The Man Who Can't Be Moved Chapter 45 Teaser

Last full-length chapter, guys. *cries* Epi will probably post on 12/15 with the coinciding Fandom for Preemies outtake, unless I get antsy and can't wait. I have done that before...

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The moment our lips collided, she moaned softly and brought me closer to her. Her back hit the cupboards, and I lifted her up so that she was sitting on the counter and situated myself between her legs. We had just enough time to fool around before dinner was ready.

“Fuck it,” she said, breaking away from me and reaching out for the envelope. “You should know now.”

“What?” I murmured against her skin, working my mouth over her jaw and to her neck. My hand found its way under her shirt and slowly traveled upward, causing her to gasp as soon as I cupped her breast.

“Yep. Fuck it. I don’t want to stop, and I’m pretty sure that when you see what’s inside, you won’t be able to, either.”

I groaned and stepped away from her, pushing my hair back and closing my eyes so I could compose myself. “Really? You’re stopping me? Didn’t you have some ridiculous scheme worked up?”

She nodded and took a steadying breath as she handed me the envelope. “It doesn’t matter. You should know now," she repeated.

I pulled out the adoption applications that were inside and stared at them in disbelief. I laughed, “Are you-? I…” I could barely speak with how bloody elated I was. It was what I’d wanted with her, been denied for so long, and now…

“I don’t need to call an ambulance, do I?” she joked. “The ticker’s still okay?”

“No, no ambulance.” Christ, I loved this woman. “How long have you been thinking about this?”

She shrugged. “A month, maybe? So I asked Esme to give me an idea of what we needed to do and looked up adoptions lawyers. That’s what I’ve been doing all week.”

“This is where you’ve been every night after class? What you’ve been hiding?”

“Yeah. I was either talking to Esme or meeting with a lawyer. We can get a different one if you don’t like him. That’s not a big deal,” she said awkwardly. “I just want a baby with you. I don’t care how it happens anymore.”

I let the papers fall to the floor and jerked her to me. “It is a big deal,” I said, kissing her feverishly. “Jesus, Bella, I didn’t know if you’d ever want this after…”

She met my gaze and smiled. “I’ve been thinking of our options lately,” she answered as she fumbled with the buttons on my shirt. “And I can’t explain it. I just feel like this is what we’re supposed to do first.”

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The Man Who Can't Be Moved Ch 44 Teaser

Le sigh... Ahem. Moving on now.

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“Wait, where do you want to put this one?” Bella asked, giggling as she held up the massive white platter she’d just unwrapped. Thank God we were nearly done with unpacking. Two weeks of living out of boxes had nearly driven me mad.

“I don’t bloody know,” I replied, scanning the kitchen and trying to think of where an empty spot was in the cupboards. “We brought entirely too much shit with us.”

Her giggles turned into full-blown laughter, and before I knew it, she was doubled over herself, laughing hysterically.

“Give me that glass,” I chuckled, snatching the rest of her wine away from her and gulping it down. “Mixing alcohol with your medication was obviously a terrible idea.”

“Edward,” she whined. “It’s good wine. Your mom buys some awesome shit.”

“What’s the proof on this?” I mumbled, holding the bottle up to my face so I could read it. “I can’t focus without my glasses.”

“You’re drunk too,” she said, laughing more.

“I’m not,” I argued. “I’m old, remember?”

She snorted and fell back onto the couch. “Oh, yeah,” she snickered. “I forgot.”

I put everything down on the counter and walked over to where she sat. She looked amazing in her tiny plaid shorts and her
hair piled high on her head. Her cheeks were flushed with the alcohol coursing through her veins, and her eyes were heavy with sleep. Jet lag was affecting the both of us.

I sat down and ran the pad of my thumb over one of the shadows forming under her eyes. “You need rest,” I murmured.

“We need to unpack,” she countered.

“We’ve time.”

She scooted closer to me and threw her leg over my hip. Her body was warm against mine, inviting. Her nipples peeked out of the thin, white fabric of her tank top, and I couldn’t help but let my hand skim over it. It pebbled with the movement, and Bella’s eyes instantly closed as she pushed herself even closer to me.

“Baby,” she breathed, rolling her hips against me. “I miss you.”

The Man Who Can't Be Moved Chapter 43 Teaser

Chapter should post Weds, as usual :)

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I crawled up on the bed and fumbled for the remote, hoping to resemble some form of normal by the time Edward came back with Riley. I couldn’t let him leave thinking I was anything less than okay, even if I felt like I was suffocating… like a heavy weight was resting on my chest…

The sudden blare of the TV had me jumping in place. I hurriedly tapped on the volume button to turn it down, only to freeze at the segment currently being shown on that God-awful celebrity channel.

