(( NOTE: Due to the amount of people who were unhappy with Breaking Dawn, I've decided to re-write it the way I had expected it to turn out. There will not be a Renesmee.... I give this warning in advance because I don't wish to be flamed due to disappointment. Don't worry – I have great plans for them and I'm sure you'll like it anyway!))

Chapter 1

To Plan or Not To Plan

Jacob was gone. Long gone. Being told that was the worst thing I had heard since Alice and I had rescued Edward from himself in Volterra. What made even more painful was knowing that it was entirely my fault. The best friend I had ever known was far, far away and no one was to blame but myself.

I couldn't help but run through the scenarios of 'what if' or 'should have'. What if I hadn't gone to see him that one last time? I should have been more gentle, or kept my mouth shut altogether. He had to know about the engagement, but what if I had let him hear from Seth? And so it went on, in a viscous circle that kept eating away at me.

Through it all, Edward was patient. He let me jabber on and on to him, never interrupting. I knew his mind must have been elsewhere, but at least he was able look as if he was paying attention.

Hearing my chatter and seeing my nerves become increasingly frayed, Carlisle had prescribed sleeping pills. I hadn't wanted them, but after three nights of little to no sleep and feeling my comprehension slipping, I decided it was best. Edward was probably grateful for the break in my rantings.

Charlie was no help to my nerves. He kept printing MISSING posters and asking around if anybody had seen Jacob. Billy was worried too, of course, but knew that the fuss wasn't necessary. Jacob couldn't run forever. Billy kept joking that he'd come home once he became hungry enough. Charlie didn't think that attitude was funny at all. Jake was an irrational teenager, but the length of time he'd been missing wasn't normal runaway behavior. Little did he know how much of Jacob was not normal.

As far as he knew, Jacob was hiding in the woods. My weekly updates on the situation from Seth told me differently. Jacob wasn't even in Washington. He had camped out in Alaska for a time, but was wandering all through Canada and the Northern states. Seth had described the scenery to Edward who thought that Jacob's most recent stop was North Dakota. How four considerably skinny legs could carry him so far and so fast was beyond me, but I had to realize that Jake probably had no idea how far he had gone.

This brought on a whole new world of worries for me. What would happen when he calmed down? I blushed every time I thought that perhaps he'd been marking trees all along the way, but if he hadn't been, would he know how to get home? Would he be scared then? If he was, who would help him? He had left as a wolf after all – would anybody be willing to take in a naked and presumably filthy teenage boy from the street? It was also possible for him to be arrested and then he would be in even bigger trouble for being a runaway.

I fumbled my way through the days, feeling as if I was only half awake. Part of me was so far gone that I might as well have been. I absently played with my engagement ring which was the only thing that had been going as planned.

As agreed, Emmett had gotten a pastoral license, which was a constant source for jokes in the Cullens house. Alice and I had gone out many times, looking at dresses and trying to choose colors. Eventually I had placed everything in her hands. I would be happy with whatever I was given, especially because I didn't know what exactly it was that I wanted. I always wanted to get married but I'd never given much thought to the wedding itself.

Alice had been more then thrilled to take the reigns, but Edward had to keep gagging her with them.

"This isn't a Broadway spectacle,"he kept reminding her."It's only our families, the Denali clan, and any friends that Bella chooses to invite. Most likely, that will be the Clearwaters and Billy. You can decorate it as beautifully as you wish, but don't do anything outrageous."

"Are there going to be doves?" Emmett asked, too eager to keep from sounding suspicious.

"You are not going to eat my doves, Emmett!" Alice cried. "If that's what you're planning, we'll have to stand there like idiots and throw rice at them. I'll not have you crashing about trying to catch a stupid bird. If you upset the cake, I'll never forgive you."

"Cake?" I asked.

"It won't be anything too big Bella, don't worry. Only two or three layers. What isn't eaten, we can give to your family, or to Seth to share with those too stubborn to come. I couldn't take the chance that Emmett and Jasper would waste it all in a food fight."

"Speaking of which, I thoroughly intend to smash it in your face, you know," Edward winked at me.

"Not if I get there first," I laughed.

During these moments, I forgot about Jacob. The closer it got to the date, the more my nervousness took over and the less I thought of where my furry friend might be.

Edward had asked Seth if he wouldn't mind being our ring bearer. We didn't know any small children, after all. He was more then happy to oblige. He came back in the next few days to inform us that he had convinced some of the pack to attend and had found us a flower girl. Quil's tiny imprint Claire was eager to be a part of the excitement. Upon telling us, Seth found himself being spun around by Alice and given a big kiss. It was the one thing she had been worried about missing. Seth had turned very dark and made an excuse to go home, making the rest of us laugh.

Even with all the talk of the wedding, Edward was remaining completely flexible. The actual date hadn't been set, but we had planned for it to be within the next two months. I was holding out for Jacob to come home. I didn't think he would remain on the run much longer then that. I knew he wouldn't attend the wedding, and that wasn't what I was hoping for. Just the fact that he was home would relieve me.

