Swan/Clearwater.

I went a little crazy at the market, I realized later as I was unloading bag after bag of groceries. My arms shook and my back ached from the initial load up at the store and now I was trying to heft seven full paper bags into the house from the street curb. There were four more still sitting in the car. It was already 7 o'clock and the sun had gone down, so I had to make my way to the front door carefully. With all the bags of food precariously balanced in my two shaking hands and my history for falling, I wasn't going in with the best odds, but I was determined to feed Charlie and get him so sleepy from food coma that he'd tell me what the hell was going on under that tarpaulin. When I reached the front steps, I timidly took the first stair, feeling the stone beneath my feet and mentally calculating how high and far out I would need to reach the next when I suddenly heard a loud whooping noise just five feet behind me.

"WOOOOOOOO—BELLA SWAN!"

"Jesus--!" I stumbled and lost my grip on the paper bags. The eggs, milk, pasta, beef sirloin, onions, cereal and multitude of other foods slid through my arms. I screwed my eyes shut, knowing that the jar of pasta sauce and eggs wouldn't survive the landing, but dreading the pain that would shoot up my legs from dozens of various sized cans of corn, beans, chilies, and tomatoes--all raining down on my feet.

Laughter broke through my initial fright and I opened my eyes. I also realized belatedly, that I didn't feel a thing coming from my toes. I saw the bags lift out of my way, retracted by a pair of long brown, sinewy arms. I looked up and saw a familiar but older looking face than that which rose up from my memory. A grin bloomed across my face.

"Seth!" I yelped. All fright forgotten, I leapt forward to hug him while he held the grocery bags out by each arm. He laughed at me and hugged me back with just his cheek.

"Hey Bella! It's great to see you home! Um—hold on and let me put these down for a sec…."

"Oops—" I stepped away from him and promptly lost my footing. I had forgotten that I was standing on the first step and my foot met six inches of air where I expected solid ground. I stumbled backwards with a gasp, feeling the ground rush up to me.

Iron bars caught me at my armpits before I hit the damp cement. Seth doubled over with unabashed laughter. I wanted to kick him in the guts for scaring me twice, let alone cracking up like I'd just told the world's best joke. That was me—walking, breathing, living comedy show just waiting to happen.

I scowled at him. My heart ricocheted against the walls of my chest and I dropped my head back to look up to my hero. Correction—heroine. My eyes met chestnut irises fringed by long lashes that I'd often wished for. Leah.

"It's nice to see you again Bella," she said flatly, sounding as if she would have preferred to let me crack my skull on the pavement than hold me up. I felt a familiar shrinking sensation of my personal value; Leah could wither a sunflower in the middle of June with barely a glance. "I guess some things never change huh?"

I regained my footing and stepped away from her, mumbling my thanks. Seth continued to convulse with hysterical laughter. I made a mental note to feed him laxatives later.

"Hey Leah. It's uh...good to see you too."

Her smile barely touched her eyes as she walked past me and her brother into the house. "Seth knock it off," she growled over her shoulder.

Seth let the last of his full-bodied laughter fade to a mischievous but well-intentioned chuckle before he could speak easily again. In the meantime, I crossed my arms and shifted my weight to one leg, waiting for him to stop being a jerk.

"Ahh…hahaha….wow." Seth rubbed his hands over his face and grinned hugely at me. "Things really don't change do they?"

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up Seth."

"Just kidding, Bells!" he chimed, clapping me on the arm, nearly dislocating my shoulder.

I couldn't help but smile back.

Our dinner that night was lighthearted and filled with stories from our time apart. Seth and Sue spoke the most, with gruff interjections by Leah when her brother spoke and Charlie's equally gruff but affectionate additions to Sue's stories. I kept my time on the floor to a minimum. I was in San Francisco, working as an associate editor at a publishing house for trade and children's literature—my life was peacefully routine: I went to the office five days a week, six if there was something extremely pressing, and lived with two other girls, one who designed and another that worked in a gallery. None of us were particularly well off, but I thought that I usually had the better end of the stick financially since I freelanced every now and then, submitting my short editorials to the local paper and even putting out a few things in some of the regional literary journals. My life was very uncomplicated in the best way possible, and I hated it.

