Outtake Number 2

Outtake #2~ (Chapter 20)

"Holy shit, that was fucking awesome!" Emmett exclaimed as he shook his head when Edward and Isabella turned the corner.

"Son," Carlisle chastised, though it was done with a grin a mile wide.

Emmett looked at the group and every single one of them had the same dumbstruck look on their faces. 

Jasper was still chuckling; Alec looked like a proud Papabear; Rose was sporting a very amused smirk, and his mom looked like she was about to start clapping or start the wave.

"What, Dad? That was amazing! Whoever would have thought our Bella had it in her to take on ole' Vinny boy like that?" Emmett asked, still laughing.

"Well, on that note, I am taking your mother home. I'm sure I'll see you Monday at the office," Carlisle said as he stepped forward to give Rosalie a kiss on the cheek then hugged his son quickly before taking a quick glance around at the group. "I have no doubt you all have plenty to talk about for the rest of the evening," he said with a wink and then turned and led Esme away.

When his parents were out of earshot, Emmett turned back toward the others and said, "Let's grab some drinks at the bar down the street. I don't know about you, but I want to toast my bad-ass sister-in-law."

The group all agreed and started heading toward the bar. Alec and Amber were behind everyone and after a few brief and to the point words, Alec put her in a cab and then went inside to meet the rest of his friends. 

He'd known from the get-go that Amber most definitely was not for him, but he'd needed a date for the evening and she had been more than willing to be seen with him, so it was a win-win for them both, even if things weren't going to work out between them.

His mind quickly went back over his conversation with Bella and he smiled to himself. He knew there was someone out there for him; he just hoped she was a lot like his friend. If she was, he was one lucky son of a bitch...even if she had a temper that rivaled Bella's, he thought with a chuckle.

By the time he found the others, there was already a pitcher of beer on the table and a glass ready and waiting for him. He smirked at every last one of them when he noticed there was only one glass, indicating everyone's correct assumption that he would be alone by the time he arrived.

"You all can kiss my fucking ass," he said with a grin before taking a long drink of the cold beer.

"Alec, my man, Amber didn't stand a chance," Jasper said with a shake of his head.

Alec took his jacket off and noticed it smelled like Bella; a fact which made him sigh. He turned to the rest of the group, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Ah, win some, lose some."

He tried to sound nonchalant about the whole thing but when he caught Rose's eye and she rolled her eyes back at him, he figured he didn't pull it off quite as well as he'd hoped. "Yes, Rose?" he asked her, knowing full well she was going to say what she thought, whether he wanted to hear it or not.

Rose looked at Alec and took a moment to decide if she should say what was on the tip of her tongue. She looked around the table and realized the group of them were as close as family, even Marcus and Camille. 

She was well aware of the close relationship Bella had with Alec and there was a part of her, albeit a very small one, that was jealous of that. Oh, she knew if she ever needed someone to talk to, she had her pick of people to choose from, but it wasn't in her nature to allow herself to be that close to someone...and honestly, she regretted that was the case for a number of reasons. First, it would be nice to have that kind of relationship with someone outside of Emmett. She supposed she could look at her friendship with Alice that way, but it wasn't really the same. She adored Alice, but for much the same reason as Bella didn't talk to Alice about much past superficial things, Rose didn't either. There were the moms of Jack's friends, but those were only casual relationships at best as well.

Second, she really wished it was herself that shared that relationship with Bella. It would have been so nice to have the bond that was obvious between Alec and Bella. She knew she was mostly to blame for the distance between them, but she very much hoped that things would change for them as well. She had always been so fiercely protective of Emmett that she had allowed her feelings of resentment and anger at Edward to cloud her willingness to get too close to Bella as well. They loved each other sure, they were family after all, and they were close, but she admitted sadly to herself, there was so much that could be improved upon.

She grinned at Alec though, and said matter-of-factly, "If you didn't compare every woman you went out with to Bella, you'd probably be able to find someone who you could actually date for more than a week or two."

Alec had taken a drink of his beer, a huge mistake on his part, because as soon as the words Rose spoke registered in his mind, he started choking when he tried to disagree with her. It took a few moments, a few moments the others at the table heartily enjoyed judging from the way everyone was laughing at him, before he could finally catch his breath.

"Fuckers," he muttered at the whole lot of them when he glared at each of them in turn.

