I honestly tried to make Brennan listen to Edward, but somehow it just didn't work out. I just couldn't see Brennan calmly accepting what Edward was saying. Which leaves me in exactly the same position. I am very tempted to knock Brennan's head in ;) Please tell me what you think of the chapter; I had a really tough time writing it. I am thinking of making Edward's life even harder now. I should have the next chapter up soon, please bear with me. Uni really sucks.

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Edward shut the door behind him and for a minute leaned on the door for support. His body would not stop shaking and Edward was afraid that if he moved his legs would collapse from him. *~ Marie . . . I miss you so much. I know you would have been proud of me today. You would like Emma; she is so much like you in some ways. Good night darling . . . . I love you, I always have. ~*

Edward didn't know if Marie could hear him or not, but he knew that he needed to speak to her, *~ see her . . . hold her. ~* Emma had awoken all the old wounds again. Edward sighed; this was going to be more difficult that he had originally thought. Now not only did he have to deal with Emma, he had to prevent himself from an emotional meltdown. *~ Life is never easy. ~*

Edward quickly looked up when he heard someone come and stand in front of him. *~ Brennan? ~* The younger man looked at Edward with dead eyes, they seemed empty and lifeless to him. *~ Not another one. ~* Edward waited to see what Brennan would say, knowing that it was not going to be a pleasant little chat.

Brennan continued to look at Edward, his gaze never wavered but neither did it register anything either. Finally, he said, "Is . . . Is she all right?" Even his voice sounded tired and defeated.

"Who?" Edward needed to shake Brennan out of this stupor, it was frightening in it entirety. He just didn't know how.

Brennan didn't answer, standing there absolutely still, effectively trapping Edward between him and Emma's door. Edward was becoming slightly panicky; Brennan's unresponsiveness was almost as painful as Emma's rawness. Between the two New Mutants, Edward was sure that he was going to lose the rest of his sanity as well.

*~ Emma. ~* Brennan jerked back as if someone had let go of the string holding him up. His face collapsed and the sorrow, to which he had numbed himself, came flooding back. Edward swallowed; sorely tempted to shut his mind and run out of Sanctuary. *~ I guess I woke him up. Now why did I think that would help?! ~*

"Yeah . . . yeah she's fine. As fine as can be."

Brennan looked at Edward, silently questioning.

"You hurt her." Brennan paled at Edward's statement. He had no doubt the telepath was speaking the truth. He did not like the man but somehow he knew that he would not lie either.

"What can I do?" Brennan asked simply. He would not, could not, ask how he had hurt Emma. He didn't think he could bear it.

Edward blinked in surprise, Brennan was asking HIM for advice?! He was asking the man he detested for advice? Edward was now getting very uneasy, the incident with Emma must have hurt Brennan more than he realised. Edward cursed himself for ignoring Brennan - after all, he was the other half to the problem.

"Maybe we should talk somewhere else?" Edward tried to steer Brennan away from Emma's door. Brennan followed him, looking at Emma's door as if he could see the sleeping girl through it. Edward looked at the expression on Brennan's face. *~ Such longing . . . hmmm maybe there isn't that much of a problem as I thought. ~*

Edward kicked himself, how could he have not realised it before? Brennan was in love with Emma - completely, hopelessly in love. Edward should have known that the bond they shared could not have been an accident or one- sided. He should have known that such a connection only came about with the consent of both people, subconscious though it may be. He should have known, after all he was the one with all this experience. *~ Marie. ~*

He surreptitiously scanned Brennan, trying to get past the pain and try to ascertain how much Brennan understood about what was happening. Edward sighed, *~ Not much. This might turn out to be as hard as I originally thought. ~*

Edward sat Brennan down in the sitting area, unsure of how to continue. Playing Cupid was not one of his specialities.

"Emma is sleeping now. She was really tired." *~ Should I tell him that she's in love with him? Should I tell him he's in love with her? Will he believe anything I say? ~* Edward knew Brennan was not going to be as trusting as Emma was. *~ Now what? ~*

"Well . . ."

"She was crying, wasn't she?" Brennan cut in, hands tightly clenched, knuckles completely white.

"Yes."

"What can I do?" Brennan repeated his question.

"Admit that you love her." Edward regretted the answer as soon as it left his mouth.

Brennan's mouth twisted in a bitter smile, "Love her? I don't LOVE her. You don't hurt people you love."

"Sometimes you do."

"Maybe you do. But I would never hurt someone I love." The anger was slowly seeping into Brennan's voice - dulling the pain.

*~ Oh yeah, he's getting back to normal now. This is going to make my job even harder. Brennan please listen to me. ~*

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!! How dare you? Do you want to control me like you manipulate Emma?!"

"Manipulate . . .?!" Edward looked at Brennan, not believing his ears. He felt himself snap, the emotional stress he was under had already brought him to the edge; Brennan's accusation now successfully pushed him over. How dare Brennan accuse him when he was trying to help HIM?!

Edward got up and said, "I don't MANIPULATE Emma. She turns to me because she trusts me. Which is more than I can say for you. I don't blindly ignore my feeling and lash out at other people." White fury laced his word, he was sick of his motives being questioned.

Brennan matched Edward's anger with a towering rage of his own, he needed to lash out at something and Edward was a highly convenient target. "What else would you call it? You took her away from the people she love. You continue to keep her away from us. And then you turn around and tell us that WE are hurting her. You're disgusting."

"I am not keeping her away from anyone. She does not want to be with you all, she does not want to be with YOU."

"You're lying. Emma would never stay away from me."

"Maybe you push her away! Maybe you hurt her so much that she must stay away." Edward was shaking with wrath.

He took a step toward Brennan, "You know what you want to do for Emma. Leave her alone. Your cynicism and anger hurt her enough. She doesn't need to be subjected to this anymore."

'You can't keep me from her."

"Believe me, I am tempted to try. I should remove you from her mind." With that, Edward left the room. He couldn't believe that he had threatened Brennan, what was wrong him? He needed some time away from this emotional roller coaster, clear his head. He hadn't realised how shattered he was.

Brennan watched Edward leave. *~ Remove me from her mind. Remove me . . . ~* Brennan couldn't remember when something had scared him so much. He knew he was losing Emma, he just didn't understand why that terrified him so much.

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