It was on one of those days of low activity, the days when I was practically alone with my thoughts, that Seth called. It wasn't as if this were something abnormal. He tried to at least phone us every week, but much to Leah's dismay, he liked to come over to talk with us face to face. He was such a wonderful kid that even the Cullens seemed to forget that he, technically, wasn't supposed to be there.

"Hey Bella!" He greeted when I picked up the phone.

"Hi Seth, what's up?"

"I didn't want to just tell you over the phone, but Leah's here and she'll take me back by my tail if I leave. So, guess what?"

"What?" I had a lump in my throat. Seth was always cheerful but he seemed to be bubbling over.

"Jacob is heading back! As far as we can tell, anyway. He's still in Canada right now and he's taking his sweet time getting here, but he's coming back this way. We can't think of any other reason he'd be retracing his route other then that he's coming home."

"Really?" I practically screamed.

Seth laughed. "Geez Bella, I've got sensitive ears too, ya know. I'll try to come over later with a better update. Remember, we're not totally sure, that's just what it looks like."

"Yeah, I know. Thank you Seth! Thank you so much!"

"My pleasure. See you later?"

"Of course. Come over any time. Talk to you soon."

We hung up and then I did scream. Edward was in front of me in the next second, followed by the rest of the family.

"What is it?" He asked. He put his hands on my cheeks and tilted my face up to him. "What's wrong, love?"

"Nothing. Actually, for once everything is right!" I removed his hands and hugged him tightly around his middle. "Jacob is coming home!"

"He is? Bella, that's wonderful!" He hugged me back.

Wonderful? I could tell that he was a bit tense. He meant that it was wonderful on my behalf. Wonderful that we could get married now and begin the rest of our lives together. The only thing that wasn't wonderful to him was what I said - that Jacob was coming back.

"Seth is coming over later," I said. "They want to make sure that's what's actually going on."

"This is great news," Esme said. "We'll be sure to give him a very warm welcome. I'm so happy for you, Bella!"

"And the wedding?" Alice asked eagerly. "Everything is ready to go when you are."

"We need to wait to hear from Seth again," Edward told her. "It would be too disappointing to get it set before we that this is for sure."

So we waited. Seth came late in the afternoon. He seemed flustered and flopped down on the leather sofa. All of us gather around him in anticiation.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get away earlier," he apologized. "The pack has been too excited. I feel sorry for Emily. When Sam made the announcement, muffins went everywhere!"

We all laughed.

"It's official then?" I asked.

"Jacob is reluctant to answer that directly, but because of his grumbling, we know it's true."

I hugged him. An Emmett sized bear hug. "Thank you!"

"Bella, I can't breathe," he laughed. "You're welcome. I'm just the messenger though. I had nothing to do with it."

I let him go. "I know, but you're the only one with the courage to come out here and help me. Edward says that they give you a hard time for it, but you keep coming back. I can't tell you how much that means to me."

"They like to give me a hard time no matter what," he joked. "But thanks for saying that. I know exactly how you feel. We've all missed him."

"Is there anything we can do for you, honey?" Esme asked him. "You really have been so helpful."

"No, please don't. I'm happy to do it! I'm just glad that we're friends. That's all I need."

"Speak for yourself," Alice said. "Seth, I'm going to start lining women up to see if you imprint on them. You deserve a girlfriend more then anybody I can think of. You're too kind to waste time looking on your own."

He giggled, blushing. "That's alright, Alice. You don't need to anything for me."

"You're just as stubborn as Bella," she sighed. "I'll leave things in your car while you're at the wedding, then."

Seth stayed for several hours. He was happy to be away from the rough excitement of the pack. He finally decided it was time to get home before they thought he was being held hostage. He went outside, phased, then trotted away.

I suddenly felt the drain too. Edward took me home, stopping to pick dinner up for Charlie and I. When we arrived, Charlie noticed how drastically my mood had changed. There was no way I could tell him that Jacob was coming home, but I did tell him that they knew where he was. I also told him that they were going to keep an eye on him and let him come back as he pleased, because he was someplace safe. At least Charlie's mind was at ease – and he would stop printing those fliers. He was going to talk to Billy, who would be able to come up with a much better story then I had.

We ate and then I showered while Edward waited in my room. I came back and he let me press my wet self against him.

"I'm so glad that you're happy again," he said. "I was beginning to think that things would never go back to being normal again."

"They won't," I sighed. "Jacob will be changed when he comes back. I just know that. It will change even more once we're married."

Edward laughed softly. "I meant you more then the circumstances. I'm expecting that sort of change, I was afraid that this would permanently destroy part of you. You were much more joyful when he was around. I've been so scared that I would never see your spunky side again."

"I was afraid of that too. I've hated being worried all the time. I felt myself beginning to crack. I was so sure you were going to have to commit me."

"I would have padded the walls of Alice's bathroom and kept you in there. You would be the most beautiful psychopath in the world."

We both laughed at that. I began to get drowsy. Edward held me close, massaging my neck. That was the first night in months that I slept through the night without any aid from a pill.