Sorry for the delay. The flu hit us hard and decided to stick around our house a while, making sure that each of us got a nice long visit. Thankfully everyone was able to sleep through the night last night and so I got 4 uninterrupted hours of sleep, the most since Sunday! The good news is that I will be posting again later today. The bad news... that will be just before my computer goes into the shop to be repaired. ETA: Tuesday.

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The days that followed his mother's visit were difficult for Emmett, as he struggled to come to terms with all the facts. Bella stood beside him, lending her silent support. Emily made time to visit them every day, bringing Embry in tow. The visits just seemed to make Emmett more sullen and confused, and they usually ended with Emmett asking them to leave.

He couldn't find an ounce of forgiveness for his mother, though he tried to find some pleasure in the fact that she was completely smitten with Emma. Bella was kind to his mother, never saying a bad word to, or about her. This was both a blessing and a curse, as he felt that his parents were simply taking advantage of her forgiving nature.

Nothing changed on the Rosalie front, though she was never discussed when they visited.

Edward had returned to Seattle, promising to visit again in five days, bringing his fiancee with him. Bella was excited to meet her as they seemed to have a lot in common, at least according to Edward. Carlisle and Esme delighted in spending time with their guests, and at least with them, Emmett felt safe, comfortable and accepted.

The house was empty most days, except for Bella, Emmett and Emma, as Carlisle and Esme were both at work. They hadn't ventured out at all, except to sit on the back porch to get a little fresh air. Bella was starting to get a little stir crazy, the normally extremely active Emmett was ever more so. Finally, the day before Edward was set to return, Bella encouraged her husband to get out and go for a run. He was tense and stressed and needed the release. After kissing them both he changed into some exercise clothes and headed out. Happy to stretch his muscles.

Esme had left a car for them to use, and, shortly after Emmett left, Bella noticed that Emma was down to three diapers and so she decided that she and Emma would go into town to get some diapers and a few groceries so she could cook a nice dinner for everyone that night. She loaded Emma into her car seat then into Esme's car. She took a deep breath, knowing that she would be subject to stares, and possibly some hurtful words, and started the car, making her way down the Cullen's long driveway and into town, finding the grocery store easily. She took Emma's car seat from the car, covering it with a blanket so that her daughter was safe from the prying eyes of the residents of Forks, and put her in a shopping cart. She took another deep breath and made her way into the small store.

It was eerie. Everywhere she moved, people seemed to stare at her, at least until she smiled in their general direction, then they looked away as quickly as possible. She could hear people whispering but there were no loud comments as there had been a few days previous. All the same, Bella wondered how good an idea this all was as she attempted to get a little assistance from the butcher in choosing a cut of meat, and the man just turned ignored her completely, turning away and going into the back room, not returning to the front at all. She took a deep breath and sighed, before settling on some of the prepackaged product and decided to finish her shopping quickly. The stares seemed to get worse after that, and when she found the baby aisle the comments started again.

Tramp.

Hussy.

She doesn't belong here.

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to keep the tears at bay for long, she grabbed a pack of diapers for Emma and made her way to the cashier, unloading all her purchases onto the conveyor belt as the cashier talked to the customer in front of her.

"Thanks Bill," the cashier stated in her high pitched voice. "See you next week."

Before she even turned to look at Bella, another man came up behind her and whispered something in her ear, before walking away without even a glance at Bella. As soon as he left, the cashier cast a quick glance at Bella and sneered, before quickly turning away. The light switch that showed if a cashier was open or not was flicked off and the girl walked away from the till. Bella looked around to see if there was another open till. There wasn't. She could feel the panic rising up in her as she realized that this was being done on purpose.

"Hello," Bella said, trying to stay calm. "I just want to pay for my things and leave."

Not one sound could be heard. Bella stood for another minute, knowing that nobody was coming to help her. She picked up whatever courage she had left, held her head high, and grabbed her daughter from the cart and walked slowly out of the store, leaving her groceries where they lay. As she exited the store, even more people glared at her and the courage she had left was quickly disappearing. Once at the car, the tears could no longer be kept at bay and she allowed herself to cry until another car pulled up next to her, the driver staring at her, making her feel more like a freak. She started the car, but stopped it just as quickly. She knew she was in no shape to drive a car in her emotional condition, and she would never endanger Emma that way. She also knew that there was no way she could just sit in the parking lot, knowing that more people would come and gawk at her, hating her for something that she never had any control over. She looked in Emma's diaper bag and noticed that she had the baby carrier that she had used for Emma on the plane.

The Storchenwiege sling had multiple positions that you could use that would keep Emma completely covered. Bella set about setting it up in the way she knew best. Once Emma was safely in the sling, she grabbed the warm baby blanket, that had been hers when she was a baby and wrapped it around the front, that way she'd be certain that Emma would not catch a chill. She placed the car keys in her pocket and tossed everything else back in the diaper bag, slinging it over her shoulder. Then she got out into the temperate Forks day and made her way to the park across the street.

The park had seemed deserted from her position in the car, but when she arrived, she realized that wasn't the case. As had been the case to this point, everyone stared, and Bella felt her feet move faster as her arm cradled the baby, more for her own comfort, rather than any necessity. Soon she had pushed past the onlookers and moved onto a trail, moving away from the critical eyes of the citizens of Forks.

In all her years, and all the different places she had lived, Bella had never been treated so callously. To have the grocery store refuse her business had been completely humiliating and devastating and she finally understood what Emmett had said about the town.

And suddenly Bella wanted to be anywhere but here.