A/N: I don't own Twilight. Stephanie Meyers does, I am just obsessed with them.

This is the first thing I've ever written.

If you feel so inclined, please leave a review. I would appreciate any words of encouragement or ideas that would make me a better writer.

Sincere thank you to my Beta Yeah Her.

Chapter One: Bella's Point of View

Florida is the third state that I have lived and hopefully it will be the last. We absolutely love it here. I was born in the state of Washington, in a little town called Forks located between the Olympic Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Forks is a small logging town where it rains about ninety five percent of the time and is surrounded by forests. When Charlie and Renee got divorced I moved with Renee to Phoenix Arizona which is a desert, it is very hot, surrounded by cacti and very dry; talk about contrasts. They were both beautiful in very different ways.

Edward and I went off to college at Florida State in Jacksonville, Florida and we moved to nearby Ponte Vedra Beach and we are still living here today. Renee has since remarried Phil, a nice man seven years her junior and they are living in downtown Jacksonville which is about eighteen miles away. Charlie remains in Forks in the same house that he has lived his entire adult life.

We rented a great house on the beach from an older couple who moved to Orlando with their grown children. It was getting too hard for them to care for the house and we were eventually able to buy the house from them. The house was situated right on the beach with multiple observation decks where we could enjoy the sun and breathe in the fresh ocean air. The house has 3 bedrooms, and the decking has stairs that led down to the beach.

My favorite room in the house of course is the master bedroom which faces the sea and has sliding glass doors that open to a deck where we spent many a night watching the sunset while sipping some wine on our whicker lounge chairs. We would often end up making love under the stars and the only sounds would be the crashing waves and beating of our hearts. It truly was an idyllic life.

I woke up early as usual with the bright Florida sun reflecting off the glass doors casting prisms of colors across the bedroom floor. I stretched and peeked over the comforter to greet the day. The first thing that came into my consciousness was that I was alone and missing Edward. Our king-sized bed seemed too big and the cool sheets just seemed to emphasize my loneliness; I felt so uneasy. We have spent almost every day together for the past twenty years and it just doesn't feel the same when we are separated; I worry about him so much. Communication between the United States and Africa is difficult and infrequent.

Edward is such a good and compassionate person. He knew from a very early age that he wanted to follow in the family tradition and become a physician just like his father and grandfather. Even as a young child Edward was a caregiver and always sensed when someone was in need of help. Even his choice of doctor reflected his urgency to help those in the most need. He chose to become an Emergency Room doctor, and then he applied for a position with an organization that placed doctors in countries where they are most needed. Now he is in Ethiopia, Africa. The need for medical care there is great. He will be gone for seven more months. It is hard to believe that only two months have passed since he left.

I have been a nurse for seven years now and I recently started working in Behavioral Health area with adolescent patients. What a journey it has been. I love working with kids and their families. My heart really goes out to my patients when I learn of their histories and I realize how blessed I have been to grow up in such a loving and supportive home. This is great prep work for the future when Edward and I are ready to start our own family. We are getting married when he gets back from Africa and I can't wait!

There is still plenty of time before I need to get ready for work so I turn on the television and set about my morning routine. I put the kettle on for some tea and put some bread in the toaster. From the kitchen I can hear the announcer talking about another day of sunshine with some afternoon showers, and then I hear that there is some breaking news.

"Breaking news! An American doctor from Humanitarian Doctors Abroad was kidnapped today in Ethiopia. He was taken when he was returning to his camp with medical supplies. The name of the doctor has not been released pending family notification."

I dropped my hot tea, the ceramic cup shattering across the tile floor. My heart was beating out of my chest and I felt paralyzed with fear and unease.

In the background I could still hear the reporters talking about the work the organization was doing in Ethiopia and that we would be updated with more news on the matter at a later time.

I couldn't listen any longer. I needed to call Alice.

Before I could even reach for the telephone, my phone began to ring. When I looked at the caller ID I saw that it was Carlisle and I fell to my knees. Please don't let it be about Edward I thought.

I glanced at the television and noticed the announcer delivering the news. She was dressed in a navy dress and with shoulder length brown hair and looked so ordinary. Why didn't she look devastated? This was devastating news. I looked at the phone like it would burn me if I touched it. I finally picked it up and whispered hello.

I felt physically sick; I had palpitations, nausea, and chest pain and was having difficulty breathing. I felt confused and disoriented. My anxiety level was so high that I actually hung up the phone before anyone even spoke. I knew it was irrational but I thought in that split second if I just didn't hear the news then it would not be true. The phone began to ring again and when I answered it I could hear women crying in the background. I sank to my knees; I knew what was coming.

Edward and I were not yet married so I was not yet considered next of kin; Carlisle, Edward's dad was the one who received the call from the FBI about the kidnapping. He confirmed my worst nightmare. Edward was taken by a group or tribesmen from the Omo River region in Ethiopian and it was witnessed and reported by some locals; they were unable to give much more information at this time.

I couldn't cry because I felt numb, it felt as if I was caught in a bad dream. Even though I was numb all my senses felt heightened and the room seemed too bright, the television was too loud. The toast lay long forgotten in the toaster.

Carlisle was informing me that they would be in Florida by late evening. They were going to tell Charlie now and then get on Emmett's company jet. Emmett was the older brother, the protector by nature. He owned his own Architectural firm and was very successful yet he was still the most simple, down to earth man I knew. I could imagine how helpless he felt and at least lending the jet and making all the arrangements he must have felt like he was contributing. Carlisle already called Renee and she and Phil were on the way over.

I just kept nodding my head even though Carlisle couldn't see me. It took too much energy to talk.

What am I going to do? Can I survive without Edward? I don't think I want to find out.