I remain, Yours Chapter 26, a twilight fanfic

As always, thank you to my lovely PTB betas for all their help, Thir13enth and SecretlySeverus!

Disclaimer – All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc., are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended

It had been raining for several hours and showed no signs of stopping any time soon. That was a good thing. The rain kept the humans away, and Edward could sit undisturbed and watch the water as it crashed onto the rocks at the bottom of the waterfall for as long as he wanted.

Edward!

Undisturbed by humans, that was. He was on his feet instantly. Alice was coming, and that could mean only one thing. The answer to his question echoed endlessly in his head even before he voiced it. It's Bella! She's decided!

..ooOoo..

"Mom? Can I talk to you?"

"Of course, baby. What's up?"

Renee was literally elbow deep in her newest hobby. Baking. She was kneading a large ball of dough for homemade bread and had gotten flour everywhere–all over the floor, all over the counter, and all over herself. Bella had been standing in the doorway, quietly watching her for several minutes before approaching her. It wasn't that she was unsure; she'd vacillated for days, but now she'd made her decision and was sure it was what she wanted. Her mother was a newlywed. It was time for her to be on her own with her new husband.

"Just, please, be careful with it."

"We will, Miss. Don't worry."

"It's just, it's really old… and it was a gift." Bella anxiously watched the movers they'd hired to transport their desk from Phoenix to Forks as they wrapped it with heavy duty, industrial bubble wrap and heavy tarps. She nervously hovered over them like a worried mother as they lifted the heavy mahogany desk and placed it carefully on the flat bed trolley to take it to the moving truck parked in the driveway. Bella was so nervous, she felt nauseous. She felt like she was being ripped in half. She hadn't even been this nervous when she'd told her mother of her decision to move to Forks.

As the men pushed their desk through the house, she followed them, and as they loaded it onto the truck and secured it, she watched them.

"Sign here, please, Mrs. Dwyer."

One of the men handed her mother a clipboard with the agreement for her to sign, and her mother glanced at her disapprovingly before signing it and handing him a check for payment. The check was her mother's, but the money was Bella's. She was paying for this herself, and it was costing her a good portion of her college savings, but it was worth every penny. Her parents didn't approve of her spending so much money to take their desk with her, but they didn't have any idea of just how much that desk meant to her.

To them, it was just a desk.

To her, it was a physical link to Edward, and there was no way in hell was she ever going anywhere without it.

Bella watched in silence as the man handed her mother a copy of the signed agreement, and he and his partner climbed into the cab of the truck. The other two men climbed into a pick up, and in just a few moments both trucks drove away, taking a very large piece of her with them.

She briefly considered running down the street after them.

With a sigh, Bella followed her mother back into the house. Neither spoke. It was mid-morning. Her flight to Seattle was in six hours. In thirteen hours, she'd be in Forks. Phil was at the batting cages; there really was no such thing as the offseason when you're hoping to get called up to the majors. Plus, Bella thought he was trying to give them some time alone on her last morning in Phoenix.

Either that, or he was trying to escape her mother's tears.

Every time her approaching move to Forks had been brought up, her mother had started to cry. Every single time, without fail. Today though, now that the big day was finally here, she was different. She was stoic, but distant.

When Bella had first broached the subject of her moving to Forks about a week after the wedding, her mother had been disbelieving. That disbelief had first shifted to tears and guilt. The guilt had then shifted to attempts at persuasion, which had shifted back to disbelief and started the cycle again. But always, the tears remained. Except today. Today, there was just this tense, awkward silence.

Bella's relationship with her mother had always been a close and open one, and she desperately did not want to leave on this uncomfortable note.

She followed her mother into the kitchen, and Renee kicked off her flip flops and pulled an apple nut coffee cake out of the oven. It smelled really good, and Bella told her mother so. Her mother gave her a sad smile as she ran a knife along the sides and easily flipped it out of the pan and onto a wire rack like a pro.

Bella was impressed, at least her mother and Phil wouldn't have to live on take-out.

"Tanya gave me the recipe. She suggested putting a piece of parchment paper in the pan to keep it from sticking," her mother said.

Bella smiled. "That's a good idea. It seems to work." It was a good idea, and it was one that she herself had suggested many times to no avail.