"Dude, you can't even try to deny that shit," Marcus said as he reached over and slapped his friend on the back. "You think Bella hung the moon, and we all know it."

He shrugged his shoulders figuring there was no point in even trying to deny it. "Can you blame me? Did you see what she did tonight? Not just with Vincent, though that was fucking incredible...but just...everything," he said as he shook his head in awe.

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked as he leaned forward on his elbows.

Alec gazed at him, trying to decide how much to share of the conversation he had with Bella before they went into the restaurant. He would never, ever betray her confidence, but he knew that the others hadn't realized everything Bella had been holding inside.

He mimicked Jasper's position and sat forward, looking around the table. "She's scared," he said quietly and with a heavy heart.

Immediately Emmett's heart and stomach twisted painfully and he curled his fingers into tight fists. "What the hell for? Bella has to know Vincent can't do anything to her; we'd all kill him before we let him hurt her," he said in a menacing tone.

No fucking way he'd ever let anything happen to Bella, he vowed to himself.

Alec chuckled as he remembered vividly the Italian temper she displayed in regards to both Edward and Vincent. No, none of them needed to worry about her being afraid of someone like Vincent.

"She's not afraid of Vince, Em," Alec said. "If anything, Vince will be constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure Bella isn't right there." He stopped talking for a moment while he played their conversation again in his head, frowning as he recalled how afraid and worried she'd sounded about Edward.

"Alec, what the hell is going on?" Emmett demanded as he tried to not let his imagination get the best of him.

Deciding he'd just go ahead and lay it all on the table, Alec forged ahead. Besides, it really concerned all of them anyway. "I don't know about the rest of you, but over the past month and half or so I've been so focused and concerned about Edward and all the changes I've seen in him, I've forgotten all about Bella," he said and watched as six sets of eyes widened in surprise and then six heads hung down as they all recognized what he'd said was true.

Camille wasn't as close to them all even though she had been dating Marcus for more than a year now, but even she had been touched by the changes in Edward. For the rest of them, Alec was pretty sure their faces looked exactly like his had just a short while ago.

"Son of a bitch," Emmett muttered and sighed when he felt Rose's hand rub his shoulder.

"Yep, tell me about it," Alec agreed and took another drink of his beer.

Jasper watched Alec for a few minutes and he could tell there was more he wasn't saying. He liked to give Alec shit about Bella, just like the rest of them, but he knew for certain that Alec would do just about anything for Edward, and for Bella...he would walk though fire if she needed him to.

"There's more," Jasper said simply and then waited.

Alec nodded and then sat back in his chair. He ran his hands through his hair while he debated quickly about what to say. "Bella is scared of Edward going back to how he was before...whatever it was happened to him. I know none of you believe that plane ride story any more than I do, though I'm sure it played a part in it, but like I told Bella earlier, it doesn't really matter. Jasper, Emmett," he said as he looked at his two friends, "maybe he's told you more...maybe not and it's none of my business, but I realized as I watched the two of them all night tonight, that Bella has really had to deal with a lot of shit."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked in a somewhat anxious tone of voice.

Sighing, Alec blew out a breath and then looked at her. "Look, let's be fucking honest here, okay? I love Edward as much as the rest of you, but with the exception of a very few times over the past few years, he's been a miserable son of a bitch. He's stubborn, opinionated...and the most difficult person, man or woman, I've ever known. Day in and day out, Bella has stood by his side, just waiting for him to be the Edward he is now. Did you all see her tonight?" he asked rhetorically, because he didn't wait for anyone to answer him before he went on. "She worked that room like a fucking pro and didn't falter one time. She was poised, confident, and charming as hell. Edward has never put her on display like she was tonight, and she sailed through like she's been doing it for years."

He took another drink of his beer and shook his head before glancing around the table. "I know Edward probably didn't even realize what he was doing because he's been so happy and he's proud of her, as he should be, but for anyone else, tonight could have been a fucking disaster. Anna...Vincent...on top of meeting and networking with some pretty fucking powerful people...and Bella didn't even bat an eye.

"I mean think about it, guys," Alec said as he tried to catch up to all the thoughts flying through his mind. 

