2

The android scanned the room carefully, its eyes grabbing any detail it could. Jacob could almost see the gears in its head turning. He saw what it saw. Dust in every corner of the room, a film on his furniture like powdered sugar on cake. It saw the pile of dishes in the sink and the trash overflowing from the bin.

But even after this, its face didn't contort in disgust or pity like most humans would. Instead, it looked like it had figured out her very purpose in life. "Shall I clean?"

His lips twisted in irritation. "Do whatever you want." He sat at the breakfast table again and popped open another bottle of beer.

It passed him with ease, no trace of anxiety or awkwardness in the way it carried herself unlike the woman it was modeled after and began her work in the kitchen. "I will start in the kitchen. It will take me approximately thirty-two minutes to clean this room." The android smiled again.

Jacob raised an eyebrow and shrugged. It took this as a go-ahead and began her work. He glanced at his watch. 11:46 AM.

As he watched her start on the dishes, he couldn't imagine how he had ever thought he had a hoard of issues when Nessie died. But an android took the whole cake. He wondered what Edward must have felt when he saw his dead wife waking up from the cold metal table with bright red, robotic eyes, scanning him until it received her first task. He remembered the day Cullen Enterprises introduced the prototype Isabella to the population. The very first walking, talking robot whose only purpose in life was to serve every demand of its owner. Jacob had been livid. Well, if he had been livid, Charlie Swan was angrier than the devil himself. Neither of them liked the thought of a machine looking like their Bella working for thousands of people across the world like a maid.

But Isabella ended up being just the prototype and the first line of androids were a series of nondescript men and women with the iconic navy-blue uniform and Cullen crest. There were so many rumors that the original Isabella prototype served Edward alone, but the thought sickened Jacob. Even watching something looking like her cleaning his kitchen made him want to vomit. If an android version of Nessie had existed, he didn't think he could ever let her clean the house again.

With the re-release of Isabella, the claim was that only three Isabella models existed in the world including the original prototype. Jacob wondered whether the last android-Isabella was saved for Bella's parents. He set down his drink quickly, feeling the bile rise up to his throat.

Edward Cullen had claimed that this was his way of eternalizing his wife's memory in the way she loved: making others happy. Jacob agreed Bella was pretty good at household chores and cooking -anybody who knew her couldn't deny that. But he couldn't ever say she was born to be some homemaker who made sure there was always a beer in her husband's hand.

Seeing her again, looking exactly as she did eight years ago on her wedding night, Jacob mused that this must have brought Cullen some kind of peace. Watching his wife go about her normal routine as if she wasn't gone. He bet that the prototype Isabella probably raised the child she died giving birth to too.

Thirty-two minutes later, on the dot, the android twisted a kitchen towel in the sink and laid it on the edge to dry. "I will now start in the living room, Mr. Black."

"You don't have to tell me everything you do," he said. "And stop calling me Mr. Black."

"Well, considering you look like I'm about to pounce on you and eat you up, I'd like for you to know where I'm going."

Jacob gaped at her in surprise. That sounded oddly like a joke Bella would have made. He examined her perfect face carefully. One eyebrow was cocked up in a challenging way and it had a knowing smile on its lips. It could have clicked its teeth together to snap at him as a joke and it wouldn't have made him a slightest bit more surprised.

The android sashayed into the living room to continue its work.

Embry visited that evening. It was under the guise of checking up on Jacob but from the way he kept glancing at the space behind Jacob's head, it became abundantly clear that he was here to see the android. People around these parts typically didn't earn enough to have household robots.

"It's in the bathroom." Jacob answered Embry's unasked question.

Embry's eyes widened. "She uses the bathroom? Man, the tech these days are too-"

"What? No. It's cleaning, dumbass." Jacob went to his fridge and grabbed a couple of beers and offered one to Embry. Embry took it graciously. "You're more than welcome to take it if you want -I don't know if I'm going to need it for thirty whole days." They both sat in the living room with the news silent on the television.