She got up and went to the refrigerator to get the orange juice, and her mother took two glasses and plates from the cupboard. It was odd, but Bella already felt like a guest in the home she'd grown up in, like she should've asked first, instead of just getting up and getting the juice.

Thinking back, she remembered the first moment the idea of going to live with her dad in Forks had occurred to her. She'd been at school, in art class. They'd been assigned to create an abstract painting utilizing all the colors that said "home" to them. The first colors she'd thought of on hearing the word "home" had been the greens of the trees behind her father's house.

As Bella opened the refrigerator, she heard a glass shatter. She spun around, pulled from her memory and returned immediately to the present. A glass had slipped from her mother's hand and had shattered into a million pieces on the tile floor.

And her mother had started to cry.

"Mom, you're barefoot. Don't move."

After quickly grabbing a dust mop and sweeping the glass shards aside, Bella pulled her mother into a tight hug and held her while she cried. She had no idea she'd started to cry as well until her mother wiped her tears away.

"I'm sorry, baby. I promised myself I wouldn't cry today." Her mother continued in a trembling, breathless voice, "It's just… that was the 10th day. There are only two days left."

Bella stood motionless for three seconds; then she started to laugh.

Both mother and daughter laughed while they cried, and Renee rested her forehead against Bella's as she caught her breath. Today was Saturday, January 2nd, and all the Christmas decorations were still up. Several years ago, her mother had bought a set of Christmas glasses with the twelve days of Christmas on them, and every year, without fail, at least one got broken. Apparently, only the 3rd and 7th days were left now.

The lords would leap no more.

"Sit, eat while it's still warm. I'll get the juice."

Just like that, the tension was broken, but the feeling of being a guest in the house she grew up in magnified. This wasn't her house anymore. Phoenix wasn't her home any more. And somehow, Bella knew it never would be again.

..ooOoo..

Bella's flight was delayed, and Edward was beside himself. It should've already landed in Seattle, but it hadn't even boarded yet; it was still sitting on the tarmac in Phoenix. One by one, except for Alice, the entire family had escaped to their own pursuits while Edward sat in front of his computer, his head supported on his palms, his golden eyes peeking out at the never changing flight status through splayed fingers.

Finally, after a more than three hour delay, the online flight tracker changed the status from 'Delayed' to 'In Flight', and Edward began a minute-by-minute countdown in his head until it was expected to touch down. He had expected that once he saw that Bella's flight had finally taken off, and she was on her way, getting closer to him minute by minute, his nervous anxiety would ease, but he'd been wrong. It grew and doubled until after only twenty minutes he couldn't stand it anymore.

As he gave in, grabbed his keys, and headed to his car, Alice raised her eyes briefly from the book she was pretending to read, and he heard her taunting voice in his head.

Told you so.

"No one likes a smart ass, Alice."

Nor a dumb one, Edward, came the silent reply.

Surprisingly, there was very little traffic along the 101, and doing nearly double the speed limit at times, Edward made the normally three hour plus drive to Seattle in just under two. He parked and hurried through the terminal to Bella's gate as quickly as he dared, arriving just in time to see her flight land.

Tanya caught his scent and rolled her eyes at him when she saw him mostly concealed behind a large rack of international newspapers.

We all told you that you wouldn't be able to stay away. Even Alice, and you know better than to bet against Alice. When will you learn to listen to us? For all you can hear, you never listen.

Ignoring her, Edward kept his eyes on the door his mate would soon be walking through.Although he knew better, Edward swore the humans around him were deliberately moving in slow motion. It seemed like eternity from the time the plane touched down until the passengers finally began coming down the jet way, and then like eternity again until he first saw her. But then he did see her, and it was like the world stopped spinning. He watched as his Bella smiled when she saw her father. He watched as Charlie walked up to her and put his arms around her, easily lifting her several inches off the ground as he hugged her tightly to him before setting her back down. He watched as Tanya greeted her with a much smaller but still very affectionate and welcoming hug, and heard as she directed her thoughts to him again.

Watch. Listen. Learn. You manage to dress yourself without ripping your clothes to shreds, don't you? You can open a door without ripping it off its hinges. You play the piano with more passion and intensity than I've ever heard before without pulverizing it. Gentle. You can do this. Alice said she'd introduce you at school on Monday. Just shake her hand. You can do this.

"Tanya–" Edward began to protest, but Tanya's thoughts were determined, and she cut him off.

