Disclaimer- All things Twilight belong to S. Meyer, I'm just playing :)

Retrograde

Chapter One- Beginnings

Here, everything seemed muted. Colours were duller, all greens and blues and greys. Especially greys. Sounds were muffled by the clouds that loitered overhead, and there was a persistent, insistent, drizzle that gave everything a foggy haze. But Bella had to admit the air was cleaner here, and taking in a deep breath she could almost feel freshness and life pouring in to her lungs.

Sighing resignedly, she made up her mind- again- to put Florida behind her. Still, as she stared up at the school she would have attended in her junior and senior years, she couldn't help but wonder how her life might have turned out had she decided to stay with Charlie here in Forks rather than move back to be with Renee and Phil once they had settled in Jacksonville.

There would have been no James.

With a grimace, Bella forcefully pushed that thought away. She wasn't going to think about Florida, and she certainly wasn't going to think about him. Taking another calming breath, Bella squared her shoulders and, with head held high, set off determinedly up the steps of Forks High School. Half way up, she stumbled and cursed her decision to wear heels. Surreptitiously, she glanced around to see if anyone had seen, and felt her cheeks redden embarrassingly as two students passed her laughing.

That's it, flats for the rest of the year.

Reaching the reception area, Bella was met by a slender woman of about her age with a warm smile.

"You must be Isabella Swan?" she asked in a pleasant, soft voice. She held out a hand in greeting.

"Bella," Bella corrected, shaking the offered hand. Angela wasted no time in putting Bella at ease, quickly taking her through the necessary admin, giving a basic tour of the school and sharing helpful anecdotes about particular staff and students as they went. Just as they were approaching what was to be Bella's classroom for the year, a booming voice called from down the corridor.

"Yo, Angie! Who do we have here? Fresh meat?"

Angela laughed and shook her head. "I'm so sorry," she said to Bella. "I forgot to tell you about Emmett, he's harmless really."

Bella turned to look in the direction of the voice and gasped. Emmett was huge, easily over six feet, muscles bulging under his polo shirt, all broad shoulders and strong legs. It was an intimidating spectacle.

A body like that takes serious dedication.

"Bella, allow me to introduce Emmett, Coach Cullen to the kids. This is Bella Swan, the new English teacher," Angela said.

At the mention of her name, Emmett's eyes brightened in recognition. "Chief Swan's daughter, of course!" he grasped Bella's hand and pumped it up and down enthusiastically. She tried not to wince at his crushing grip. "My sister Alice does all the admin down at the station, and my brother's just been made Deputy."

Bella smiled. "Your sister is Alice?" She'd spoken to her many times in recent weeks while trying to get hold of Charlie during her move.

"Talked your ear off already, has she?" Emmett laughed. "Sounds like Alice."

At that moment the bell for registration rang, effectively halting further conversation. Angela pointed out Bella's classroom before returning to reception, and with a last wide smile Emmett bounded back up the corridor, high fiving a couple of students on the way.

Entering her new classroom, Bella just had time to settle at her desk before the students began pouring in, chatting loudly among themselves about their Christmas breaks. Bella couldn't believe how young they looked. They were not necessarily physically different from previous students she'd taught, but they had a certain air of naivety about them that Bella decided she liked. Forks clearly wasn't a town where the kids had to worry unduly about growing up too quickly, it was safe and quiet and nurturing, and those were just the qualities she needed to be surrounded by after the drama of the past few months.

The rest of the day passed mostly without incident. She tactfully chose to ignore the odd high-spirited students letting off steam in her first few classes, putting it down to post-holiday energy. The first day was far too soon to get herself a reputation as a hard-nosed bitch, anyway. And she learned that the two laughing students from the steps that morning were called Jane and Heidi when they sat stonily in the back row of her afternoon senior class, far too involved in their own perfection to deign to do school work. Bella mentally rolled her eyes- there were some in ever school.

The evenings alone in her unfamiliar house gave her unwelcome time to think about James. Her James, who had pursued her doggedly for months, who she had found naked in her bed with that woman. And laughing- like it had all been a game. If only that had been the worst of it. She was glad of the busy days that kept those thoughts at bay.

The rest of the week passed in much the same way. There always seemed so much to do that Bella found very little opportunity to talk with Angela or Emmett again at any length, much to her disappointment, some new friends would have been a nice distraction from the solitude of the evenings. So when the bell rang to signal the end of the day on Friday and Bella saw Angela waiting outside the classroom for her, she smiled widely. Angela entered as the last students filed out.

"Hey," she smiled. "You survived the first week then?"

"Just about!" Bella replied with a grin, grabbing her jacket and bag.

"Do you have plans this evening? At the beginning of each semester, a few of us go to the Cullen's for drinks, it might be a nice chance for you to get to know a few more people."

"I'm actually off to meet Charlie at the station," she smiled apologetically as they reached the parking lot. "You know, father daughter catch up."

"Well, you should come along after, if you're free. Emmett and his sister will be there, and their mother is a darling. It should be fun," Angela said. "Say hi to Charlie for me," she called over her shoulder with a wave as she headed towards her car.

"Yeah, definitely," Bella replied with a smile. Slinging her bag on to the passenger seat, she climbed in to her truck. With a small wave to Angela, she set off to Forks Police Station.

On the short drive, she found her mind wandering again. Images of lazy afternoons in the warm Florida sunshine floated torturously through her mind. Once more, she thought of the different path her life might have taken if she had stayed with Charlie and gone to school here. She might have already known Angela with her air of clam efficiency and kind smile. They might have been friends already, and spent evenings on the phone laughing about old memories. She might have become used to this weather, she thought with a chuckle as she pulled up outside Forks City Hall and made her way in to the police station.

