A/N: All characters belong to the amazing Ms. Meyer.

It's difficult being a woman in a man's world. I always saw myself as an equal to the men in our society, until I started on my new career. The men I work with, and around, have made me realize that I am always going to be fighting for my equality so long as I continue on my path in life.

Oh, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Isabella Cullen. I am a correctional officer at Seattle State Prison in Washington. My husband is Professor Edward Cullen, Ph.D. He teaches at Washington State in Seattle. We live in a beautiful condo in the city and each have the cars of our dreams. Mine just happens to be a 1968 Mustang.

The day I announced my decision to work in a prison, I was met with nothing but arguments. My husband begged me to continue teaching. My mother told me I was being flighty, as if she had any room to talk. My 45-year-old mother, who still acts 15, that left me with my father at the young age of two because she wanted to travel the world before she settled down.

My father was the only one who showed any kind of understanding. "Bells," he said. "Please. If you really want to go into the law enforcement field, just join me. I can always use another good officer." My father, Charlie Swan, was the chief of police in the little town of Forks, Washington.

I shook my head at him. "Dad, I don't want to be a cop. I really want to be a correctional officer and eventually an instructor. I want to show them that women can do this too. Not only that, but I would be helping to keep the scum of the earth from harming anyone else." He took a deep breath and sighed. "It's just so dangerous, honey. Yes, my job has its risks, but those men have nothing to lose."

I looked around at my family and just shook my head even more. It was then I knew I would have to stand my ground. "Listen, whether you support me or not, I'm doing this. I have always stood behind you all with everything you wanted to do. All I'm asking is for the same consideration."

My father was the only one who came around. I call him every morning to tell him about my night. No one else wants to hear about it, so I keep them out of the loop. It's just easier that way. Not that I get to see them much anyway. I work the night shift, 7 pm to 7 am. Edward leaves for the university while I am still at work. I get home, sleep until about 2, and fix dinner. Edward comes in about 6, and I leave a half an hour later.

So, as I was saying before, the men at work, officers and inmates alike, constantly remind me of the inequality in this world. Unfortunately, my appearance doesn't help things either. I keep my long dark hair pulled into a bun, and I refuse to wear make-up. Thankfully, my uniform does make things a little easier. A red, collared, polo shirt with the state department of corrections seal, black fatigue pants, a thick, black, leather belt, and black, military-style boots. It hides my curves as much as possible, although it wasn't easy. Because I was rather blessed, I had to get my uniform a little large to hide my assets. I also wear an extremely tight fitting sports bra. It doesn't keep them from staring, though. Even if it's been five years, I still remember my first day on shift after I finished my certification training.

I walked into the briefing room alone, being the newest officer to join the ranks. Even though I was early, there was already a room full of officers. All but two of them were men. The two women both looked to be in their 50s. When the door slammed behind me, all eyes turned. I suddenly lost all of my confidence. My red shirt felt two sizes two small even though it was extremely roomy.

I chose the closest chair to me, at an empty table. Everyone went back to their conversations, casting the occasional glance my way. I began to question leaving my cushy job at the high school, teaching biology to a new group of freshmen each year. I pulled out a little notebook and a pen and began to doodle, just to calm my nerves.

The door opened again and in walked a group of very handsome men. They were all tall, well over six feet tall, with dark hair and brown eyes, and they were built. One of them looked vaguely familiar, although I couldn't quite place where I knew him from. They moved to the other end of the table I was at and sat down. I went back to my doodling, hoping that things would begin to look up. I could still feel the eyes of the male officers on me the entire time I sat there, especially from the group of men that were sitting at the same table as me.

The supervisor walked in and began briefing, including making me stand up and introduce myself. I was positive if I looked in a mirror, my face would have matched my shirt. When we were given our assignments for the night, I was assigned to work with an older officer who had been at the prison for 10 years already.

