recognized the trucks as our own comrades. It was another SEAL team and, as they stopped to talk with us, I figured out they had responded to Newton's distress call. So he did call for help. I guess that helped his case a little but I was still pissed at the little bastard. The team had missed the action and they apologized profusely for making us take the terrorists on alone but I just waved them off. It wasn't their fault they had been stationed far from here. At least they had some Intel members that could search the farm house and look for anything suspicious. I recommended they start with the white car that was now littered with bullet holes, the one with the terrorist's symbol on the rear window.

As soon as the other SEAL team went to work, their CO came forward and assured us that everything would be taken care of. We accepted that and were glad to finally go back to the Port Italia hotel for a hot shower and a warm bed. Moony cleaned my wound quickly, wrapping it in a new bandage and promising to sew it up for me when we got back to the hotel. As I walked back to the Jeep I could feel the drowsiness over taking me. It had been a hard day with many ups and downs and I just wanted to rest. It might have been the physical action I had been through or the emotional roller coaster or maybe even my wound (that was now stinging like crazy due to my sweat) that had made me tired. Thinking about it, I knew I should be tougher. A Navy SEAL should be able to go a couple days without rest but I was completely exhausted.

I didn't even whine when Jasper slipped into the driver's seat with Moony as navigator. There were no protests from me when Emmett shoved Newton into the seats behind Jasper and Moony, leaving the very back seat beside an exhausted Bella empty. I yawned before crawling into the back and dropping into the seat with a sigh of relief. It felt so good to be sitting down on something comfortable. I let my head roll back and my eyes close as Jazz started the Jeep and pulled out on to the road going towards Port Italia.

The rumble of the engine must have lulled me to sleep because I woke up with my head against something soft and warm. I kept my eyes closed, trying to go back to sleep since the engine was still going and I was still tired. My body was leaning to the side against this comfortable object and I'd never felt so at ease, but the best part was the soft scratching against my scalp. I hummed in appreciation and the scratching faltered for a moment before starting again. I could get used to this, I thought with a smile before succumbing to sleep again.

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Author's Note:

1. My favourite part of this chapter, hands down, is Mamun swearing. I just want to HUG HIM! If you don't get the very end here's what's happened: Edward has fallen asleep and while he's been asleep he has unconsciously leaned towards Bella and is now resting his head on her shoulder. She notices, of course, but doesn't make him move. Instead, she runs her fingers through his hair. It makes me giggle. Not so much Rageward in this one but I promise, the next chapter is going to be hella important and it will include Rageward!

2. So, in honour of my birthday, which is on Tuesday (Nov. 3), I have posted this chapter. Did I post it to make you guys happy? Yes. Did I post it to get you guys to sing me "happy birthday"? …maybe. I'll just sing this anyway: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FUTURE MRS. PATTINSON! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! NOW LETS ALL EAT CAKE AND BE HAPPY!

3. Hell yeah! I got the Rides Again CD! Wait…YOU DON'T KNOW RIDES AGAIN? They're a Canadian band! Gotta support the team! I suggest you look up their music since it has helped me write my boys and their SEAL adventures.

4. Yay! This little chapter has been beta-ed by the lovely Andrea. (hugs)

NOW PRESS THE REVIEW BUTTON DOWN THERE, PRONTO!