Talk about Edward, Jacob, Tanya, and the upcoming DVD release of Rogue filled the room. They panned to pictures of everyone at the premiere, talked about why the “film’s star” had been absent. They then skipped to pictures of Edward and me coming out of our psychiatrists’ office, speculating all the reasons we were there—anything from depression (which was the truth) to marriage issues were spouted off as if they were nothing.

“Masen is set to attend the DVD release party this upcoming weekend in Manhattan. His wife was originally joining him; however, it’s been recently announced that she will be unable to attend. One starlet that won’t be missing the party?” Stupid, dramatic pause. “Tanya Denali. This will be her first appearance since having her son in August…”

I stopped listening, too focused on the clip that was now playing. My mouth dropped as I saw Edward and Tanya walking out together, smiling and waving at the crowd that awaited them in Japan. She was… beautiful, radiant. Edward murmured something in her ear, and she nodded in return. He glanced down at the slight swell of her stomach, and then right back up to her face, silently asking if she was okay. She beamed back up at him, nudging him with her elbow and rolling her eyes at his concern…

My stomach churned at the sight. It was everything I fucking wanted and could no longer have, everything I wanted to give him, but couldn’t.

He deserved so much more than this.

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The Man Who Can't Be Moved Chapter 42 Teaser

Anyone else ready to get back into the smut with these two? Lord, help me...

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“I was supposed to be at Oxford now,” she said flatly.

“You start in January. It’s only four months away.”

She said nothing in return. As usual.

“Bella, you’ll take a couple of summer courses for a couple of years and be caught up in no time. It’s not a problem.”

She shrugged and reached down to turn the laptop on. “Sure, baby.”

I wanted to strangle her for being so indifferent to it all. This was something she had been so excited for at one time, and now… now she didn’t care?

Bollocks.

“So I just got off the phone with Zafrina,” I began, changing the subject... frantically trying to get some sort of reaction out of her.

“What’d she want?”

“I’ve been told I need to go to New York to promote Rogue’s DVD release,” I explained. “And that if I don’t, the studio will take legal action against me.”

“So go.”

I growled under my breath. “I don’t want to go. Not without you…”

“I’m not going anywhere, so I guess you have to go alone. It’s fine.”

“No, I’d imagine you wouldn’t,” I said dryly. She never went anywhere, except to her therapy classes. “When was the last time you left the bedroom?”

She opened her mouth to answer, but I cut her off before she could make a sound.

“I don’t mean trips to the loo or kitchen, Bella. When was the last time you went outside? Went into the study or got in the car to drive? You’re allowed to do that now, and yet, you’ve not gone anywhere,” I said exasperatedly.

“Uh… Last week’s PT session,” she said, almost robotically.

“Last weeks PT session.” I paused, making sure I kept control over my anger. “And when was the last time you did your exercises?”

“Last night, I think?”

Oh, a question… How nice. There was actual intonation in her voice.

“But you don’t know.”

“I don’t remember,” she answered, glancing over at me.

“Ah.” I couldn’t fault her for that. “So, New York. Are you coming? Yes or no?”

“I don’t care.”

“You don’t care.” I laughed bitterly. “Do you care about anything?”

She blinked a few times, clearly taken aback.

“Oh, you think I’ve not noticed?” I snarled, finally releasing all my pent up frustration. Her eyes widened fractionally as I stood to pace the room. “I notice everything, Bella. You can’t hide it from me. I’ve watched you distance yourself from everyone for months, me included.”

“I… I’m sorry. It’s not a big deal that you go to New York. I’m sure you could use a couple of days away from me. You’re around me constantly…”

“Stop. Just stop.” I shook my head in disgust. “If you think for one second that I would rather be across the country than with you, you’ve gone mad. I’ve had it with all of this. You’re getting help. We’re getting help. Now.”

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Chapter should (as long as sick Stratan can manage beta'ing it) post Wednesday!

While You Were Gone Chapter 7 Teaser

Stratan and I were finally able to get some time set aside to brainstorm WYWG, so I was able to write a little bit this last week. Chapter's currently about 3/4 of the way done, and will hopefully post by Saturday (that's the goal, anyway).

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The heater turned on; the air in the vents caused the scent to stir, and my head whipped to the stairs. “He was in her room,” I growled.