No. I know what you're going to say, Edward. And yes, the first several times I was with a human… it didn't end well for them, as you put it, but my situation was very different. I had only just started resisting drinking from humans, and those men weren't my mate. I cared enough to not want to hurt them, and I was disappointed in myself for not being strong enough to restrain myself, but they weren't the love of my life, my very reason for existing. You've been resisting most of your life, and you carry enormous guilt for times you did not, even though they were the worst of the worst of humans. You're much too hard on yourself, Edward. You don't give yourself nearly enough credit. In all the years I've known you, you never have. You won't accidentally hurt her; with not only your compassion for humans in general, but your love for her specifically, you couldn't possibly. You're my family, Edward, and I love you. I only want your happiness. But Bella is my family now, too. Aside from the fact that it would destroy Charlie, I love both you and Bella enough that if I thought there was any chance at all that you might accidentally hurt her, that she would be in any danger around you, I would not be encouraging you.

Edward was very touched by Tanya's words, and he thanked her quietly. His eyes were glued to Bella as he drank in the sight of her as she interacted with her father and Tanya before going to get her checked luggage. Her long, glossy, chestnut hair was loose and flowing over her shoulders and down her back. Under a navy blue sweater with a deep neckline, his Bella was wearing the same white, eyelet lace sleeveless shirt she'd worn in one of the pictures she'd sent him and the gold locket he'd sent her. She was wearing the same jeans she'd worn that fateful day in August, and as Bella was sliding her arms into the dark purple, down-filled winter coat Tanya had gotten for her as a welcome gift, he only just briefly spared a thought to what Alice's reaction to Bella's wearing the same clothes repeatedly over several months would be. In Alice's world, clothes were largely one-time-use items, and Edward knew she had already purchased a closet full of Forks-weather-appropriate clothes for his Bella.

There was one royal blue cashmere sweater in particular….

While Edward's mind conjured up an image of his mate in the blue sweater, she had already slipped her bare feet into a replacement pair of Uggs identical to the ones Alice had gotten for her last April–the original pair having been burned along with everything else after his unexpected reaction to her scent–and pulled on the familiar gloves and scarf, which he now knew had been gifts from him, hand-knitted for her by his human mother.

Thankfully, Edward didn't need to pull his eyes from her to know that the light rain they'd had for the past hour had stopped. He could no longer hear it padding softly against the terminal's large windows. That was something he was very grateful for. The temperature in Phoenix today had been seventy; in Seattle, the current temperature was only in the high thirties. Though the weather made no difference to him or to any of his family, or even to the wolves, to his beautiful Bella the more than thirty degree drop would make a huge difference. At least she wouldn't have to deal with rain on top of the cold the moment she walked out of the airport.

Edward followed a short distance behind as they walked through the terminal. Bella was listening to Tanya talk excitedly about how happy both Charlie and she were that Bella was here, but even from behind, Edward could see his mate wasn't really listening.

Now that the initial, overwhelming emotion of seeing her again was settling, he could begin to really look at her. His mate looked much healthier than she had in August, he was glad to note. She'd regained the weight she'd lost, and her skin–though naturally pale like her father's–had a healthy rosy glow. But Edward was forced to admit that she was still not the same girl he had seen in people's minds from her Easter visit. She was tired; that much had to be obvious even to the humans. The long delay had to have made what would have already been a very emotional and stressful day for her even more so, but this tiredness was different. There was a weariness to her posture and the way she walked that was the result of more than just one difficult, tiring day; it went bone deep. As his Bella turned her head to respond to Tanya, Edward could see there were months-old dark circles beneath her sad, lifeless eyes. As if he needed further evidence of her exhaustion, she suddenly covered her mouth and yawned deeply.

He had done this to her.

This was what believing him to be dead had done to her. His precious Bella was fading away in front of him, and he had no idea how to help her. Even if he befriended her now as Edward Cullen, she would still mourn him as Edward Masen. Alice's vision had remained unchanged. Nothing short of her knowing the whole truth would help her, but knowing the whole truth would destroy her. It was the worst nightmare Edward could imagine.

You're not seriously thinking about wearing that, are you?"

