Morior est Vivo

To Die is to Live – Both lost and alone, and from completely different worlds, Bella and Edward find out how to truly live, but first, they must both face death.

Welcome to my newest fic… my first attempt at AU. Let's see how you like it *grin*

My LC (literary crew) is a bit smaller for this fic, but they are still just as special. So, many, many thanks to Alitriona/Eila – she is more of a co-writer than anything, but she refuses to let me give her credit for that. She still prefers to be called an idea-bouncer-offer. LOL! Allysue08 and Rags88 are still my wonderful betas. Don't let Allysue tell you she isn't a beta. She is the one who notices my inconsistencies. She has saved me from a few very humiliating situations ;) I will never forget the virginity incident! LOL! And, last, but DEFINITELY not least, WhatObsession17 is my pre-reader/response tester. If she freaks out, I know it's read to post! *hehe*

And as with all of my writing, I am only leasing SMs characters. I don't think there will be any in this one that I own alone. *sad face*

Facing Death

The streets of Forks were completely lifeless. Every business was closed. Every home was empty. Every playground was bare.

The entire population of 3,120 people was gathered in La Push.

Their beloved Chief of Police, Charlie Swan, had passed away. Best friends of Chief Swan, the Quileutes, were having a ceremony of sorts, commemorating the journey of their lifelong neighbor. Friend. Brother. Not one solitary resident of Forks would have dared miss it. Chief Swan loved everyone and was loved right back. He had been the chief for so long that not a nary soul could remember a time when he wasn't. Or at least they didn't care to. He would be hard to replace.

The ceremony was a typical Native American Pow Wow. Bonfires, music, dancing. Peyote. Charlie would roll over in his grave if he knew they were celebrating his life by smoking that 'poison' as he so often put it. After seeing how the kids on the Rez acted when they were high on it, he made Bella promise to never touch the stuff. That was a promise she would always keep. Just for him.

In the midst of the ceremony sat Bella, Charlie's only daughter. Her father had told her that when the time came for him to leave the earth, he didn't want her to mope around as if her life were over.

"It's a part of life, Bells," Charlie had told her one day, which felt like ages ago. In reality, it was merely six months prior. The same day Bella's world had come crashing down.

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"I don't understand, Dad. How could it have progressed so quickly?" she had asked of her father upon hearing the news.

Charlie hung his head. "Well, Bells. You see…you had so much going on. I didn't want to burden you. I didn't want to keep you from graduating, and I know you. If you knew something was wrong, you would have come straight home and given up your degree. I wasn't having it. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. You mean everything to me."

It was too much for her. The realization that her father had known for a while. He kept it from her. He knew there was a chance she wouldn't see him again before he died, and he kept it from her. He was so incredibly thoughtful. So incredibly self-sacrificing. So incredibly stupid.

"So, what? You thought that I would just like to find out one day when someone from the Rez calls me and says, 'Hey, your dad finally kicked the bucket from that disease he's had for the last several years. Oh, you didn't know? What a shame. You'd think, as his daughter, you would know things like that.'"

She knew it was harsh, but she couldn't help but feel betrayed by her father. Her rock. The center of her universe.

"Aww, Bells, don't be like that. The doc told me I had two to five years. You only had a year left until you graduated, so I knew I had time. I was gonna tell you as soon as you had that degree in your hand."

Bella looked at Charlie in disbelief. "Sure you were, Dad. You were gonna congratulate me and then tell me you were dying. That sounds about right."

"Well, it's water under the bridge. Let's make the most of the time we have left together. You have your graduation next week and then you can spend some time with your old man before you run off to the big city and pursue that dream of yours."

Bella's eyes welled up with tears for the hundredth time that day. "What will I do without you, Pops? I don't have anyone. I only have you. I can't bear a world where you aren't in it."

"You have all of your buddies on the Rez. What about Jake?"

Bella laughed through her tears. "You know as well as I do that Jake's stuck so far up Leah's ass that he doesn't know if it's morning or night. Besides, no one can take your place in my life. No one knows all of my secrets like you do. No one else misses Mom as much as I do."

That night, Bella curled up into Charlie's side and cried until she fell asleep. The doctor said Charlie didn't have much longer. His ALS* had progressed much more quickly than ever expected – especially for such a 'healthy young man'.

Charlie's 'not much longer' ended up being five months, two weeks, and three days. Bella spent every available minute with him. And it still wasn't enough.

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Bella had tried hard not to cry, knowing it was what Charlie would have wanted, but he should have known better than to ask that of her; Bella cried when she watched movies like 'My Dog Skip' or 'Old Yeller'. Movies where animals died. How could he have expected her not to cry when he died.

But she did her best. She sang Charlie's favorite songs along with the rest of the group. She had a few drinks 'in his name' and she skinned a fish in his honor – all part of the Quileute ritual, which had been adapted for the favored police chief.

However, once the time came for Charlie's ashes to be scattered, it took two Quileute boys to help Bella make the trek to the top of the highest cliff so she could do the honors of releasing them. Twice, her legs buckled beneath her, until the boys finally took the brunt of her weight upon their shoulders, practically carrying her up the hill.

As Bella stood at the edge of the cliff – still unable to bear her own weight – she looked out upon the ocean she and her father had frequented throughout her life, and she wept. She cried for her father. She cried for her mother. She cried for her memories, good and bad. She cried for the future she could no longer see. But most of all, she cried for the isolation that had suddenly been thrust upon her at the tender age of twenty-four.