The night was filled with learning the procedures of running a prison dormitory and writing up inmates who decided they wanted to masturbate out in the open while staring at me. Yeah, not my favorite part of the day. During the down times, Officer Smith was kind enough to put names to the faces I had seen during briefing. I found out that the hotties that walked in weren't just figments of my imagination. They had names as well: Sam Uley, Seth Clearwater, Embry Call, Quil Ateara, and Jacob Black.

I asked Officer Smith if the inmates' actions were normal, and he said that sadly, when it came to female officers, what few there were, yes, the actions were normal. Great. Thankfully, the night went pretty fast. When I got home, the house was empty and quiet. I went to bed and slept soundly until 2 o'clock.

Five years later, I no longer sit at the table doodling. I've made a couple of acquaintances that I talk to before briefing. I mostly talk with Angela Cheney. She's really sweet and married to another officer, Ben. She said she went through the same thing I did when she first started there. I've talked to her so much, in fact, that she has become one of my best friends. The down side, she doesn't bite her tongue when it comes to her opinions. That includes the opinion she has of my husband.

We had just finished briefing and were getting ready to go to our buildings. As I walked out the door, I felt my cup leave my hand. When I turned around, I saw Black standing there with a grin on his face. "Hey! Give me that back before I kick your ass." He laughed as I took it back from him. I gave him a dirty look and walked away with Angela.

We got to our building and received the daily run down from the first shift officers. Thankfully, everything had been nice and quiet. We sat down to complete our paperwork before I made my rounds. She kept shooting glances my way, and I finally couldn't take it anymore. "What's on your mind, Cheney?"

She turned to face me, a half smile on her face. "Black was flirting with you."

"Oh, man. Don't even go there. He and I are both married. And, besides, he's one of the few out here who sees me as one of the guys. We've even been going to the gym together for the last two years. He's the one who helped me get on the tact squad, remember?" I went back to my papers, knowing that I only had a few more minutes before my first set of rounds.

Tactical squad was another thing Edward wasn't happy about. He wasn't thrilled about the twice a month training we went to. My father was very proud of that accomplishment, though. He made sure he told everyone he knew.

"Girl, I've seen the way the guys look at you, including Black. They may talk to you like one of the guys, but honey, they know you have girlie parts." I could hear her shuffle her papers and start writing again.

I stood and began collecting the items I needed. I took my keys off the hook and attached them to my chain, slipping them into my left pocket. I slid the radio into the holster on my left hip and attached the mic to my collar. My baton and flashlight went into their own holders on my right hip and a set of cuffs went into a holder at the small of my back. I clipped my tactical squad pager, a 24/7 requirement, further back on my right side to make the items a little more comfortable.

Angela pushed the button allowing me to enter the building so that I could make my rounds. I checked all of the fire exits, making sure they were all locked and secure. I received the usual greetings from the inmates, all of them wanting to tell me the latest gossip. The last five years have made them finally realize that when I am on shift, it is my building. They understand that and show me the respect I deserve because they know I'll give them respect in return.

When I walked back into the control room, Angela told me that we would be getting a new inmate. Great, just what we needed. Someone new to teach the rules to. She opened the door, and I walked out to meet the officer who was bringing in the new arrival. It was Black.

"Hey, Cullen. Here's your new one." I walked over and took the information card from him. Wonderful, another 18-year-old. They were the ones we always had the worst time with. The inmate, Riley Xavier, gave me a dirty look while licking his lips. I told him what bunk he was going to and watched while he walked away.

I turned back and looked at Black. "Why me? Why do they always give me the young wanna-be thugs?"

Black shrugged. "I don't know. Just lucky I guess. I will tell you, though. We had a lot of problems with him in segregation. Don't be surprised if he doesn't last long up here."

I nodded. "Thanks for the warning." As I went to walk away, I felt his hand on my shoulder. When I turned around, he had a look on his face that bothered me. "I'm serious. He's a dangerous one. Be careful." I walked away, a feeling of dread washing over me.

A/N: Please review, especially those who were familiar with the original version.