It was Monday morning, and the Cullens were now, for the first time ever, running late for school. Edward had followed Bella home from the airport Saturday night, and after leaving the car outside of town on the side of the highway knowing someone would come pick it up, he had run into the woods and gone straight to Charlie's house. He'd been settled into the tree that had virtually become his home last August after the ill-fated camping trip several minutes before they'd arrived home.

Edward hadn't moved from that tree until just a short while ago, when he could no longer put it off. The hours of once again listening to his mate's voice and hearing her heartbeat and the slow, steady sound of her breathing brought him more peace and happiness than he had ever realized was possible, and the two nights of listening to her talk in her sleep defied description. When she murmured his name, he knew absolutely that she was thinking of him. When she sighed, "I love you," in her sleep, she was dreaming of him.

Never before had Edward wanted so desperately to hear someone's thoughts as he had sitting in that tree, but the one person whose thoughts meant the most to him was silent to him. But as much as that threatened to drive him insane, he was, in a way, glad for it. His beautiful Bella deserved her privacy.

Edward shook his head and let out a slow breath; he fully recognized the irony of acknowledging his mate's right to privacy after once again sitting in a tree behind her house listening to her every word, breath, and heartbeat for a day and a half.

But, now…. Now he was going to meet her. Face to face. They were going to speak to each other. His Bella was Alice's friend, and now he could be friends with her, too. Edward had no idea how he would handle the situation when she inevitably noticed that none of them ever seemed to age, but he had years before he had to deal with that, and he would just have to come up with something before it happened.

After Alice introduced them at school today, he'd be able to talk to his mate anytime he wanted. He could welcome her to Forks. He could ask her how her first weekend in town had been, even though he already knew everything she'd done, every word she'd said. He could talk to her about her favorite books. He could ask her what music she liked. He could ask her how her holidays were. They could sit together in class. They could study together. They could….

Calm it down and speed it up already, will you? At this rate, you're going to make us all late, and if you mess up Alice's carefully orchestrated casual meeting, she really will rip you apart and burn the pieces.

Edward smiled at Jasper's warning and had just reached his hand out to take a pale grey, button down shirt out of his closet when his cell phone rang. Of course, Alice had seen what he had chosen to wear, and of course, she had to have a say in the matter. He knew she had already picked out Bella's clothes for her first day. Actually, Bella didn't know it yet, but Alice had pretty much planned her wardrobe out for the rest of their junior year.

"Friends, Alice. Just friends. That's all I'm hoping for. You know that. So what difference does it make what I'm wearing?"

Alice was too outraged at the idea of what someone was wearing not mattering to answer him with more than a few angrily sputtered words. "Forrest green… Lacoste sweater… Seven jeans, the faded ones. Wear it!"

Edward groaned. He knew exactly which jeans Alice meant, and she knew he hated them. He'd tried to get rid of them a dozen times only to be caught by Alice each time. Those jeans had been a gift from Tanya before she'd found Charlie, and were, unfortunately for him, one of Alice's exceptions to the one-time-wear clothing rule.

Apparently, they made his butt look good.

What was the meddling little pixie thinking? He'd already had to suffer through Jessica Stanley's overly excited thoughts about his return to school today and all her plans to make him hers by prom when she'd visited Bella with Angela Weber yesterday. Her plan was to use Bella and her friendship with Alice to get close first to Alice, then to him. Thank God Jasper and Emmett had both been there at the time; they'd had to restrain him. That little fool was only interested in befriending his Bella because of the attention a new student at school would inevitably attract, and she wanted to be as close the center of that attention as possible.

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, but he suddenly started to laugh. How many times had he pinched the bridge of his nose just like that after reading one of Bella's letters as a human, he wondered? He knew from Carlisle it was a habit he had retained from his human self. There were quite a few of her letters that must have driven him half crazy. What had his human self thought of the idea of her asking a boy to a dance? The thought quieted his laughter instantly. He had to have been in love with her then too, and he must've been heartbroken at the thought of her in someone else's arms.

Unwanted thoughts of Jessica Stanley were replaced by even less wanted thoughts of the rest of their class as the faces of all the boys their age–well, Bella's age–at Forks High School started flying through Edward's mind. Jessica had gotten one thing right at least. A new student at Forks High School was huge, and his Bella would be the center of attention whether she wanted to be or not. He didn't know her as well as he wished he could, but he knew her from her letters and what he had overheard well enough that he felt safe in saying she would definitely not want to be. Being a close friend of one, hopefully soon to be two, of the elusive Cullens would only add to the school's fascination with her.

