Disclaimer; I do not own the Twilight Saga, their characters, their plot, theme or names, and I do not claim ownership to them. However, I DO claim ownership to my writing, so please don't steal =)

Authors Note: This is my first Twilight fic, and I have to say, I never imagined I would find myself writing one...Don't get me wrong, I love the books as much as the next girl (except for the face that Edward generally pisses me off) and, like most Twilight fans, I can't stand the movies. But, I absolutely adore Alice, and my girlfriend got me hooked on the Bella x Alice pair, so I got inspired to write this.

I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review and let me know how I'm doing!

Rating; M, for content introduced later

Pair; Bella x Alice (eventual)

Ugh, Forks. Some shit little town in Washington. Fucking Washington! It's practically the cold-ass-rain-and-snow capital of the world. Little known fact about Bella Swan; I hate the cold, rain and snow. And Charlie just had to go and pick a town that seems to have one or the other, most of the time two of the three, all year round.

Bastard.

Truthfully, though, the small town had grown on me over the years. Sure, I hated the cold, rain and snow, but Forks was the only place that could even be considered home. It was where my friends and family were. I had visited enough over the years to get used to the weather to some degree, so now all I had to do was accept the fact that I would be stuck there.

I sighed, hefting the suit case higher even as I made my way across the airport toward the exit gate. Thank God it was over, the endless parade of hopping from one plane to another. The endless parade of pathetic, sweaty and all around disgusting human beings. If the flight from Scotland to New York hadn't been brutal enough, then the one from New York to Port Angeles was brutal.

I absolutely hated planes, and it wasn't because I have height issues. It was simply because of the people. For instance, from Scotland to New York, I was sandwiched between an overweight, extremely sweaty balding older man - who smelled like rotting roadkill and body odor, by the way - and a over-active middle aged woman who spent the first six hours of the flight yapping my ear off about her son, who was an 'accomplished Doctor who would just adore a girl like me' - her exact words - and the other four hours of the flight asleep with her head on my shoulder, complete with snores and drool.

Fuck. My. Life.

To top it all off, the in flight movie was Encino Man, and my flight attendant - no, Stewardess...whatever the fuck is politically correct these days - spent the entire flight practically pouring peanuts and Coke down my throat while flirting incessantly and flaunting her too-large breasts in my face. I mean, Double D? Really? Pretty excessive, don't you think? I mean, I'm gay as a rainbow, but I like my breasts on the smaller side...just big enough to fit in my hand. More than that is just a waste. Doesn't mean I didn't 'let her convince me' to join the mile high club...again...and, just between you and me, I'm disgusted with myself.

Then, if that wasn't bad enough, the flight from New York to Port Angeles was pretty horrid itself. Thankfully, my flight attendant - steward - was a very nice gentleman that was, perhaps, gayer than me (didn't know that was possible...), so ridiculous amounts of flirting and breast-flaunting wasn't an issue, but everything else kinda sucked. The business man to my left wouldn't stop puking his guts up, the kid behind me wouldn't stop kicking my seat, and - Oh Joy! - another snorer on my left!

So, imagine just how happy I am to finally be where I'm supposed to be - more or less . At least I'm on solid ground with no promise of any more flight extensions. And so, all that brings me to where I am now.

I hefted my suitcase higher, only pretending to struggle under it's mammoth weight. People, tourists and businessmen alike, milled around me, occasionally bumping into me or my suitcase, and I only barely managed to suppress my growls. I endlessly sought the crowds, looking for the one face I actually wanted to see, the man I hadn't seen in months.

The only difference between this visit and all the last was that I was coming to stay this time. At least for a few years. I was tired of wandering the world, moving from target to target with only a few weeks respite every six or seven months. I missed my family. It was time for me to come home.

It was only after I forced myself past a particularly distracted man, dressed in a sharp, tailored suite and yapping away on his phone - oblivious to the world - that I saw the face I wanted to see...along with one I didn't expect, but was just as happy to see nonetheless. There they were, my two boys, standing side by side and looking bored as ever.

Charlie was dressed to the nines in his Forks Police uniform, complete with his badge, gun, the works. His hair was a bit shorter than the last time I'd seen it and his beard/mustache combo was a bit thicker, but he looked the same as he had the last time I had seen him. His eyes darted to and fro, ever the cop looking for 'suspicious characters', and I couldn't help but smile at just how predictable he was.

The second figure, towering over the first, was the one to spot me, however, and a large smile stretching across his handsome face. "Bells!" He exclaimed happily, closing the distance between us in a few bounds only to sweep me into his arms.

Suitcase forgotten, I laughed loud and happily for the first time in months, throwing my arms around his neck even as his twined around my waist. He easily hefted me from the ground and twirled me around, oblivious of the looks we were receiving from the strangers around us, and I got the feeling that, even if he had seen the looks, he wouldn't have cared.

"Jake!" I declared just as happily in his ear, "Put me down before I barf!" How embarrassing would that be...especially after totally dissing that guy sitting next to me on the plane. Talk about irony, right?

The monster of a man obliged, setting me gently on the ground. Jake looked just like his typical self. Well, aside from the face that he was actually wearing a shirt for once. But his self-cut-off jean shorts were exactly the same. He was still his gargantuan self, towering over me by at least a foot and, as usual, I had to crane my neck upward just to look at him. His torso was just as solid as it had been since his shift, his biceps just as big, his abs and pecks just as defined, his shoulders just as broad and his tan just as deep. I could barely see his tribal tattoo peeking out from under the hem of his sleeve, and his jet black hair was still cropped just as short. Same old Jake, hadn't changed a bit.

