Thank you so much Gredelina1 for all the help writing and beta'ing this story. Thank you all for reading, reviewing and supporting the story. Apologies for the long wait.

Chapter Sixteen — Time

Edward

We went back to Alaska, and stopping only briefly to tell Esme what we had found in the park, before we moved onto Tanya's house.

On the journey back, Carlisle and I had spoken, and we'd agreed that our best chance at finding Makenna was Eleazar. If we could get his agreement, it would be easier to track her down. I had no doubt that we would manage it without him, but I was eager to find her and to therefore get back to Bella sooner.

The others, Emmett especially, felt that we had been tricked out of what was our right by the wolf. They were morose as we made our way through the park. I felt no such moroseness. For the first time, I was within reach of seeing Bella again. They did not have that comfort. For them, their time with Bella was over. Bella had said she never saw them in the summers I spent with her, so even if we could persuade Makenna to send us all to the past, none of them could talk to her as I could.

Irina and Laurent were sitting together on the front porch of the house, deep in conversation, but as they caught sight of us, they got to their feet to greet us. I hadn't seen Laurent since that night in our Forks house, just before Alice's vision. I hadn't thought of him much in the intervening time. I held no ill will towards him, as he had never joined Victoria and James in the hunt, but I had no affection for him either.

Irina hadn't visited with the others the day they had been told about Bella, but she had undoubtedly been told in the meantime, as her eyes were full of sympathy for me. I gathered from her thoughts that she and Laurent had formed a relationship, and she was thinking of the pain she would feel if he was taken from her.

"Edward," she said softly. "I am sorry for your loss."

"I too am sorry," Laurent said, holding out a hand for me to shake.

"Thank you," I said, taking his hand and shaking it. "I should tell you, too, that your former coven mate, Victoria, is dead."

"I expected she would be sooner or later," he said without feeling.

Tanya opened the door then and gestured us inside with a murmured greeting. Eleazar, Kate and Carmen were already inside. We all took seats in the large lounge area, Carlisle beside me and Esme beside him.

"Eleazar, we need your help," Carlisle began. "Edward needs your help. We want to find Makenna."

Eleazar bowed his head. "I am sorry, but what you want is impossible. Even if Makenna was to send you back, your Bella cannot be saved. There are rules about time travel, and the most important and absolute one it that whatever happens, happens. You cannot change that."

"No," I said heavily. "It's not that. I know I cannot bring Bella back; she told me the rules. I need Makenna to send me to Bella. I need to be with her again."

Eleazar looked thoughtful. "This can happen? I mean, it already happened for Bella?"

"Yes," I said. "I was a part of her childhood. Carlisle told you her life would be affected by Makenna. This is what he meant. I will travel to Bella's past now, and be a part of her life again." There was a certain hint of longing in my tone. Now I was close to achieving my goal, seeing her again, I felt almost alive again.

Carmen clutched Eleazar's arm. "You have to do it, mi amor. He needs it, don't you see?"

Eleazar smiled fondly at her. "You are an endless romantic. Of course, I will help. I must help."

"Where is she?" I asked eagerly.

"Unless she has moved on, she will be in Malta. That is where she was the last time I met with her. There is a small island…" He rested his palms on his knees. "I will come with you. She may be more amenable to helping you if I come."

"You'd do that?" I asked.

He looked down at Carmen and smiled. "Yes."

As I saw the love in his eyes, I thought to myself that Carmen wasn't the only endless romantic.

Malta was not the perfect place for a vampire to live, and I had to wonder at her choice of location. Luckily, we arrived in the night, so we were able to rent a car and get to the harbor without drawing attention to ourselves, but the next ferry to Comino—the island where Makenna resided—didn't depart until after dawn, so we were forced to stay behind the tinted windows of the car until evening when the sun slipped below the horizon.

The ferry master spoke good English, and he warned us that it was the last ferry for the day and we would be trapped there till morning. We assured him we were camping, which was a little feeble as our packs were light, but he didn't question it.

As we arrived at the island, I knew at once why Makenna had chosen this place to live. It was beautiful. The water was a clear, cerulean blue, and the rugged cliffs that loomed over the harbor were almost white.

