I don't own these characters. They are the sole property of Stephenie Meyer. I only borrow them. No humans are permanently harmed through my actions, though I do confess to harassing, annoying, torturing, and exasperating them – just because it's fun. I make no money from my little stories, sad day. I only play in the sandbox, I didn't build it.

Author's Note: This story is not based on the September 11th attacks. The crash in question took place in June of 1999. Also, I'd like to wish my oldest son a happy birthday!

Chapter 4: Stalking Bella Swan

Edward was not surprised to hear his cell phone go off almost the moment he walked into his home. He was also not surprised to see that it was Rose who was calling him. She seemed to have a strange sixth sense about him. At times, he had the fanciful notion that Ellis had given her his "twin sense" when he died. Or it might have simply been that his little sister was observant, intelligent, and nosey. In any case, she had a way of showing up or calling at exactly the right – in her eyes at least – moment.

Smiling, he tossed his keys on the foyer table. "Yes?" he answered.

Rose sighed and Edward knew he was in for a lecture. "I've been waiting and waiting and waiting..." she began. "I was waiting for my big brother to call me and let me know he was okay. I was waiting for my big brother to call me so I'd know if I needed to come over or not. I was waiting for-"

He laughed. "Yeah, yeah, you were waiting for your big brother to call you." He sat down on the couch. "I get the picture. I've failed as a big brother."

"Well, you had a little stumble," Rose admitted. "But you've never failed me." As always, he was humbled by her faith in him. Then she added. "I was wondering if I needed to come over there and kick your ass. You caught a break, Cullen, because I was just about to grab my keys and head over your way."

"I shudder to think of my narrow escape," he teased.

"Keep it up, history boy, and I'll call Mom," Rose threatened.

"That's playing dirty," Edward protested.

"Just saying," Rose observed.

"Fine," he conceded. "What do you want to know?"

"Duh, everything," Rose replied. "So...how was it? Should I have gone with you and just let you pout about it?"

"No," he told her. "In fact, it went far better than I could have hoped."

There was a long pause. "What aren't you telling me?" He grimaced. Damn Rose and her ability to see through all subterfuge. Her spidey senses were probably tingling, and rightfully so.

"What makes you think there's something I'm not telling you?" he prevaricated.

"We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way," Rose warned. "Your choice, but you've got about five seconds to decide."

"God, you're a pain in the ass," Edward had to laugh as he said it.

"Just one of the many reasons I'm the best sister in the world," Rose commented blithely. "Now spill the beans or it'll be the hard way. Which involves dear old Mom and Dad, in case you've forgotten."

Somehow, over the past ten years, he and Rose had entered into some sort of unspoken conspiracy to trouble their parents as little as possible. The whole family had been rocked by Ellis' death, and both of them had watched their parents' marriage suffer. They had healed it now, but it had been a near thing.

Edward laughed again. "Okay, I..." He sighed. "Well, it was the weirdest thing, Rose. I was sitting there, thinking about the day and what it meant to all of us and..." He closed his eyes as he remembered his first good look at her. "And then this woman came and sat down near me and I... Suddenly, I realized that I didn't need to be there anymore. That I could feel whatever I was feeling anywhere."

There was a pause. "Tell me more," Rose asked quietly.

"You'll never believe it, but the woman – the one who sat near me – she was there for the same reason," Edward said.

"No fucking way!"

"I know, totally weird, right?" Edward said. "But it doesn't stop there. It just gets weirder and weirder."

"Can't get weirder than that," Rose retorted.

"Wait," Edward told her. "Okay, I'm not sure if you remember any of the information the airlines released to us, but the woman who was assigned to sit in Ellis' row, her name was-"

"Renee Swan," Rose interrupted.

"Renee Swan," Edward agreed. "The woman in the airport today? Well, that was Renee Swan's daughter. Her name is Bella."

Another pause, but this one was significantly longer. "So you're telling me that you were at the airport to hold your own sort of memorial for Ellis and this woman, this Bella Swan was there to do exactly the same thing for her mother – who just happened to be sitting next to Ellis when they crashed?" Rose made a strangled sort of sound and Edward wondered if she was crying. Then he realized she was trying to hold in her laughter. "Oh Edward, only you could meet a woman in those circumstances. I swear to God, you have the devil's own luck sometimes. Only you would go there to wallow and end up with a date, because I'm guessing that's what happened?"

"What makes you say that?"

"You're not denying it," Rose pointed out.

"That's beside the point," Edward said stubbornly.

"Still no denial," Rose said.

"Remind me why I love you?"

"Because I'm all kinds of awesome," Rose replied. "And you know it."

"If by awesome you mean rude, pushy, and loud, then yeah, you're awesome," Edward retorted.

"You're just trying to deflect and distract now, Eddie," Rose taunted him. "And it's not working." He muttered a curse under his breath, but it only made Rose laugh at him. Then she said softly, "Tell me about her." He could hear the smile in her voice.

"Well..." he began. "She's pretty, very pretty. And sweet and understanding and-"

"Please tell me that you two didn't sit around having a cry-fest and bonding over lost loved ones. Because if you did, then I really am going to kick your ass. And hers too." Edward knew it wasn't an idle threat. "That's not a date, that's a group session."