“What?” Charlie shouted. He was focusing on the implication of that statement, rather than how… inhuman it sounded. “Who was in her room?”

I didn’t bother answering, just launched myself up the stairs and to Bella’s room. I opened the door and recoiled at how strong the scent was here, and how many of Bella’s belongings had been touched by him.

Her pillow was missing, and clothes were scattered all over the floor. I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, so I pulled out my phone and called Carlisle. I recounted everything and listed off what had been tampered with or taken from her room, all while Charlie waited impatiently beside me.

I slipped the phone back in my pocket and turned to him. “There was another vampire here while you were at Sue’s. The house is going to need to be watched at all times now.”

He blanched. “What did they want?”

“I’m not sure. They could have picked up my scent here, wondered why I found this place so fascinating. It’s strongest in Bella’s room…”

“That’s probable.”

“It is. But… why take her pillow?” I ran my hands through my hair. “I need to speak more with my family about this. Jasper, specifically. They’re on their way now.”

I brushed past him and bounded down the stairs. I opened the door and found Bella waiting nervously outside.

The wolf howled in the distance, signaling that he’d caught up to the vampire and needed backup from the pack.

“Go,” I said to Jared urgently. “Go now. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“What is it?”

“I need you to go through your room. I need to know how many things of yours are missing.”

Her eyes widened. “Missing?” She squeezed her eyes and shook her head violently. “Wait, you said ‘how many’. What’s missing?’

“At first glance, your pillow. But your room has been thoroughly searched. Maybe it was for something specific, but it just… It’s ransacked.”

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The Man Who Can't Be Moved Chapter 41 Teaser

There wasn't much by way of options for this chapter to tease for, so it's a little boring this week... which is why I'm going to post the prompt pic for the outtake I'm working on - it's ridiculously hot. It's for the Squeeze My Lemon series that the Dirty Cheeky Monkey's blog is doing. I've got the majority of it written; I just need to decide if I want to leave it short and err, not so sweet, or make it a little longer.

Chapter's scheduled to post on Weds; the DCM outtake is scheduled to be posted on Dec 1 (tentative date of final epi posting).

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“Are you okay?”

I shook my head. “Not really. If I have to see her go through one more thing because of me… I’ll-“ I broke off, not really knowing how to finish the sentence. “How’s Emmett?” I asked instead.

“Still beating himself up. I can’t convince him that he’s not to blame. No one is.” She opened her eyes to give me a sharp look, causing me to chuckle a little.

“Point taken, Rosalie.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Is it? Is it really? Every time I come in here, you’re brooding in the corner or some shit. It’s hard… God damn it, it’s hard to sit here and watch her have to go through all of this, but you have to stop blaming yourself. It was an accident.”

I nodded once. “I know. I’m trying.”

She glowered at me. “Try harder.”

I held up my hands in defeat. “Work some of that Hale magic on Emmett, will you?”

A small smile played at her lips. “You got off easy. You’re not my husband.”

“Well, thank heavens for that, then,” I joked.

She went to push me, but I dodged her hands and laughed. If there was one thing positive in the midst of all this sadness, it was that Rosalie Hale and I had finally gotten past the awkward best-friend-keeps-a-wary-eye-out-on-new-boyfriend-slash-husband phase and accepted me as one of the few people that Bella would always be able to rely on.

“Get out of here. Alice says you have things to take care of.”

I hesitated, glancing back at where Bella slept. “Should I wake her before I...?”

“Let her sleep. We’ll tell her where you’re going.”

I never moved my eyes from Bella. “Right.”

“You’re going to wake her up, aren’t you?” she sighed.

I didn’t bother trying to deny it. Of course I was.

I walked over to the bed and ran my hand over Bella’s face. It took her a little while to stir, but she finally opened her eyes and smiled groggily at me.

“I have a few things to take care of. Alice and Rosalie will sit with you while I’m away.”

“S’okay,” she slurred. “I can sleep by myself.”

“I’d much rather you didn’t. Not yet.”

She went to roll her eyes, but they ended up closing again. “Fine. So overprotective.”

“Can you blame me?” I chuckled.

“No. S’pose not.”

I made sure to tell her that I loved her—because I could never seem to say it enough now—before I started toward the door.

“Edward?” Alice called after me, stopping me just as I reached the door.

I turned to face her.

“Don’t do anything. Let them handle it.”

I clenched my jaw furiously and glanced away.

“Let. Them. Handle it,” she repeated sternly. “Believe me, they’ll do a much better job than you could ever think of.”

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This week's pic tease:



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DCM pic prompt (ahem, rawr):