"Edward does this complete one-eighty attitude-wise, we stick her in charge of a project with Emmett, something she's never done before, and then she has to deal with Anna Davenport and Vincent Sinclair of all people, and at the same fucking time, keep a smile plastered on her face and act like she has everything under control. I don't know about any of the rest of you, but I for damn sure know I haven't asked her how she was handling things over the past few weeks...not once."

"Ah, hell," Jasper and Emmett groaned at almost the same time and Rose just pursed her lips and shook her head.

Alec noticed it all and felt like shit for making them feel bad, but they needed to know. "I know it, and we all know she'd never complain or say anything or make us feel bad because that's who she is, but that doesn't make me feel any better."

"Is she okay?" Emmett asked and felt like complete shit.

Alec waited a moment before he answered. He knew Bella seemed okay after they had talked and when she and Edward walked away after the confrontation with Vince, she sure as hell seemed perfectly fine but he had a really bad feeling there were many things bubbling beneath the surface, just waiting to come out at the slightest crack.

"She seems to be," he said evasively.

"Alec, damn it, if you know something, you need to tell us. I know you and Bella talk more than the rest of us do, but if something is going on that we need to know about, you need to tell us," Jasper said in a tense tone.

Jesus, he was a fucking asshole, Jasper berated himself silently. It seemed that just like everyone else, he'd been so caught up in Edward and the changes in his friend, that he'd forgotten all about Bella. He knew better than anyone, even Emmett, just how closed off Edward had been and how much different he was now. He was there, every step of the way as William pushed and manipulated; he was there when Anna used and took advantage...he was there when Sophie tried and failed. He was there when Carlisle and Esme held back and he was most definitely there when Bella came into his life like a wish and prayer and knocked him flat on his arrogant ass.

Jasper couldn't help but chuckle quietly as he remembered how hard Edward had tried, right from the get-go, to not let Bella affect him...not that it worked at all. She totally threw his entire world off-center and it was obvious to him as well as to just about everyone else just how taken Edward was with her. She was everything his friend needed and then some and there wasn't a day that went by that Jasper didn't thank whatever power was out there...up there...for her presence in Edward's life...and really in all of their lives.

Her presence, he wholeheartedly believed, had saved Edward. Metaphorically speaking he supposed, but it was likely literal as well. When Anna had betrayed him, and then William died leaving him in charge, Edward was barely keeping himself above water. He had completely shut down and was only going through the motions of living. There were no smiles, no laughter, and for damn sure no happiness. Whatever had happened to Edward when he was younger had manifested itself into some sort of anchor that Edward couldn't free himself from...at least until Bella came along.

Now, after standing by Edward's side, loving him unconditionally, she was struggling, or so Alec thought and his heart...hurt for her. Jasper knew without a doubt that everything that Alec had told them thus far was the truth. He knew how close Alec was to Bella and knew that for Alec to mention anything meant he was worried. Alec just didn't do that...ever. In all the time Edward and Bella had been married, Alec had never once talked about a conversation he'd had with Bella.

He quickly recalled a conversation he'd had with Edward shortly after he and Bella had returned from their honeymoon:

Flashback~ 

"Doesn't that bother you?" Jasper had asked him after a meeting when he watched Bella and Alec walk out together and he could hear them make plans to have lunch. 

Edward had sighed as he watched them walk out of the door and the look on his face could only be described as one of regret. There wasn't a trace of the jealousy Jasper had expected...not one bit. "Not in the way you would think," Edward had told him quietly; so quietly Jasper barely heard him.

"Ed?" Jasper questioned. 

Edward had walked to the windows and he stood staring out over the Chicago skyline. He didn't say anything for a few minutes; he just kept staring, until finally he began. "I still can't believe she married me," he had scoffed and shook his head. Jasper watched as he stared at the ring on his finger, tilting it toward the sunlight as the light bounced off it. "I don't have any idea what I'm doing, Jasper." 

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked as he sat down on the sofa in the office. 

Edward had turned around and leaned back against the windows, crossing his arms across his chest and crossing his ankles. He shrugged his shoulders at him, but Jasper wasn't letting him off the hook that easily. Obviously he needed to talk, though it was certainly something that Jasper wasn't all that used to, even after all the time they'd been friends. 

"Edward, talk to me. What's going on?" Jasper asked when Edward didn't talk for a few minutes.