Emmett silently warned him that Rosalie was quickly becoming more and more riled at how long he was taking, not that Edward couldn't hear the irate thoughts she loudly and continually shot at him for himself, and admitting that Jessica Stanley would be far easier to avoid than Alice, he quickly dressed in the ordered jeans and sweater and went downstairs.

Edward supposed he should be grateful that Alice had at least allowed him to choose his own shoes.

His family, minus Alice, were all waiting for him in the living room. Carlisle looked at him proudly, and Esme was so happy she was nearly floating around the room. His brothers were mostly just as they always were, incredulous but trying to be supportive. They had both met and liked Bella when she was here over the summer, something about her stirring their chivalrous sides while she also impressed them with her will to fight. Although Emmett would never admit it out loud, in case Rosalie found out, neither could understand his absolute unwillingness to ever change her. Tanya was equally hopeful he would "see reason," as she put it, on that regard. Rosalie was… 'livid' would be a colossal understatement for how Rosalie felt about the situation. She had been in full agreement with his plan to let Bella go, to let her live her human life as none of them had had the chance to do, and she was now furious with him for changing his mind.

He had tried to stay away, he truly had, but in the end Alice had been right. By now, Edward admitted to himself, he really should know better than to doubt her. She had told him Bella needed him as much as he needed her, and she had been right. Her ultimate vision of Bella unresponsive in a hospital bed had never faltered–never, not even slightly. Not even the wholly unexpected vision that had been the catalyst responsible for his so abruptly changing his plan had altered it. Only now that he was back in Forks and planning on befriending her did it begin to waver, but Edward was afraid the new vision it flickered back and forth with was no better.

In Alice's new vision, he and Bella were sitting atop a towering spruce in perfect contentment, quietly watching the Northern Lights dance in hundreds of shades of green, red, blue, and purple across the sky above them. She was leaning back against his chest; his arms were wrapped tightly around her. Their legs were entwined, and Bella was trailing her fingertips lazily up and down his forearm. As her fingers moved, the rainbow of colors in the sky was reflected off the ring on her left hand–his mother's wedding ring. It was as idyllic a scene as he could imagine, except for one very important detail: his beautiful Bella's bottomless brown eyes were a deep blood red.

"Well, is Mr. Loverboy finally ready?" Emmett could always be counted on to be Emmett, and grabbing the keys to his Jeep, he proceeded to hum the wedding march as they walked to the car.

Pulling out of the garage, Edward glared up at the storm clouds overhead. The rain was coming down in sheets, and was expected to continue all day. Not exactly what he wanted for his Bella's first day at school.

Edward heard his parents' and Tanya's well wishes in his head until they were a few miles away from the house, and by then the thoughts of all the residents of Forks started like a dull hum before rapidly growing to the garbled buzz of thousands of thoughts. Focusing, he quickly found the one person he was desperate to hear, but Alice wasn't helping him. He'd hoped to get some idea of how Bella was feeling this morning, starting at a new school that was so very different from the one she was used to–and OK, maybe he was hoping to catch a glimpse of his mate before he was actually standing in front of her–but the pesky little pixie was mentally singing Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" in an obvious "Stay Out of My Head, Edward" statement.

He'd known he would one day regret telling her about that song, their song, and today appeared to be that day.

That morning the ride into Forks seemed much longer than normal, but once they pulled into the lot, Edward wished he had more time. He should've been thinking about what to say to his Bella. Now, the biggest moment of his life was only seconds away, and he had no idea what to say. If he'd still been human, his hands would be sweating, his mouth would be dry, his heart would be pounding, and his stomach would be turning. Being a vampire, at least he didn't have to worry about any of those things, but being a vampire didn't seem to be helping with the fact that he couldn't feel his legs, and he vaguely wondered if they would give out on him. As Emmett parked the Jeep, Edward rubbed his hands up and down his thighs, but then stopped. What exactly was he trying to do? Get the blood flowing?

His brothers were trying to be supportive, but both were laughing at him in their heads, happy to finally have a chance to get back at him after decades of ribbing at how whipped Alice and Rosalie had them. The teasing got worse when Edward stumbled on an uneven bit of sidewalk. He was so nervous, he'd actually stumbled. Even Rosalie stopped her angry tirade for a moment to laugh at him.

