Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyers owns Bella, the imagination of several generations, Edward (she's not returning my calls about giving him up..) and a lot of fan mail. I own a slightly used passport, 1974 VW Beetle and very over-active imagination....

Chapter: 2

"Hand wipes, Dolls and Disposables"

{Miracle – Vertical Horizon}

They both giggled like best friends, when they decided that the buttered biscuit with the grape jelly had indeed been the best of all. Bella didn't want their little bubble of happiness to be broken, but that was the sad reality of meeting your new best friend in an airport. Edward was clearly in the military; Bella knew the type. It was highly unlikely that she would ever see him again.

He saw a peek of an American Girl doll that she was carrying in her backpack when she unzipped it to get out a hand-wipe, rather than rush off to a restroom, and risk letting him get away. He had a strange look in his eyes when she used the hand wipe, and Bella suddenly wondered if she'd done something wrong.

"Uhm, is something wrong?" He shook his head, and smiled, though the smile didn't reach his eyes. "No, not at all. I'm sorry – Uh.. My mother used to carry those hand wipe things around when I was a kid, and I was just remembering that.. Though, I couldn't help but notice the "dolly" that you're taking on the trip with you. Scared much? This your first trip off by yourself?" His eyes were twinkling as he teased her about the doll.

She was dazzled by his disarming smile. "Oh, it's not like that. Her name is..well, actually she hasn't been named yet. It's a present to a little girl I plan on seeing when I get to where I'm going. Her grandmother begged me to bring it along, and I couldn't refuse.. The little girl's parents are missionaries, and I know they don't get presents from home very often.."

The twinkle in his eyes had extinguished, and again, she was feeling inadequate – as if she'd done something wrong. This time, he seemed to read her feelings from her eyes. "No, stop feeling as if it's you. It's nothing you've said or done..I've just never met someone who could remind me so much of my childhood in one sitting.. You're actually very much like a breath of fresh air. I haven't felt as though I've been able to really take a deep breath for a while, thank you for that." Bella blushed, and shyly nodded her head, even though she still felt responsible in some way for erasing the smile from his face.

She'd never met someone that was so confusing, yet so entrancing. He was like a drug, and she couldn't seem to get enough. She tried to mentally shake herself out of it. After her flight took off, she'd likely never see him again. Having thought about them parting again nearly made her cry..which then made her laugh out loud. Had two perfect strangers ever caused the other to have such sudden mood swings before?

"So, you're taking a present to an MK.. Where are you headed, anyway? I could give you some pointers about the natives wherever you're going.. I've been a few places, myself." His offer was very kind, and while Bella had been told to not tell everyone she met about her trip, she couldn't seem to keep it to herself.

She told him that she was on her way to Asia to be a missionary. His eyes clouded over, and his breath caught in his throat. He looked as if he were struggling with something unseen when he met her eyes with his own seemingly haunted ones. For a moment, he looked like a very lost little boy.

"Stay out of the refugee camps or villages if you can help it. They're not safe, and I don't want to have to come in after you!" He tried to make his voice sound light, but she could tell that it took a lot for him to say what he did.

"So, Ms. Bella, what flight are you taking to Asia tonight?" She proudly pulled out her language study book. It had a picture of the country's flag on the cover. Edward blinked, and then shook his head. "Ah. I should have known. You're the newest model of missionary to be shipped out there, huh? Don't they ever get tired of using people as if they're disposable hand wipes?"

Bella flinched, and had to blink back tears. Who was he, to make these claims? Some soldier who had clearly seen far too many battles. He didn't know her. He didn't know the people where she was destined to be. He didn't know where she'd been, or where she planned to go with her life. He didn't know anything!

"Well, yes. I am the newest model from a long line of people so incompetent that they were only useful to send and dump off to work themself to death caring for people until their expiration date comes up. Disposable Missionary Number 118, at your service." She stood up and did a mock bow.

Edward looked like he couldn't decide whether he should cry or scold her. He chose neither. Taking a deep breath, he held the bridge of his nose between his right thumb and forefinger. "That's not the way that I meant it. I'm so sorry, that was inexcusable for me to say. I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you that I buried my parents in the neighboring country of where we're both headed. Missionaries model 01 and 02 off of the production line.."

It was her turn to flinch. What was it about this young man that made her want to scream at him, and hug him at the same time? "I'm sorry, I didn't realize. Wow, I haven't apologized this much since a blind date I had with Eric Yorkie back in high school.." He laughed, and they let go of their differences for the time being. It was their truce of sorts, and they began to talk again, avoiding the touchier subjects.

Bella had never been one to believe that anything in life ever happens without a reason, but even she failed to see how this new friendship could ever work out. They both shrugged, deciding that it didn't really matter. As it turned out, they were both on the same flight..so, they made their way to the gate from where they'd been sitting. They found themselves sitting in those not-so-surprisingly uncomfortable seats located in the somewhat generic waiting lounge area.

Edward told her of how all of the men in his family had served their country in turn. He didn't like the unpleasant side of his job, but his eyes lit up when he talked about all of the people that he and his 'brothers' had helped. He knew places, and he remembered names. Liberty, security and safety come at such a high price.

Bella shuddered at the risk and danger involved with Edward's every day life. Sure, she was prepared to die for whom she believed in, but Edward cringed when she said that she didn't feel comfortable with having any form of weapon on or near her person. He didn't feel entirely comfortable with her personal stand of "non resistance". At that moment, she was struck with the question that she didn't dare ask – how had his father, who had served in the military also, chosen to serve as a missionary? Bella sighed, she would likely never know.

To put it simply, Bella didn't believe in fighting back. She felt that there was no way to know about the current state of an enemy's salvation. She should be prepared at all times to meet her Creator. It only made sense to her that God knows what He's doing, and she trusted His plan for her life, no room for doubt.

This didn't really get into the whole matter of protecting the innocent. Bella cringed to think of a young child being in danger, and of herself doing nothing. If she had the power to do something for the innocent, she liked to think that she would..but Bella prayed that her faith on the matter would never be tested.

Bella smiled wistfully at her new best friend. "You know what they say about unanswered prayer? It's all a lie. There are no 'unanswered' prayers. The answer is always "yes", "no", or "wait". At any given time, there is simply no way to know what the answer to my future prayer would be, so I can't really imagine making immediate eternal decisions for someone else while holding a gun..."

There was no way for the two of them to know that they had just met the answer to their prayers, and the prayers of others in an airport, waiting for a plane that would take them each into a very different world. Whether Edward understood it or not - his ancestry had been standing up to Giants for generations. True to the heritage of his name, he had a personality that made people either feel at ease or threatened in his presence; and he would realize there is a reason that every coin has two sides.

Bella knew that she still had so much to learn, and she was excited to get on with taking the next step toward her own destiny. She simply had no idea how far a trip that may take her. She longed to see miracles, though she'd never asked for such an opportunity. While she knew that it wasn't true, she couldn't shake the words of her catholic grandmother when she'd been growing up. "Now, Bella – Jesus is so very busy, we don't need to trouble Him with little things from our own selfish desires..." Bella had always tried to ask for as little as possible, never having forgotten her grandmother's words, truth or not.

{I realise that this starts off slowly, but come on – any relationship has to start somewhere.}