Jasper waited and watched Edward run a hand through his hair and heard it when he groaned in frustration. "I'm going to hurt her, I know I am, and I fucking hate that."

"Why? How?"

"I love Isabella, let me start out saying that. I love her so much it drives me crazy and scares the ever-living shit out of me at the same time. The moment I saw her I knew she was the one...though I have no fucking idea what that even means. All I knew, know, is that I couldn't and can't live without her. That being said, I don't know the first damn thing about being a husband, and I sure as hell don't know anything about being a good one. I don't know how to act, I don't know if I can make her happy, and I don't know how to fucking even live with someone," he said with a shaky voice. 

"Jas, you know how things were with Anna. I came and went as I damn well pleased and didn't even bother with letting her know when I was going to be out of town most of the time. Isabella doesn't deserve that, but I don't know how to act any other way. I bought her the house in Evanston so she could make it our home, but the sad thing is...I'm fucking scared to be there, alone with her. How fucking pathetic is that?"

Jasper shook his head at his best friend, though it was only because he was at a complete loss as to what to say to him. Not only that, what he'd just said to him was probably the most Edward had ever opened up and told him since they'd been friends. He didn't really understand what was causing Edward so much distress but it was obvious he was almost falling apart he was so upset.

"Edward, I don't understand," he said hesitantly. 

He was in really uncharted waters, he just hoped he didn't say anything to make Edward feel worse than he already did. 

"You asked me a minute ago if seeing Isabella and Alec talking and leaving together to have lunch bothered me and I'm not lying when I say no. First off, I know without a shadow of a doubt that Isabella loves me...I still don't understand why, but that's not really the point. Second, I trust Alec and I know he would never do anything that would be...misconstrued. More importantly, she needs him," he said and sounded somewhat uncomfortable at the admission. 

Jasper opened his mouth to ask the question that was on the tip of his tongue, but was stopped when Edward raised his hand to stop him. "As fucking hard and downright wrong this is going to be to admit, I'm going to say it anyway...Alec gives her something I can't...something I don't know how to do."

"Edward, what in the hell are you talking about?" Jasper asked, getting more aggravated by the second. 

"Look, do you think this is easy for me?" Edward raised his voice and asked sharply. "Do you think I like knowing I can't talk to my own wife because I'm too fucking scared? Do you think..." Edward said pitifully, "that I like knowing that I have to be grateful that she has Alec to talk to because if she didn't, she wouldn't have anyone? Do you think," he asked in a voice that was barely more than a whisper, "I like going to bed every damn night afraid to go to sleep because I keep waiting for her to realize she made a mistake?" 

"Edward, man, I...I don't know what to say," Jasper said. He was completely and totally at a loss for words. "Isabella does love you, I know she does. I'm sure..." he started to say but was cut off by Edward's snort. 

"I know she does, too, but what if it's not enough?" he asked and then turned to look back out the window.

Jasper watched him for a bit and that was the last time he and Edward ever talked about Isabella or Alec in such a way. 

End of Flashback~ 

While Jasper was quickly taking a trip down memory lane, the others at the table were all lost in thought as well.

Finally, Alec cleared his throat and brought everyone's attention back to the present. "Look, I don't know if this means anything or not...or if it's something to be concerned about but...do any of you know what Edward's plans are for CP if anything were to happen to him? No offense, Em, but we all know you don't want to be in charge. Carlisle has made it abundantly clear where he stands on the company and well, between me, Marcus, and Jasper, we could do it...but it's not our place. I won't speak for the two of them, but I love CP as much, if not more, than the rest of you, and even I know it needs to stay in the Cullen family. If that is to be the case...you all know that only leaves one person to be in charge if something was to happen to Edward, right?"

"Holy shit," Emmett muttered.

He never really stopped to think about what would happen if something happened to Edward and the reality of what Alec was implying hit him like a ton of bricks. His stomach rolled when he realized how close they all came to having this discussion be a matter-of-fact instead of just a hypothetical if Edward's story about a scary plane ride was to be believed. And..based on his brother's actions over the past few weeks, Emmett was convinced that even though he suspected there were other things at play, that plane ride had served as a hell of a wake up call for Edward.

"Isabella," Jasper said quietly and everyone turned to look at him.

Alec tipped his head back and drank the rest of his beer in one long gulp and when he set his empty glass on the table he said, "Yep, Isabella."