"Actually, that's not what happened at all," Edward told her. "We talked about them a bit, yes. But overall, we were just a man and a woman getting to know each other. It was...it was very nice actually."

"You sound surprised," Rose said.

"I am surprised," Edward admitted.

"Are you seeing her again?"

He smiled then. "I am."

~~~AATG~~~~

Bella put her purse on the kitchen counter and opened the refrigerator out of habit. In truth, she wasn't hungry at all. She had eaten practically her own body weight at the diner. For the past week, she hadn't had much of an appetite with the anniversary looming ahead of her. But she had been surprised to discover that she was ravenous when she had sat down in the booth opposite of Edward.

When she had gotten dressed that morning, she had never guessed that when she got home that night, a sense of happy anticipation would be brightening her mood. Along with the anticipation, there was no sense of guilt, which was just another surprise.

A soft meow made her turn. "There you are," she murmured, bending down to pick up the black and white cat winding around her legs. "Where were you this morning, you little traitor?"

Sebastian merely blinked at her with wide green eyes and meowed again. "Hungry, huh?''

He butted his head against her chin and began purring. "All right, all right, no need to pull out the big guns. You want dinner, I'm guessing?"

With the magic word, he jumped from her arms and sauntered toward the corner of the kitchen and sat in front of his bowl, looking over his shoulder as if telling her to hurry. Bella quickly opened a can of food and emptied it out into his bowl. He ate it all in about thirty seconds flat and then blinked up at her as if to ask where his dinner was.

"You ate it, you piggy," Bella told him. "I should have named you Wilbur." He blinked lazily and began licking one paw.

"I met someone, Sebastian," she said softly. He looked at her and then hiked up one leg to lick at his stomach. "I can see you're impressed," she said with a chuckle. She knelt down scratched behind his ears. "His eyes are even greener than yours." Sebastian's eyes went wide and he started purring loudly. She picked him up and nuzzled against him. "But no one could replace you, my bad boy."

He rubbed against her ear and then gave it a little nip. "Ouch," she said. "Jealous, are we?"

He jumped from her arms again and stalked away, his tail waving like a banner in the air.

~~AATG~~~

They exchanged texts and calls for a few days as Bella had to work. He was still doing some last minute things for the school year that had just ended and she had a few things to attend to as well, so they weren't able to get together.

Soon, she was back at work for the next three days and about an hour before she had to leave for work, her cell phone went off. She was pleased to see Edward's name scroll across the screen. She had programmed in his number so she didn't inadvertently screen his call.

"Hello?"

"Is this Bella?" a smooth voice asked.

"The one and only," she teased.

"Thank God," Edward said. "I've been calling random numbers hoping to find a woman named Bella. It's my favorite name but the search has been exhausting."

"You should pick a more common name," she told him.

"I used to be looking for a Mary, but there were too many of them, so now it's Bella."

"Good plan."

"So...how would you like to have dinner sometime?" he asked after a short pause.

"When?"

"So you're still willing to go out with me even though I tend to push Cuban sandwiches and pie?" he asked with a laugh.

"Well, only if there is more ice cream included," she qualified. "I'm all about the ice cream."

"How about tomorrow?" he asked.

She sighed. "Sorry, can't," she said. "I'm on the night shift for the next three nights, so that means I go in at seven."

"That sucks."

"It's not so bad," she said. "You get used to the hours."

"I never did find out what hospital you worked at," Edward prompted.

"Are you going to stalk me now?" she asked with a laugh.

"Well of course, that's all part of the plan. First the pie, then the stalking," he answered solemnly. "It's a complicated process."

"Okay, as long as I know the rules," she said. "But you know, a really good stalker would find out that information for himself."

"Ah yes, but I'm a lazy stalker," Edward said. "I prefer to have my stalkee do some of the work for me."

"You really are lazy," she mocked.

"I'm on summer vacation," he reminded her. "School's out for summer, remember?"

"Must be nice," she drawled.

"Listen, you only work three days a week, so what do you have to complain about?" he accused playfully.

"True," she admitted. "But I tend to be elbow deep in blood and guts while I'm at work. I don't think you can say the same thing."

"You really don't remember high school do you?"

"Ha ha." She smiled and ignored Sebastian who was staring at her. The cat had the uncanny knack for making her feel guilty about the oddest things. "I work at the University of Washington Medical Center."

"Oh, you are brave," Edward said. "A teaching hospital? Don't tell me, you're the Florence Nightingale of the emergency room, right?"

"Only the best," she said.

"So...Miss Nightingale do you get a lunch break?"

"If I'm not elbow deep in guts, then sure," she said. "But I can't count on it and it's never long."

"Do you get ten minutes free?" he pressed.

"Sometimes."

"Well, is it okay if I text you tomorrow and drop by with some dinner for you if it's a good time?" he offered.

"Wow, that's really considerate of you, being a stalker and everything," she answered.

"Is that a yes?"

She paused just long enough to make him nervous. "That's a yes."