Behind the reception desk there was a small woman with sharp eyes and a bright smile in a finely tailored blue suit who Bella could only assume was the famous Alice. Somehow, she looked just like Bella had imagined while talking to her on the phone- a task Alice was currently immersed in, her lips moving a mile a minute. The two women exchanged grins of recognition as Bella began to make her way towards her father's office. She knocked on the door but received no answer. Trying the handle, she found it locked. From the corner of her eye, Bella saw a folded piece of paper taped to the wall. Tearing it down and opening it out, Bella read the short note in the familiar scrawl of countless Christmas and birthday cards.

Bells, I'm sorry I wasn't here to meet you, something's come up that I need to sort out tonight. I hope your first week went okay; they're all pretty good kids up there. Call by the house tomorrow.

Charlie

Groaning in frustration, she scrunched the note up and made her way back to reception where Alice, who was now off the phone, greeted her with a dazzlingly white smile, gesturing to a spare chair behind her desk. Bella couldn't help but return the infectious smile as she sat down next to Alice.

"Bella!" Alice exclaimed happily. "It's wonderful to finally meet you. Even if Charlie didn't have your picture on every surface in his office, I'd have known you in a second. You're staring out at me with my boss's eyes- I'll never feel fully able to relax around you!" She finished with a merry laugh. Bella frowned slightly, causing Alice to laugh again. "Well! I see you have Charlie's sullen streak, too- I'll have to watch out for that!"

If Bella had blushed at the thought of Charlie plastering his office with her picture- Charlie and she didn't really do sentimental, that was always more Renee's forte- she went bright red at Alice's last comment.

Alice chuckled at the chagrined flush covering Bella's cheeks. "So like him," she said, and Bella found herself smiling, too. Against her better judgement, Alice was just so infectiously likeable.

"I met Emmett at school today," Bella said conversationally. "He said you have another brother who works here too?" Charlie had never mentioned a new deputy to her, but then again, he hadn't told her he was remarrying until a month before the wedding. In relation, a new colleague was barely a blip on the radar.

"Yes, Edward," Alice replied, and from the way her eyes shone when she said his name, Bella could tell he meant to world to his sister. "That's his office," she gestured to a frosted-glass door a few metres away. It bore the legend 'Deputy Cullen' in angular gold lettering. "He's taking a call at the moment, but when he's done I'm going to get him to come over for drinks tonight with everyone. You'll be there, too, right?" Bella got the impression that is wasn't really a question, but nodded anyway. As Alice chatted happily on, her topics seemingly unrelated buy flowing together flawlessly, Bella couldn't help but think Edward's phone call was lasting for a surprisingly long time. Then again, with a sister like Alice and a brother like Emmett, she supposed it was only to be expected. She wondered how Charlie coped with such verbose colleagues, and grinned to herself.

Bella was broken out of her reverie when she heard shouting from the other side of Edward's door. Shocked, she looked over at Alice, whose face had taken on an ashen tone.

"He's just been through a very difficult break up, "Alice explained, her voice little more than a whisper. "Tanya- the woman he used to be with, that's who's on the phone now. Edward's been hoping for a reconciliation," she finished with a heavy sigh.

Bella nodded sympathetically as Edward's voice reached them again.

"For once in your life, can you just be reasonable-"

Alice met Bella's eyes and for a moment there was an awkward silence. "I've never seen him this agitated before…"

"You don't have to explain," Bella said soothingly, reaching over to pat Alice's hand reassuringly.

"My mom does that, too," Alice said with a small smile. "Edward's a big boy. He'll sort himself out, I'm sure."

"I'm sure," Bella agreed.

"So, have you been told about drinks at casa Cullen this evening?" Alice asked, changing the topic swiftly.

Bella laughed at the repeated question.

Alice waved her hand dismissively, shaking her head at her forgetfulness with an apologetic grin. "As Charlie's busy tonight, you can help me get some bits ready then," she said enthusiastically. She scribbled a quick note to Edward and stuck it to his door. Grabbing her coat and bag, she ushered Bella towards the door without waiting for a response.

The two women drove to a near by supermarket, and Alice made quick work of buying up what seemed like all of the beer and mixers in the place. On the way back to the Cullen house, they called in to a liquor store and Bella watched wide-eyed as Alice systematically emptied the shelves.

"Just how many people are you inviting over?" she asked incredulously.

"A good hostess never runs out of provisions, Bella," Alice admonished, wagging a finger with a wicked grin.

Once Alice's purchases were packed up in to the back of Bella's truck- the suspension groaning under the weight- they set off, Bella following Alice's yellow Porsche. She was increasingly getting the impression that Alice just worked for fun. There was no way she was funding this lifestyle on a PA's wage packet. This suspicion was given more weight as she followed Alice up a seemingly endless meandering driveway; rounding a corner, a huge house suddenly appeared between the dense foliage of the trees. It had pleasingly juxtaposed angles and large windows, giving it a forbidding and welcoming look all at the same time.

It took several trips to unload everything from the truck to the spacious and airy kitchen, Alice chatting all the while. Bella learned that the Cullen's had moved to Forks the year she had almost gone to Forks High- Alice lamented that they could have been friends sooner- and that Carlisle, her father, worked at the hospital with Esme renovating buildings between hosting charity functions. Bella had been right about her financial assumption, Carlisle's family were 'well off' as Alice had put it, which enabled the three siblings to pursue their passions to the delight of their parents. Emmett was dating a peppery blonde named Rosalie, Edward was recently single and Alice herself was engaged to a young and brilliant psychiatrist named Jasper.

Bella wondered aloud why such a talented family settled in a place like Forks.

"We like the quiet life," Alice said with a mega-watt smile.

Eyeing the set up for the evening's festivities with an ironic smile, Bella sincerely doubted that was the truth.