Hey ppls! A very warm thanks to all the people who have reviewed so far. I greatly appreciate it! Please review to tell me whether or not Edward's POV should be thrown in at some point. ;)

Chapter Three: Missing

Charlie Swan was at the police station. He was finding it difficult to remain focused on the countless cases of robbery or assaults when his own daughter was suffering back at his home. Charlie hoped that she was at least doing something; he hated it when she spent the whole day moping. His heart was broken all the time.

He was in a hurry when he left the station. Charlie Swan wanted to race home to his daughter; however, he needed to buy some groceries from the fruit store. Six months ago, his daughter would take care of all food related difficulties; now, Charlie had to do it himself.

As Charlie waited in the line, he heard a word that froze his heart.

Cullen.

The two women in front of Charlie were sharing a piece of gossip. Fuming slightly, Charlie listened.

"Really?" the plumper of the two exclaimed. "Doctor Cullen is back! That's brilliant!"

"Yes" the other woman replied. "Apparently, his wife found the weather too hot and sunny in LA."

Charlie zoned out then and he was fuming. So, the Cullens thought that they could just break his little girl and then come back as though nothing ever happened? Charlie wasn't going to have any of that. He despised the family. How dare they abandon his daughter in the woods and not even say goodbye?

Charlie Swan was angry but he forced himself to calm down. For his daughter's sake; Charlie had to act as though everyday life was a beauty. For his daughter, Charlie could not talk about the Cullens, especially him. The rogue.

Charlie Swan had no intentions of telling his daughter this information. Charlie could only imagine her pain. He was certain that hearing of the Cullens' return (and subsequently their not visiting her) would destroy his daughter. And; there was absolutely no way Charlie wanted his daughter to be ruined. Again.

He had lost her once due to that family; Charlie Swan would rather die that have that happen again.

When Charlie arrived home, his daughter, Bella was seated on the lounge chair, staring at a fixed point on the opposite wall. Charlie's heart faltered; today was another way where Bella threw all her talents, potential and motivations away. She was sinking greater into her horrid depression; Charlie knew that she was falling too far for him to feel confident dealing with the issue.

"Bella?" Charlie's greeting sounded more like a question. "Once again, I don't know how beneficial all this moping around is for you. Bella, I think you should go to Jacksonville. To you moth-"

"No!" Charlie was momentarily shocked at his daughter's angry outburst. "I won't go!"

And then, she was crying. Mentally dejected and despising himself; Charlie realised that he himself had hurt his baby girl.

"I'm sorry Bella; you don't need to go, if you don't want to." Charlie said hastily.

Charlie Swan was sitting in a pit of hopelessness as Bella stopped crying and went perfectly still. Her lips were jammed; her eyes were wide.

Charlie Swan sighed. His daughter was missing the one thing she needed in her world. And, there was nothing Charlie could do about it.

***

Jasper Hale never bet against his wife. She had an additional gift of predicting the future once a decision had been made. However, Jasper didn't want one of her visions to be true. Jasper couldn't dream but he was dreading the truth. The truth that his little sister, Bella would barely sleep every night and would always wake up a screaming mess.

Jasper longed to deny. But, to do that he needed to see Bella for himself. His playful brother, Emmett had offered to go with him. Jasper was grateful. He wasn't sure if he was capable of enduring Bella's pain; it would give him a bitter reminder of what had occurred six months ago.

Two vampires ran stealthily through the night.

Jasper Hale and his brother arrived at the Swan house, just as Bella and her father were going to bed. Jasper could sense worry, stress and anxiety from Charlie while Bella was radiating numbness, uselessness and every wave of depression possible. Jasper was glum. He could also feel a bit of restraint about Bella, as though she was simply keeping some of her emotions hidden inside.

That restraint scared Jasper; how much more could she be concealing?

As Bella curled painfully into bed, Jasper and Emmett climbed into the tree that overlooked her bedroom window. They both wanted a good view.

"Believe it or not, Emmett" Jasper whispered sadly. "I actually hope that Alice has got it wrong this time."

"Me too, mate" his brother responded promptly. "I don't want to see my little sis crying or being upset."

Jasper sighed and shook his head; the wind ruffled at his blonde hair. Jasper and Emmett watched. They observed with heartache (ironically) as she thrashed muttering 'he's gone' in a vain attempt to sleep.

It took a while, but eventually Bella was able to fade out.

And, Jasper Hale was able to feel the full torrent of his sister's emotions. Pain times one thousand, longing for the impossible, depression, heartbreak, misery, loneliness, sadness, devastation, self hatred. It was too much for Jasper to bear.

Jasper Hale fell out of the tree.

***

Emmett Cullen was in disbelief. Vampires. Do. Not. Just. Fall. Out. Of. Trees. Blinking, Emmett looked down, where his brother, Jasper was sitting against the base of the trunk. His head was in his hands. Emmett jumped down; he was careful not to make a sound.

"Jazz, what's the matter?" Emmett asked. "What is she feeling?"

Emmett Cullen was usually bouncy and excited, but on this occasion he was grave and a little scared. Scared of what his brother's answer would be. It was a full minuted before Emmett heard his brother's voice.

"She's a complete and utter mess." Jasper threw up his arms in surrender. "All because of me! Just because I couldn't control my stupid thirst at her birthday party! Because of me! Because of me, Edward found it necessary to leave her! And now! Everything she feels is misery! Depression! Heartache!"

No. Emmett Cullen was not going to allow his brother to take all the blame. Particularly when he did not deserve it. Emmett remembered his early days when a hiker came too close to where he was hunting....and he lost control. For his brother, Emmett knew that it must have been even more difficult. Jasper had a life before the Cullens; a war life with extreme human killings. Personally, Emmett considered his brother very strong and well minded to have even attempted to change his way of life.

Emmett hastened to console.

"Jazz, you're stronger than you think!" Emmett exclaimed quietly. "You haven't even thought of attacking or killing a human for ages! Jasper! This isn't your fault!"

But, Jasper would not accept the truth of Emmett's words. Emmett Cullen was actually getting a little annoyed. He resorted to the comedy card; for many decades, Emmett had been able to cheer up his friends and family whenever they were feeling down. Emmett sighed. For six months, smiles had been a very rare thing in the Cullen house.

However, Emmett could not just abandon hope. He had to at least try.

True to his heart, Emmett did. He cracked a range of jokes with big gestures. At one point, Emmett wanted to just drag his brother home so that his pixie sister, Alice could take over. However, after thirty minutes, Jasper at least stopped cursing himself.

Emmett and his brother repositioned themselves on the tree and observed through the night. Emmett flinched when Bella woke up screaming 'he's gone he's gone' and winced when she cried through the night. Emmett did not need to be an empath to know how his little sister was feeling. He knew that she was missing his brother, Edward.

And, Emmett Cullen did not know where his brother was.

***

Carlisle Cullen was waiting. Just like everybody else in his family were waiting. His daughters, Alice and Rosalie were frowning out of the windows. His wife, Esme was pacing around trying to shake off her own unhappiness.

Just as the day was breaking, Carlisle heard the sounds of two quick pairs of feet. Next moment, his sons were leaping in from the window. Carlisle could tell, immediately from their grave expressions that the findings were not good news.

"She's horrible." Jasper said sadly. "It's as though she has a giant hole in her heart. She needs Edward. We need to find him and drag him back where he belongs. With Bella."

Carlisle Cullen agreed completely.

Vampires. Do. Not. Just. Fall. Out. Of. Trees! ;) Please review!

Also, feel free to check out my other fanfic 'What If Bella Hated Edward'. The link can be taken via my profile. The name speaks it all. ;)