All the more reason not to elaborate and not to bring up the other reason I was back in Forks. As much as I wanted to push it away, as much as I wished that I could deny it, I knew without question after seeing Seth and Leah, with their feral corded muscle and inhuman grace, that Charlie wasn't the only family that I wanted to see.

"So you having fun out there then, huh kid?" Charlie raised his brows at me in question, seeming unconvinced even though I'd told them the story about how I'd gained an entirely new closet from the designer and completed another novel with one of our signed authors. He poked at his mashed potatoes and stirred them around before scooping them up with some peas. Damn. When did Charlie become so perceptive? I saw Sue give him a meaningful look and I realized then where he acquired his skill—Seth and Leah's mother must have taught him how to listen to what wasn't being said. Mothers were always so much better at that than fathers, I thought begrudgingly.

I put on a bright but nonchalant smile and shrugged. "Yeah Dad, things are great."

His gaze flicked over me but he bobbed his head and looked away. "Ok Bells—glad that's how you feel."

My stomach churned. Of course that was how I should feel, but why couldn't I ever get to that point? Why did I feel as if my life were back in order even if I was in the one place where everything went so wrong in the first place?

Seth cleared his throat and put his napkin down on the table. "Ma, may I be excused for a second? I forgot my cell phone in the car and I was expecting Dana to call."

Sue cocked an eyebrow at him and so did Leah. The Clearwater women looked like siblings just then, and Seth blushed under his deep tan at their scrutiny. Charlie and I were watching as well, which didn't help his case.

"Alright Seth," Sue drawled. "But if you're getting up past the fridge would you mind bringing out a new pad of butter? This tray's done."

Seth looked as if he were about to complain but bit back whatever he was about to say and lunged for the refrigerator door. I'd never seen anyone plate a new block of butter so fast in my life. And before I knew it Seth was leaping out of the kitchen and out the front hall.

Charlie leaned over in his seat to watch the six foot five inch tall eighteen year old sprint into the darkness.

"That boy of yours sure's got some legs on him," Charlie mumbled. "You'd think he was running on all fours or something."

I almost choked on my glass of water and Leah gave me a sharp look. Sue seemed to flinch—had she not told Charlie yet? I thought my soon to be step mother would have mentioned her childrens' alternative lifestyle to her fiancée. I guess there were still things to be saved until after marriage.

"Seth's doing really well in football this season," Sue smiled and recovered gracefully. "His 50 yard dash is the best time of the entire team."

"You let him play football?" I blurted out without thinking. Leah set her fork down with a bang and I jumped in my seat. Charlie frowned at her reaction, but Sue calmly turned to me with a benevolent smile.

"Oh Bella, I really didn't support it much either—I think football is a little too rough for kids. But Seth's got a mind of his own—and the coaches kept telling him to try out after they saw his sprint times in gym, so he did—without my permission, of course." She sighed but the smile didn't leave her face. "But I can't complain--it's working out pretty well for him. He's being scouted by a few big schools in California and the University of Washington."

I wanted to protest but thought about Seth's future. How many of the other Quileute boys could boast the same kind of promise? Had they even graduated from high school or gone on to college for that matter? I stared down at my plate and stirred the food around some, frustrated and a little embarrassed that I didn't know the answers to any of those questions. After I left Forks I cut off all contact with the tribe. I had to for my own survival. I couldn't take the pain of seeing another tall, russet skinned man, so like the boy I'd loved too much after my heart had been pieced back together. All except for Seth—he'd immediately reached out to me and persisted even when I tried to keep him at bay. The only reason I permitted our limited contact, usually a phone call or email, was because he never spoke of my time with Jacob, and he always had news about Charlie and Sue. Two things that I was eternally grateful for.

Just then, the front door burst open and Seth stepped through looking disheveled. His forehead puckered in concern and his t-shirt was on backwards. I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering why he'd phased.

Charlie seemed to have noticed as well. "Put your head on backwards before you left, kid?"

"Huh?" he looked down at himself dazedly. Leah snorted and tried to hide a smile. "Oh, yeah I guess I walked out of the house like this. Why didn't anyone tell me sooner?"

