An: I've never written an Edward fic before because frankly I never really liked him but I had this idea and got into it. I don't know how it'll end. Pairings may change because I have no clue what I'm doing. Please review and tell me what you like and what you'd like to happen as the story goes on.


Chapter 1


Andrew was the kind of man that you married. He was successful in the cooperate business that took him in right out of college, lived on his own and made good money, was kind, and he loved too easily.

Lu was not the kind of girl that married, however. But that didn't stop her from dreaming for a moment, or dating him. It had been almost a year since she left home, and five months since she started dating this perfectly marriable man.

Something just felt different about being on his arm. "I had fun tonight." Lu told him as he walked her through the cloudy and dark streets of San Francisco.

They'd had a beautiful date that started at the wharf before they headed up the hill to an elegant restaurant. Lu ate little things, knowing she'd have to cough it all up the moment she was alone, but sometimes faking eating on a date was worth it. She rarely let him take her out to eat either way, but after so many denials she had to say yes.

Andrew smiled at her, gleaming with importance. "So did I. I never knew you'd been to Panama. I learn something new every day."

"We're all full of surprises." She commented. "I know a few of yours as well, don't I?"

"Oh, yeah you do." He laughed.

When they reached her door she turned to him, taking both his hands. Andrew leaned in, giving Lu a slow kiss to her lips before pulling away. She didn't let him go far, beaming up at him.

"Do you want to come inside?"

Another thing about Andrew – he was waiting. He didn't care about the wedding night so much as loving someone that much, so it was less about being married and more about being committed enough to be engaged. So whenever she invited him in, he knew it'd only be a few long kisses and then he'd go, nothing more. This worked for Lu because as much as she liked him, she could not do anything more than date him at the moment. Things were too complicated.

Still they wound up on her couch, Andrew holding her as his mouth ravished hers. He no longer flinched at the cold of her body after she gave the lie that she just had poor circulation. This sensitive man accepted the answer and was more than a little supportive, always trying to warm her hands of give her his coats on nights she forgot her own.

As his hand pulled her closer by her hip, her home phone began to ring. He pulled back, but she leaned into him. "I don't have to get that." She assured him.

"Good." Andrew grinned and started to kiss her again. They just let the phone ring through.

But then her answering machine picked up. "Hey, this is Lu. I'm a bit unavailable at the moment so please leave me a message with your name and number and I'll get back to you soon."

"Columbia, it's Carlisle." A formal male tone said over the machine. She stopped kissing and pulled away from Andrew to stare at it. "Something's happened. Call home."

Then he hung up as Andrew's hands left her completely. "Home? I thought all your family was dead?" He asked. "Lucy? Who's Columbia?"

In a relationship of lies, she told him his parent's passed long ago and her last remaining uncle died recently and her name was Lucy Carter.

Smiling, she lied again. "Well, someone had to take me in. Adoptive family. And Columbia's a nickname. You know the sports brand? An old favourite when I played soccer. It turned into a big joke."

He seemed intrigued and smiled. "I wish you'd told me you had family. You should call back." He urged her on politely.

"No, Andrew, it's fine. I'll call tomorrow." She refused gently, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He cupped her cheek in one hot hand. "Lu, he sounded a bit tense. Something bad might have happened. Call him. I'll see myself out."

Except she hadn't spoken to any of the Cullens since she left a year ago. "I'm sure you're wrong. Besides, with your birthday coming up soon I rather focus all my attention on you." She cooed.

But Andrew was, in the end, a family man. "Lu, you should call him. You don't want to regret it if something really bad actually happened." He told her, which made her frown.

Her response came slowly. "You're right. I'll call you tomorrow, though, alright? Maybe bring coffee to your office." She taunted.

"We'll see." He grinned and gave her cheek a peck before getting up. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

As he let himself out, she grabbed the phone and quickly called Carlisle back. She paced in front of her windows as it rang, but he answered soon.

"I'm glad you called back." He said in lieu of a greeting.

"Yeah, well, how long I stay on the line depends on who asked you to call me." She claimed. There were maybe three of the seven Cullens that she'd do anything for, and others depended on the issue.

Carlisle gave a short sigh. "I called due to my own volition. Nobody else knows I'm doing this, save for possibly Alice." He told her.

Lu would do anything for Carlisle and he knew it. "What's happened?"

"A girl my family has… taken to is being hunted by a tracker vampire named James. Right now the situation is under control but we're not terrible close to getting to him or the woman he travels with." He began to explain. "Alice and Jasper took Bella to Phoenix so we can handle the situation in the Olympic region but I want you here."

"I rather handle the Phoenix situation." She claimed, moving across the room to put on shoes. Either way she was going to have to leave.

"I'd prefer if you helped us track James, Lu."

"And do you really think that a professional tracker like James is going to stay north? He'll know." She commented. "I'm a tracker, Carlisle. I know how these things work."

He sighed again. "Just do what's best for everyone."

"Then Phoenix it is. I'll call if I need to." She promised.

"That's all I can hope for." He agreed though she knew it was the last thing he wanted to do. "It's good to hear your voice, Lu. We all miss you."

She was at her door waiting to say goodbye so she could leave, but his words made her stop. "It's only been a year since I left."

"And I want to hear about it, so please don't go off the grid before we can talk."

Now that was the last thing she wanted, but she agreed. After that they hung up and Lu was out of her apartment without a thing with her but her wallet and phone. As she drove to the airport, she called Andrew.

"Hey babe, how's that family issue?" He asked.

It was hard to smile but she at least faked a happy tone. "It was something, but it's mild. A small car accident. I'm going to visit them, just for a couple days." She fibbed further. Most of the things she told him were a lie so this was nothing when adding to it all.

"I'm sorry about that, Lu. You'll still be back for my birthday party next week, won't you?"

"Wednesday, right? I doubt it'll take that long to give my support and say hello to the bunch. I'll definitely be back." She claimed. "And I got you the best gift."

She could hear the smile in his tone. "I can't wait. And you'll finally get to meet my family. Hey, if things aren't too extreme wherever you're going, maybe some of yours would like to visit? I'd love to meet them."

Lu felt a panic and had to quickly refuse. "Ah, well, that's nine hundred miles nobody wants to travel at a time like this. I have enough to worry about meeting your parents, anyway, let alone have you meet my family. Some other time."

"Of course, but when you get back you have to tell me all about them."

"We'll see." She said playfully and hung up.

She got the first ticket to Phoenix in the airport and then found a quiet moment to focus. The reason Carlisle wanted her was because she always was the best tracker. Best sense of smell, and the ability to pin point anyone, human or vampire. According to Carlisle it likely came from her ability to just know where everyone was when she was human. She could not be snuck up on and she could always just tell where people had been.

Right now she needed to find a vampire named James. Eyes closed, her mind was like a grid with spectral projections of people creating blue blurs. She thought of the vampire and felt a pull. Following that instinct, she placed him at the Oregon/California border. Putting her sights on the Cullen family, they were still in Washington save for Alice and Jasper in a hotel in Arizona.

She'd get there before him so she wasn't worried enough to call. If anything, she did her best when she worked alone. She rather work alone, especially after everything that had happened last she lived with the Cullens.

Carlisle didn't have to say, but she had a feeling that this human girl had everything to do with Edward Cullen.