Bella lifted the urn to her mouth, placing a gentle kiss upon the lid, and whispered words of adoration to the most cherished person in her life.

Billy Black led the Quileutes in a somber chant, to release Charlie's spirit upon the earth, as Bella lifted the lid, tilted the container, and let the wind carry his ashes out to sea.

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One hundred fifty-two miles away, the atmosphere was a stark contrast to that which was in La Push. Seattle, Washington, was not a safe place at this point in time. Evil was running amok throughout the streets. But what was worse; no one knew.

Especially not Edward Masen.

Edward was a very handsome man. He was also a cocky bastard. Women drooled at his feet, and he used it to his advantage. Only women who he felt could rectify his desires were approached by him. But he wasn't always picky. It depended on how he wished to have his appetite curbed. For instance, a simple blow job could be given by any willing skank around. However, if he wanted something more – perhaps actual penetration – well, then that would take a much finer specimen.

Tonight was one of those nights, when he felt the need to be buried deep inside some sweet, hot piece of ass.

Edward had always been exceptional at reading people. No one knew why or how, but it was almost as if he could feel their thoughts just by looking at their body movement, or looking into their eyes. Over the years, he had nearly perfected it, making it so that he rarely ever had to actually hear his subordinate speak. In fact, he usually warned them to keep their mouth shut. The women rarely complained. They knew he was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and they were willing to go to great measures to reap the benefits of his womanizing ways. This simply caused him to become more of an arrogant, acrimonious asshole.

From his cozy little corner, Edward perused the seedy, dilapidated hellhole for his next conquest. He had been seated in his usual booth in the far back of the establishment for nearly two hours. He was starting to get impatient. Beyond a bit intoxicated, he had begun to contemplate settling for a less optimal tart for the evening before he was too far gone to even acquire a semi.

Lucky for him – or at least so he thought – that very second he was awarded with the solution to his predicament. An exquisite ethereal goddess walked through the front door, and her gaze landed right on him. Using his perfected gift of reading people, he knew she was ready and willing.

He stood up and dropped a wad of cash on the table, not even caring to see how much. There was something about that woman that drew him in. As if he were being pulled by a steel cord, he walked directly up to her. She smiled and released a breath, fanning his face with her sweet scent, and captivating him even more. No words were exchanged – she simply turned on her feet and he followed.

Barely fifteen steps from the entrance out of which they had just walked, she abruptly turned into the adjacent alley.

Hmm, she can't wait to get a piece of me, Edward thought as he quickly began to unbutton his pants.

Before he could even fathom what was happening, she had him pinned against the wall. She wasn't gentle, but Edward couldn't help but be turned on by her aggression. He had never had a woman dominate him before – he had never thought he would enjoy it. He was wrong.

He tentatively reached forward, and began unbuttoning her blouse. She halted his progress by grabbing his wrists. The unexpected contact made him hiss – her hands were like ice.

She shifted so she had her back to him, and grabbed his wrists once more. As she brought his hands around her, under her shirt and up to cup her breasts – which were also ice cold – she shoved her ass into him. He groaned and squeezed her tits. He had always been an ass man.

As he manipulated her nipples between his fingers, she begun to shimmy out of her pants. He didn't even have to interrupt his ministrations to take off his own, because she was able to reach back and…

Shit! She fucking ripped my jeans… how in the hell? Edward wondered to himself.

She reached back with one of her freezing hands and wrapped it around his cock. He jumped in shock, but then she began to stroke, and the friction, along with the coolness, caused his eyes to roll into the back of his head, and he quickly relaxed, thoroughly enjoying himself.

He enjoyed himself so much in fact, that he hadn't even registered that she had slipped his dick inside of her until she began thrusting herself back against him. He tried to push her off of him, but she was lost in her movements, and she was unnaturally strong.

He grunted. "Stop…ugh…I need to put…shit, ugh…I need a…damn, so good…FUCK! I need a condom!" He was not willing to take a chance on getting some two-bit hooker disease from this bitch. She might be a knockout, but she didn't even need to be seduced into fucking. Hell, he hadn't even heard her speak.

But when she did, he was drawn in yet again. "Don't worry, Sugar. That thin piece of latex can't protect you from what's coming tonight. Just go with it. Trust me; you will thank me for this in a few minutes." The whole time she spoke, she continued to thrust into him. Each time with more force than before.

Edward was too far gone to give a fuck by this point. He was only seconds away from climaxing, and oblivious to everything else except for the feeling currently taking up residence in his groin.

The woman reached back, grabbing him by his hips and slammed him further into her. He nearly screamed at the sensation. Never in his life had he been able to give it to a woman like this, and it was beyond amazing.

Two more thrusts and they both came, breathlessly crying out expletives.

Edward was spent. He barely noticed when she pulled away from him. Lazily, he let his head fall back against the brick wall as he tried to zip his jeans, completely forgetting that She-Ra in front of him had ripped them.

Damn it, those were brand new jeans, Edward mentally groaned.

The woman turned around, smirking evilly, and stepped up closer to Edward, until her chest was flush with his. "Was that good for you? Best fuck you've ever had? Just thought I'd make this a tad bit easier on you." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, and I was horny, and you're cute enough."

She leaned forward, brushed his neck with her lips and whispered, "When you come to, just remember: The name's Victoria. Look me up, and our next fuck will blow your mind."

What do you think? As with all of my stories, I will give you a teaser to next week's chapter for a review.

See ya next Tuesday!