Rosalie only stayed with them until they entered the building. Without sparing a glance at Edward, she told him she refused to be a party to this and walked away. Alice tried to tell him not to let her get to him, but there was no need. Rosalie was already forgotten. Edward could smell his Bella's unique scent now that they were inside, and all thought other than It's her fell away.

The door to the office was only steps away. His mate, his Bella, was only steps away. In seconds he would walk through that door, and they would be in the same room. Why did it seem to be taking so long? The door couldn't be more than ten feet away—nine feet eight and three quarters inches to be exact—surely they should be there by now. Shouldn't they?

The laughter in his head got louder, You know, bro. I know you've been away awhile, but in case you've forgotten, Forks High School doesn't have one of those moving sidewalks things. You've actually got to move your feet to get somewhere. Jasper's thoughts were only marginally more supportive than Emmett's. They were both enjoying this far too much.

"Get in here already! I can't stall any longer! If you mess this up, Edward, so help me…."

Edward didn't realize that Alice had spoken out loud until his brothers each grabbed an arm and started walking with him between them. "Come on, Loverboy. You heard the lady. Let's go."

Edward's breath was shuddering. Panic gripped him, and he couldn't move. What if his mate didn't like him? What if she was instinctively afraid of him? A hundred scenarios flashed through his mind, each worse than the one before. What if he acted instinctively? Bella was his mate, and he was wildly in love with her, yes, but as Tanya had pointed out back in August, she was also still his singer. Her scent was every bit as appealing as it had been the first time he'd encountered it nearly a year ago. The only difference was now he knew that the girl that divine scent emanated from just happened to be his very reason for existing. But what if, just for a fraction of a second, he wasn't strong enough, and the monster inside of him broke free? What if….

"I, I don't think I can do this. I can't do this."

Fearing he was about to bolt, his brothers strengthened their grip on Edward's arms. "Oh, yes you can. Come on."

Then Edward heard Bella say something to Alice, and it was suddenly as if he was being pulled by a magnet, and his brothers had to slow him down to a human pace rather than pull him along. Jasper and Emmett stepped in front of him as they entered the office in an almost military formation. The secretary, Mrs. Cope, saw them first and, as usual, her eyes widened for a moment at the sight of them before instantly scolding herself for again forgetting that they were less than half her age. Edward had noticed long ago that she never seemed to remind herself of Mr. Cope or the ring on her finger.

Alice turned to them with an uncontrollable smile on her face. Then Bella turned to them. Edward saw her face, first in profile as she looked first to Alice then to Jasper as he stepped next to her, next she turned her head toward Emmett and smiled up at him before looking past him and then lastly, she meet Edward's eyes.

..ooOoo..

Tanya took a pork roast out of the slow cooker and placed it on a large platter to begin pulling it apart. The barbeque sauce she'd made two days ago sat waiting in the refrigerator, and the hard rolls the baker had assured her were the best in the state of Washington were sliced and waiting in a basket on the table. Pulled pork sandwiches were one of Charlie's favorites, and she hoped Bella would like them, too. Not only was she vital to the happiness of both Charlie and Edward, but Tanya truly had come to genuinely care for the girl, and she wanted to do everything she could to make sure she was as happy and felt as welcome as possible.

Working at her natural speed, Tanya had the meat shredded and back in the still hot slow cooker to stay warm in no time at all. School would be out soon, and she was expecting Charlie any minute. He had gone into work a little late this morning, to be there when Bella and Alice left for Bella's first day of school in Forks, and he planned to leave work early to be here when she got home. He was like any other proud parent on their child's first day of school; the only difference being that his daughter was a seventeen-year-old high school student and not a five-year-old kindergartener. Tanya couldn't suppress the anger that welled up in her for all the fatherly experiences her beloved mate had lost because his ex-wife had taken their daughter with her when she'd left. All the first days of school, all the bed time stories, all the trips to the park, all the holidays…. Her heart broke at the mental picture she had of Charlie sitting in this very same kitchen on his birthday, on Bella's birthday, on Christmas, on Father's Day… alone and staring at those God awful yellow cabinets. Tanya had resented Renee and hadn't thought she would ever forgive her for the pain she'd caused the man she loved, but she had. The inconsolable pain she had plainly heard in the other woman's voice when Bella had had her breakdown last summer had begun to soften Tanya toward Renee, and then it had only been a matter of time until Tanya had been able to let go of her resentment entirely. Charlie had her now, and he would never again have to spend another day alone. The man she had met a little over a year ago would never have gone into work late, and he would never have left work early. There had been no reason for him to; there'd been no one and nothing waiting at home for him, but now there was. Now, there was not only her, but Bella as well.