Marcus whistled lowly and shook his head, though he wasn't disagreeing with Alec or Jasper. He was shocked as hell that none of them had really pondered this scenario, but really, why would they have? Edward was a young guy, in great health, and it wasn't something you normally thought about on a day to day basis. 

He supposed they should have, especially since they were all such skilled businessmen, but he was pretty sure the main reason none of them had ever brought it up was because no one liked to think about their own immortality.

"I can't fucking believe I never thought of that," Jasper said angrily. "I mean, I'm his damn lawyer for God's sake."

"Jazzy," Alice said quietly as she reached for his hand.

There was nothing Alice Whitlock hated more than seeing her Jasper upset...especially when he was upset with himself.

"Sugar...no. I should already have a plan in place in case something ever happened to Edward. I mean, of course the company would stay in the family and because everyone here at this table makes up the majority of the Executive Board, there is little chance an outside person could come in and do anything...but it's not impossible. Can you imagine what would happen if say, someone like Vincent Sinclair, swooped in and got his hooks into Cullen Publishing while we tried to figure out who to run it if anything happened to Edward? No fucking way in hell I'd ever let that happen mind you, but we all know he'd try. Shit, just imagine if something had happened to Edward on that plane ride all those weeks ago," he said and then shivered at the thought.

Rose had been listening carefully to the discussion, all the while fighting her own feelings of guilt. Those thoughts that she'd had before about being grateful Emmett hadn't been groomed by his grandfather to run Cullen Publishing rose back to the surface again. Just thinking about what it would be like if hers and Emmett's positions were reversed with Isabella's and Edward's made her wrap her arms tight around her stomach. There was no way in hell she would ever...EVER...be able to be in charge of a company as large and powerful as CP, not in a million years.

However, after thinking about what Alec had said about Isabella's handling of the evening as well as the masterful job she had done of knocking Vincent Sinclair down a peg or ten, she had no doubt that Isabella could do it, if she had to. Not only that, as a woman that was also married to a Cullen, she had no doubt if, God forbid, anything ever happened to Edward, Isabella would see it as her duty to Edward to ensure that CP went on without him.

"So who gets to be the lucky one that gets to bring this up to Edward?" Emmett asked as he looked from person to person around the table.

"Well, my friend, since you happen to share the same last name as Edward and the same name as the company, my vote is for you," Alec said with a smirk and then laughed when Emmett blanched when he realized Alec was serious.

"Shit," Emmett hissed and then shook his head. "You know he's not going to want to talk about this...not one fucking bit."

"Of course he's not," Rose answered immediately. She knew that Emmett needed to be the one to broach the subject...and really, in her opinion, it was the least he could do.

"Babe," Emmett whined and Rose smiled at him but then narrowed her lovely blue eyes.

"Em, you're his brother, so it needs to come from you. Do you not think Isabella should be named as his successor?" she questioned. Her stomach twisted as she fought the opposing thoughts in her mind. She greatly hoped that he said he did want her to take over for Edward...but then again, all that guilt she felt continued to fester.

Emmett sat back in his chair and stared at his wife for a few moments before he turned and gazed at his friends. "After watching her hand Vincent's ass to him on a silver platter, I have no doubt in hell that Bella can handle pretty much anything that came her way. Obviously she's inexperienced, but we'd all be right by her side if the time ever came and she needed us. I sure as hell don't like thinking about the sudden demise of my brother, but life is full of unknowns, so it's better to be safe than sorry."

"I think it would go a long way to easing Edward's mind if you tell him that we are all fully, one hundred fucking percent, on board with Isabella being named his successor," Marcus told Emmett. "He needs to know that we all think that not only does she deserve to be, but that we all believe she is more than capable of handling the job. After watching her tonight, I don't have any doubts at all that she has what it takes to run CP if it ever came down to it."

"Alec, is there anything else?" Jasper asked with a hint of trepidation.

"I'm not sure, Jas. I'll feel better once Edward realizes what needs to be done, but I have a bad feeling that whatever high the two of them have been on is about to come crashing down to the ground. I only hope that Edward realizes how much it will hurt Bella if he goes back to the way things were," Alec said quietly.

"Well," Jasper said as he slapped the top of the table, "We'll just have to make sure we're all there to help, in whatever way we can if they need us. Let's just hope they don't."