Truthfully, I didn't know why I expected my boys to change to much in the time I was gone, but seeing them look just as I left them was, oddly, comforting. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Charlie approach, a wide smile on his slightly weathered face as his head shook from side to side.

"Charlie," I smiled fondly, warmth just as evident in my voice as I stepped out of Jake's arms in favor of his, wrapping my own around his neck and pulling him close. I ignored the stiff ridge of his overly-starched collar and simply reveled in the love that we radiated but rarely spoke of out loud.

"Hey Mom," he whispered softly in my ear, low enough that no human passing by could hear. My smile widened and I tightened my grip on his neck. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too, baby," I whispered just as softly, pulling from his embrace so I could easier study him. A few random grey hairs decorated both his hair and his beard. Barely noticeable laugh lines framed his lips and worry lines furrowed his forehead. His brown eyes, just like my own, sparkled with love and joy.

I cupped one stubbly cheek in the palm of my hand, my thumb brushing his cheekbone. "You haven't aged a day, baby boy," I complimented, the sting of tears coming unbidden to my eyes. Even thought I had seen him barely eight months ago, I had still missed him like crazy. He was, after all, my son.

"Coming from the Immortal," he grumbled under his breath, his tone gruff even thought I could hear the teasing undertones.

"Oh hush. Don't make me ground you," I warned, poking him in the chest with a stern, motherly look on my face, one that I had mastered over the years. He chuckled softly, once more shaking his head.

"It's been years since you've grounded me."

"Yes, this is true, but I've told you time and time again...You're never too old to bend over my knee," I teased with a wink. He only stuck out his tongue in a childish fashion.

Jake chuckled from the side lines, shaking his head at our playful antics. "So, Bells, how did the trip go?" I could hear the underlying question in his tone, and I heaved a sigh. The question, however, helped to quickly dispel my good mood.

"Not as well as I planned. I lost the trail...again," I said dejectedly, the thought of the bastard I had been tracking for so many years slipping through my fingers once again spoiling my relatively good mood.

"How did he get away this time?" Charlie asked, watching my reaction carefully.

"Same way as always. His mate and her stupid gift." I practically growled the words, gritting my teeth reflexively.

"Don't worry, Bells. You'll get him. I'm sure of it," Jake offered helpfully and, any other time, his encouragement would have risen my spirits, but my frustration concerning my failure this time around was too high for even my best friend's magical power of being able to loosen me up and lighten my mood.

After all, could you really blame me? This was the fifth time I had lost the bastard's trail, and I had been so fucking close. I was so sure I had him this time, so sure that this would finally be the trip to end my manhunt.

I was wrong. And I hated being wrong.

"It will happen, Bells." Charlie was careful to call me by my first name in public, at least when he was speaking above a whisper, and I smiled very softly at him. "It's only a matter of time before he slips us, and when he does, I know you'll finally give him everything he deserves."

"Yeah, Charlie, I know. I'm just...tired. I just want the bastard dead so I can finally start living my life. I've missed out on so much already..." My son once more pulled me into his embrace at the despondency in my tone, and I leaned into the comfort of his arms.

"Stop blaming yourself, Mom. I've done pretty well for myself, and I understand why you have to do this. I always have. You need to stop beating yourself up for 'missing out on my childhood'," My son chastised, "I've had an amazing life, and it's all because I have an amazing mother."

Charlie wasn't good about speaking his feelings; he was like me in that way. But whenever he did, I was never unsurprised by how he seemed to have a knack about knowing what to say.

At his words, though, I couldn't help but smile, burying my face in his chest in an effort to hide the tears welling up in my eyes. I never had stopped blaming myself for not being around as much as I should have when Charlie was growing up, but he never stopped letting me know that he understood, and he didn't blame me. He might not blame me, but I would always blame myself. And I was determined not to let it happen again.

"Okay, can you two get the mushy shit out of the way already so we can get going?" Jake commented from the side, a smirk teasing his lips as he glanced between the two of us.

I smiled as we pulled apart, Charlie shooting a very convincing glare at the Quileute. One thing I could say about Charlie...he might look like his father, but he got his glare from me. "Yeah, lets get out of here...I'm so fucking sick of airports," I grumbled as I eyed the swarm of disgusting people around me. Both Jake and Charlie looked at me with slight shock, and I raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Jake, unable to restrain himself, busted out laughing, one large, meaty hand placed over his stomach as his body shuddered. "Bells, you're always yelling at me and Charlie for cussing, and then you go and drop the f-bomb?" Charlie joined in on his laughter, and I hid my amusement with years and years of practice.

"Yeah, well I'm allowed to cuss. I've lived longer than both of you combined. Now lets get out of here," I commanded, leaving no room for argument in my voice. "Jake, get my bag. It hardly looks natural for a little thing like me to be carrying around a bag like that, now does it?" Jake groaned and grumbled, but picked up the bag nonetheless, a scowl masking his ruggishly handsome features even as a smirk decorated mine.

I turned, exuding confidence as I strolled toward where I knew the exit was, my boys following faithfully behind me. It was good to be home.

Parting Words; So, there it is! I hope you enjoyed it, and, don't worry, all those unexplained questions will be answered in good time ;D Please don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you thought! Would you like to see more...?