Tanya took the barbeque sauce out of the refrigerator and shook it before setting it on the counter to let it come to room temperature. As always, it smelled repulsive. The first time she'd made it, she'd been sure she'd done something wrong, and it had worried her. A human woman would've known if it was all wrong right away, but Tanya had no way of knowing. It would be just as disgusting to her if it was wrong as it would if it was right. It was very thin and watery and looked to be completely the wrong color. She'd seen several barbeque sauces made on the Food Channel, and none of them looked anything like it. They were all a deep reddish brown and thick. This was as thin as water and a reddish orange, almost terracotta color. She'd debated dumping it down the drain and starting again, but she'd been sure she'd done everything exactly as the directions stated. The recipe had come from a cookbook Carlisle had bought at the hospital–one of the nurses had been selling them as part of a fundraiser for some organization or another, and it was filled with recipes submitted by people from the community. This recipe in particular had been given by the owner of the local diner, so Tanya knew it should be trustworthy. The directions had said to let it sit for a day or two before using it to let the flavors "come together." In the end, she'd done just that and hoped it would look more like it was supposed to after a couple days. It hadn't looked any different, but Charlie had loved it.

Tanya found human food as confusing as she found it repulsive. Why did the sauce need to sit for a couple days for the flavors to "come together?" Shouldn't the flavors blend together when the ingredients were mixed together? Tanya hated cooking, but she loved seeing Charlie enjoy something she'd made. Not only making him happy, but making sure he ate healthily, made touching even cold, raw meat worth it.

Before much longer, Tanya heard the easily recognizable sound of her mate's old car as it neared the house. She loved the anticipation she always felt knowing they would soon be together again. She heard him pull into the driveway, and she could hear the unique sounds of his heartbeat and his breathing. He came in through the kitchen door and wrapped his warm arms around her from behind as she checked the slow cooker. It still amazed her how much she loved this man.

Tanya turned in his arms and reached up to kiss him. Their kiss quickly grew heated, and Charlie lifted her off the ground, setting her on the counter. Her legs wrapped around him, and she heard his heart and breathing speed up as he kissed her neck.

"Not that this isn't lovely, but Bella will be home from school soon."

She felt his breath against her skin as he answered, "She's not here now."

What more could she say? When the man was right, he was right.

Bella arrived home from school quiet and subdued. It was very anticlimactic. Tanya had been hoping she'd walk in the door unable to stop talking about Edward, but she barely spoken. Tanya and Charlie asked Bella about her schedule and what she thought of her teachers and the school, but she only answered with a few mumbled words while staring down at her feet. Tanya asked if her cousins or any of the other kids from town she already knew were in her classes, and Bella distractedly answered that she had a few classes with Alice and that all of her classes had at least one or two of the kids she'd met over the summer.

Tanya and Charlie glanced at each other, and Charlie asked her if everything was alright. Bella assured them everything was fine much too quickly and very unconvincingly said she had a slight headache. Tanya asked if she had eaten lunch and who she sat with, and Bella hurriedly named some of the local kids. Both Tanya and Charlie noticed she had not said she'd eaten.

It was clear Bella was making an effort to appear normal, but it was equally clear she was forcing it and failing. Something was bothering her, that much was obvious. But was it just normal new kid in school anxiety, or had something happened to upset her? Tanya was sure if anything… bad had happened, she would've heard about it long before now, and Bella was clearly fine physically.

What was the matter then?

Tanya said, "Oh, Bella. Before I forget. The movers called a little while ago to confirm the time they'll deliver your desk. Wednesday at 5:30."

Tanya knew Charlie and Renee did not approve of Bella's spending so much money to have the desk moved to Forks, but knowing the history of the desk and what it represented, she thought the fact that Bella was unwilling to be without it was one of the most romantic things she'd ever heard. Really, the whole situation was the most romantic thing she'd ever heard of. She'd heard of a love that transcended time before, but that was the stuff of novels and movies. She'd never though such a thing could truly happen. She couldn't wait for the desk to be delivered, none of the family could.