Embry grimaced. "Uh, no thanks, man. No offense or anything, but it's going to be kind of weird having Isabella around again. And Maria's going to kill me if she sees me bringing home another woman, android or not."

Jacob shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"Is it weird?" Embry prodded. At Jacob's questioning look, he continued, "Having her around again? Is she like her at all?"

"It's not her at all," he scoffed. "It's not even a real person. Just a glorified Roomba."

"Hello, Embry. How are you?" Isabella asked, making them both jump. The android stood at the entrance of the hallway with a pair of yellow gloves on and a scrub brush in one hand, wearing a polite smile. Though she looked perfect as ever, Jacob noticed the single strand of hair that came loose from her ponytail tucked neatly behind her ear. His heart squeezed for a moment as his mind tried to remember that it wasn't Bella.

"H-hey, Bella," Embry stammered. His eyes were wide as saucers, unable to believe the uncanny resemblance to his old friend. She looked just like she did the summer before her wedding when she convinced everyone that she was doubt-free about leaving the Cullen family behind. The same summer she broke his best friend's heart when she chose to go back after her "summer-fling."

"That's not Bella," Jacob said under his breath. "You done cleaning?

"Yes, Jacob. Shall I make you both something to eat for dinner?"

"Uh, I'm good," Embry said.

"Get us another beer," Jacob commanded. Isabella smiled and walked off into the kitchen. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the look on Embry's face. "What?"

Embry shook his head. "Nothin', man." Jacob continued to stare at him and shook his head slightly to silently ask his question again. Embry sighed. "Just think that you wouldn't ever talk to Bella like that. Or Nessie."

Jacob chuckled humorlessly and said, "Like I said. That's not Bella or Nessie. It's a robot." He lifted the bottle to his mouth and finished the rest of his drink in one gulp. "Anyway, how's Maria? She's due soon, right?"

"About ready to pop any day now. Little Robert's getting restless in there."

"I bet. Keep me updated -you can go on paternity leave as soon as Maria gives birth. I'll get Seth to cover for you till you get back." A beer bottle appeared in front of his shoulder. "Thanks, Bells."

Both men froze at his words. Isabella bent down to set the other beer bottle on a coaster in front of Embry. The android turned her head slightly to look at Jacob with hooded eyes and a mischievous smirk. "You're welcome, Jake." It straightened and walked back into the kitchen.

A muscle worked in Jacob's jaw as he glanced back up to his friend. Embry's eyes were wide again, but this time he gulped audibly. "I'm kind of convinced it's her."

Once he shut the front door behind Embry, he turned and asked, "How did you know who that was?"

Isabella frowned. "Embry Call and Quil Ateara purchased me, remember?"

"Yeah, but how do you know what he looks like? Did he buy you in person? I don't think he did because he wouldn't have ever gotten you." Jacob could hear his voice getting louder but he couldn't stop himself.

The android smiled. Its topaz eyes flashed with amusement. "I know about the people in your life, Mr. Black. That was a part of my objective. 'I am here to take care of you and your home. That means knowing about your family and friends through data received by in the purchasing application and public social media accounts."

"Why did they send you then, huh? Out of the millions of androids they have, who sent you?" Jacob was closer to it now, his finger jabbing into its sternum. "Why do you have to look like her?

"I chose you, Jacob. I chose to be here," the android replied. "And if you are concerned about my appearance, I can make changes to your liking." Her brunette hair turned white blonde at the roots and zipped down the rest of her hair like a waterfall. Hundreds of freckles appeared on the bridge of her nose and scattered on her cheeks.

Jacob watched in shock at its change in appearance but still saw Isabella's face. He couldn't even begin to respond to the fact that it admitted it chose him, rather than the other way around. He shook his head, slowly. "No, go back." The android complied, looking just as it did before. Like her. "The eyes. I don't want them looking like that."

It nodded, again with a smile. The topaz eyes flashed once more before a dark pigment began to cloud in her irises and he was looking into the chocolate brown eyes of Isabella Swan.

A/N: Thanks for your patience and your encouragement to keep working on this story! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.