Charlie cocked his head. "Hunh—I would have 'cept I didn't notice until just now. Could've sworn—"

"You barely notice when you're wearing two different socks," Sue interrupted gently, teasing him but also steering him away from finishing his sentence. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Why didn't Sue simply tell Charlie about the werewolves? He was already so close with the tribe elders—Quil Sr., Sam, Billy--

I blinked away the image of a tall, heavily muscled boy staring at me with dark mischievous eyes.

"Are you finished Bella?" Sue asked me, cutting into my thoughts.

"Oh—yes, thank you. No wait, let me help—" I stuttered, forgetting she was the guest in Charlie's house.

"Don't be silly," she scolded, shooing me back to my seat. "I can't believe you put this delicious meal together on your first night in! I thought we would all go out but Charlie called to tell me you were set on cooking. I promise tomorrow night I'll have something ready for us."

I nodded blankly and smiled because I knew that I should smile in response to her generosity. I realized that even though this was my house, Charlie's house, I was the guest, not the Clearwaters. Sue might not have a bed here—or maybe she did, something that I didn't want to imagine really—but she was certainly much more comfortable than I.

When the leftovers had been put away and the dishes were done, Sue, Leah and Seth headed back to their car. Charlie squeezed Sue's hand before she stepped into the passenger seat with Leah at the wheel and Seth grumpily in the back, and we both waved them off as they drove off into the night.

Charlie shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed deeply, sounding like a man with little worries and much to look forward to. I was happy for him. He'd finally found someone after Renee to share his life with and I was glad that it was Sue. We walked back into the house in a companionable silence, listening to the crickets trilling in the forest over the occasional chirrup of small forest animals. I paused to listen for a moment, enjoying the feeling of being surrounded by nature as opposed to the stark buildings and streets of San Francisco.

"Hey Dad," I said just before I stepped into the house.

"Yeah Bells?"

"I think I'm going to sit for a while to get some air. You don't mind do you?"

He gestured to the steps. "Knock yourself out. But that dinner you made was too good—I think I'm going to have to sleep it off." As if on cue he yawned widely and I laughed at him, pleased that he'd enjoyed what I threw together.

"Ok Dad, night. Thanks for picking me up today."

"Come here kid," he said, waving me over. I went over to hug him, feeling my throat tighten with affection. He patted my back in a gruff and awkward Charlie-esque manner.

"Glad you're home, Bells. We missed you while you were away."

"I missed you too, Dad."

He released me and gave a terse nod. "Get some rest tonight. You can sleep in as long as you want tomorrow but come Saturday and Sunday we're gonna be in the full swing of things. Hope you're ready for all of this wedding nonsense."

I threw him a smile. "Course I am, Dad. Are you?"

"Don't talk to me about it and I'll be fine," he grunted. I thought that I could see him blush but he'd already turned to the stairs. "Don't go far from the house, Bells."

"I won't," I said, already stepping back out into the chilled night air. I left the door open behind me so that the light from the house would stretch out to the garden. I didn't like thinking about the poorly lit expanse of trees extending out beyond the road but I liked the smell of the fresh pine needles and the sound of the forest breathing and stirring with life. I listened again, hoping to catch the song of the crickets once more.

Nothing. I frowned, wondering if Charlie and I were too disruptive and had chased them away. But the more I listened, the more that I realized that it wasn't just our yard that had gone silent. A chill crept through my spine and I looked around nervously, wondering why my fluttering heartbeat was the only audible sound. After a few more seconds of tense uninterrupted stillness, I quickly got to my feet and backed into the house as fast as I could. I didn't even stumble on the threshold to my great surprise, but as soon as I'd made it into my house I shut the front door.

The silence bothered me in a way that chilled me to the bone. It was the whole reason why I'd moved to the city. After I left Forks where my nights had always been filled with marble ice and blazing warmth, silence was the last thing that I wanted. I found myself taking the stairs two at a time to my bedroom. I kicked my shoes off and crawled into bed with my light on. I swathed myself in my purple sheets and ducked beneath my covers as much as I could, hoping that sleep would find me quickly. I didn't want to let my imagination wander any more that night. I had a dangerous capacity for dreaming my worst fears into reality.

Promise it'll pick up with more Jake stuff soon since that's what we all love to see :)