"I'll call Billy after we eat to make sure Jake and his friends can…." Charlie never got to finish his sentence. Bella burst into tears and ran up the stairs. They heard her stumble, and then they heard her bedroom door slam shut.

Charlie stood dumfounded, staring at where his daughter had just been standing.

"I'll call Alice. If something happened at school, she'll know." Tanya left the room and got her cell phone out of her coat pocket.

The phone on the wall rang suddenly and startled Charlie out of his shock. He answered it as Tanya spoke on her cell.

"Charlie, it's Billy. Jake and Sam still on for Wednesday afternoon?"

"What?" Charlie asked distractedly; his mind was on his daughter's behavior.

"Do you still need Jake and Sam to help move Bella's desk on Wednesday?"

"Oh. Oh, yeah. Yeah, please. The movers called. Wednesday at 5:30."

Billy must've picked up on the worry in his voice because he asked if anything had happened. Charlie rubbed his eyes and sighed. Billy never asked if everything was alright, he always asked if anything had happened. It was as if he was convinced something was going to happen eventually, and Charlie knew the something he expected to happen involved Tanya

"Everything's fine. I don't think Bella's first day at school went good. Alice just dropped her off, and she ran upstairs crying and slammed her door."

In his concern for his daughter, Charlie'd made a mistake, and he knew it the moment the words were out of his mouth. He knew better than to mention Tanya or any of the Cullens to Billy. It was the only way to prevent another argument, and he didn't know how many more arguments their friendship could withstand. Billy was his oldest and closest friend, and he knew how much he owed to him for all the support he and his late wife, Sarah, were after Renee had left him and taken Bella. But looking at Tanya as she sat on his old couch, he knew if pushed too far, there would be only one choice. Really, there would be no choice.

Charlie stood and watched Tanya silently for a few moments while Billy went on and on in a very angry voice about how he should not trust the Cullens, and if he wouldn't listen to him for his own good, he should listen to him for Bella's. It wasn't safe, he said.

As Billy continued to insult her and her family, Tanya lifted her sad eyes and gave him a small, apologetic smile, as if she believed the strain on their friendship was entirely her fault, and Billy was blameless.

Charlie knew the Cullens didn't like the Quileutes any more than the Quileutes liked the them, but no matter how many horrible things Billy said about her and her family, Tanya had never asked him to sever their friendship. Looking at her now, he knew the time had come; he couldn't do this anymore. Charlie wanted to spend the rest of his life with Tanya, however long that life might be, and whatever he needed to do to make that happen, he would do, no matter what it cost him.

He had thought of nothing else for the past eight or nine months, and as much as it scared him, he had made his decision. Now it was time to take steps to make that decision happen. Charlie swallowed hard and looked up at the ceiling, thinking of Bella. His friendship with Billy wasn't the biggest thing he knew his decision could cost him.

"Billy, we need to talk. There is something I need to tell you. Something… important. Something you're not going to like."

"Charlie, please," Billy pleaded. "Listen to me. I know you don't believe me, but you've got to trust me. They're dangerous. You can't let Bella around them. You don't know what they are."

This was it. Tanya looked at him again, and the anxiety on her face made him wonder briefly if she knew what he was about to say, and if she was as afraid of it as he was.

Charlie said, "Yes, I do."

Well, the first meeting didn't go so well. You'll get more details on that in the next chapter, teasers for which will be on Fictionators and Twi Fic Central. I will also try to visit the sneak peek campfire on A Different Forest on Monday night. On Twi Fic Central, I don't know why, but it seems like if you look for the teasers under "View Teasers," they're a few weeks old. Look under "Teaser Authors" instead. Find my name and click on it, you can scroll down to find IrY. The teaser there should be current. It's the same teaser regardless of which site, so it's just a matter of which you prefer. (Fictionators and ADF are on Monday, TFC is Wednesday.)

Thank you so much to all my readers and all my wonderful reviewers! I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to all your reviews, hopefully the HP story I'm working on should be finished soon, and I'll have more time. Please know that even if I haven't responded, I've read all my reviews, and I appreciate them all so much! So, please, keep'em coming!