I jerked away from him.

"Fine!" I growled. "Do! I can't wait to see what Edward does to you! I hope he snaps your neck, you pushy, obnoxious, moronic DOG!"

"Ah, that's must be music to your ears," Emmett laughed, looking at Edward who was indeed smiling at that.

Jacob rolled his eyes. He walked me to the passenger side of his car and helped me in. When he got in the driver's side, he was whistling.

"Didn't I hurt you at all?" I asked, furious and annoyed.

"Are you kidding? If you hadn't started screaming, I might not have figured out that you were trying to punch me. I may not be made out of stone, but I'm not that soft."

"I'd like to should you how soft you are..." Edward muttered quickly before reading again.

"I hate you, Jacob Black."

"That's good. Hate is a passionate emotion."

"I'll give you passionate," I muttered under my breath. "Murder, the ultimate crime of passion."

Emmett again chuckled at this.

"Oh, c'mon," he said, all cheery and looking like he was about to start whistling again. "That had to be better than kissing a rock."

"In your dreams, mutt," Edward said proudly.

"Not even remotely close," I told him coldly.

He pursed his lips. "You could just be saying that."

"But I'm not."

That seemed to bother him for a second, but then he perked up. "You're just mad. I don't have any experience with this kind of thing, but I thought it was pretty incredible myself."

"Ugh," I groaned.

"You're going to think about it tonight. When he thinks you're asleep, you'll be thinking about your options."

"If I think about you tonight, it will be because I'm having a nightmare."

He slowed the car to a crawl, turning to stare at me with his dark eyes wide and earnest.

"Just think about how it could be, Bella," he urged in a soft, eager voice. "You wouldn't have to change anything for me.

"She doesn't have to change anything for me either... I wish she wouldn't," Edward hissed. His good humor seemed to be waning the longer the mutt was still around.

You know Charlie would be happy if you picked me. I could protect you just as well as your vampire can - maybe better. And I would make you happy, Bella. There's so much I could give you that he can't. I'll bet he couldn't even kiss you like that - because he would hurt you. I would never, never hurt you, Bella."

Edward looked down when the mutt mentioned the fact that he always had to hold back because he could so easily hurt her.

"Yeah, except if you get mad one day and phase too quickly," Alice added, knowing exactly where Edward's mind was going by the slight slump of his shoulders.

"And Edward could never hurt Bella either," Esme said.

I held up my injured hand.

He sighed. "That wasn't my fault. You should have known better."

"Jacob, I can't be happy without him."

"You've never tried," he disagreed. "When he left, you spent all your energy holding on to him. You could be happy if you let go. You could be happy with me."

"I don't want to be happy with anyone but him," I insisted.

"You'll never be able to be as sure of him as you are of me. He left you once, he could do it again."

"I could never leave again," Edward sighed.

"Yeah, the fact that he's even contemplating turning Bella is proof of that," Emmett snickered.

Edward narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"No, he will not," I said through my teeth. The pain of the memory bit into me like the lash of a whip. It made me want to hurt him back. "You left me once," I reminded him in a cold voice, thinking of the weeks he'd hidden from me, the words he'd said to me in the woods beside his home. . . .

"I never did," he argued hotly. "They told me I couldn't tell you - that it wasn't safe for you if we were together. But I never left, never! I used to run around your house at night - like I do now. Just making sure you were okay."

I wasn't about to let him make me feel bad for him now.

"Take me home. My hand hurts."

He sighed, and started driving at a normal speed, watching the road.

"Just think about it, Bella."

"No," I said stubbornly.

"You will. Tonight. And I'll be thinking about you while you're thinking about me."

Edward groaned at that thought, and what it obviously brought to his head.

"Like I said, a nightmare."

He grinned over at me. "You kissed me back."

"That stupid mutt really is insane," Rosalie scoffed.

I gasped, unthinkingly balling my hands up into fists again, hissing when my broken hand reacted.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I did not."

"I think I can tell the difference."

"Obviously you can't - that was not kissing back, that was trying to get you the hell off of me, you idiot."

He laughed a low, throaty laugh. "Touchy. Almost overly defensive, I would say."

I took a deep breath. There was no point in arguing with him; he would twist anything I said.

I concentrated on my hand, trying to stretch out my fingers, to ascertain where the broken parts were. Sharp pains stabbed along my knuckles. I groaned.

"I'm really sorry about your hand," Jacob said, sounding almost sincere. "Next time you want to hit me, use a baseball bat or a crowbar, okay?"

"Or your very angry boyfriend," Emmett chuckled, "He might be up for that."

"Don't think I'll forget that," I muttered.

I didn't realize where we were going until we were on my road.

"Why are you taking me here?" I demanded.

He looked at me blankly. "I thought you said you were going home?"

"Ugh. I guess you can't take me to Edward's house, can you?" I ground my teeth in frustration.

Everyone, without exception, smiled at this - the fact that Bella was thinking of their place as home.

Pain twisted across his face, and I could see that this affected him more than anything else I'd said.

"An added bonus," Rosalie muttered.

"This is your home, Bella," he said quietly.

"Yes, but do any doctors live here?" I asked, holding up my hand again.

"Oh." He thought about that for a minute. "I'll take you to the hospital. Or Charlie can."

"I don't want to go to the hospital. It's embarrassing and unnecessary."

He let the Rabbit idle in front of the house, deliberating with an unsure expression. Charlie's cruiser was in the driveway.

I sighed. "Go home, Jacob."

I climbed out of the car awkwardly, heading for the house. The engine cut off behind me, and I was less surprised than annoyed to find Jacob beside me again.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I am going to get some ice on my hand, and then I am going to call Edward and tell him to come and get me and take me to Carlisle so that he can fix my hand. Then, if you're still here, I am going to go hunt up a crowbar."

"That sounds like a reasonable plan to me," Carlisle said. "Well, except for the last part."

"What are you talking about? That's the best part!" Emmett laughed.

He didn't answer. He opened the front door and held it for me.

We walked silently past the front room where Charlie was lying on the sofa.

"Hey, kids," he said, sitting forward. "Nice to see you here, Jake."

"Hey, Charlie," Jacob answered casually, pausing. I stalked on to the kitchen.

"What's wrong with her?" Charlie wondered.

"She thinks she broke her hand," I heard Jacob tell him. I went to the freezer and pulled out a tray of ice cubes.

"How did she do that?" As my father, I thought Charlie ought to sound a bit less amused and a bit more concerned.

"He really ought to," Esme said.

"I'm guessing he could see the differences in their demeanor," Jasper smiled. "It might be interesting to see."

Jacob laughed. "She hit me."

Charlie laughed, too, and I scowled while I beat the tray against the edge of the sink. The ice scattered inside the basin, and I grabbed a handful with my good hand and wrapped the cubes in the dishcloth on the counter.

"Why did she hit you?"

"Because I kissed her," Jacob said, unashamed.

"Good for you, kid," Charlie congratulated him.

"Idiot!" Rosalie hissed. "That's not something you should be congratulating him for."

"Well, you know that Charlie would prefer the mutt over Edward," Alice said coldly.

"Idiot," Rosalie repeated.