Eleazar took the lead, taking us through the east roads of the island. The closer we got to our goal, the more my hope grew. She had to help us, it had already happened. The question was how long it would take to persuade her. Every hour it took was another delay in getting to Bella.

Eventually, we came to a small bay on the north of the island. The white sand crept up to the scrubby hills that made up the majority of the island. Eleazar shrugged off his duffel and sat down on the sand. After exchanging a glance, Carlisle and I mimicked him.

"Um… is this is?" I asked doubtfully. "Where is she?"

"She will find us in time," Eleazar said. "This island is her territory. She will know we are here and when she is ready, she will come to us."

"And if the sun comes out before then?" I asked.

"Then we will seek shelter and wait for her to come to us another day."

I opened my mouth to argue, to tell him we had to search, but Carlisle shook his head curtly.

I know you are eager, Edward, but we must follow Eleazar's judgment in this. He knows what he is doing.

I nodded reluctantly and settled myself in for a wait.

And it was a wait. Hours passed and we sat silently. As night fell, I waited to see if Bella would find me here. I hadn't sensed her in a few days, not since the night before we followed Alice's vision of Victoria, and I wondered where she was when she wasn't with me. Who else was she… haunting.

Why is he here? The thoughts reached me after hours of sitting in silence, and I immediately stiffened. The mental voice was that of a woman, and she sounded stunned.

"She's here," I murmured.

Eleazar got straight to his feet and held his hands out in a show of welcome. "I come for help, Makenna."

A woman stepped out of the shadows. She was small, only a little over five-feet tall, and her dark hair was pulled back from her face. She was striking looking—beautiful even for a vampire—but her features were twisted with distrust as she looked at us.

"You told them," she hissed at Eleazar.

Eleazar shook his head. "I told them nothing."

"They know. I can see it in their eyes. Why else would you come? Why else would you speak of my help?"

"You will do it all yourself, Makenna. Their lives have already been changed by your gift. They know because of that."

She came towards us, looking Carlisle and I up and down as if assessing us. "I help no one anymore."

"But you will," I said. "I have seen proof of it. You will send me back in time to her, my Bella. She told us it all."

She tilted her head to the side and looked at me. "Who is your Bella? Why is she not here herself?"

I winced. "Because she is… dead."

"I see. And you want me to send you back to her? I understand, I do, but I cannot help you."

"But you can," Carlisle said, speaking up. "You will. Please, we need this. My son needs this."

"Tell me about Bella," Makenna said, fixing her crimson eyes on me.

"She was my world," I said in a choked voice. "She was life, and beauty, and intelligence, and bravery in one fragile package."

"Fragile…" she said in a musing tone. "Was she… Was your mate human?"

I nodded. "She was."

Makenna was silent for a long time. In her mind I saw an image of a thin man with dark-blond hair and blue eyes. That image was replaced by the same man with the bright crimson eyes of a newborn.

"You loved a human, too," I said.

She frowned. "How do you…?"

"I can see your thoughts," I said. "It is my gift. I saw the man, Where is he now?"

"He died a long time ago," she replied, and then sighed. "I loved Charles as a human, but I knew my human life would not be long. I knew I would follow others of my family line in the life of vampirism. Charles told me he would wait for me, and he did. He waited until I was safe to be around him, and then he waited for me to gain enough control to change him. I did, and we had two happy years together, but…" She shook her head. "He died fighting another nomad. The nomad heard what I could do and wanted my help. When I refused him, he attacked, Charles was killed. I found the nomad again and killed him."

"Then you understand," I said quietly. "You know why I need to see her again. Please… help me."

For a long time she was silent, then she said. "I don't help anyone anymore, not after what it cost last time…"

"But?" Carlisle said, hearing the hesitation in her words as clearly as I could.

"But I will help you."

"Thank you," I said fervently. "Thank you so much."

She shook her head. "You may live to regret this choice."

I didn't believe that. I could never regret having more time with Bella.

Makenna said it would be better for us to go back to America, easier for me. I didn't understand why, I was ready to go to Bella there and then, but I trusted her, so I acquiesced.

Luckily for us, Makenna had a small boat that would get us across to the mainland, so we didn't have to wait almost another full day to begin our trek home. I had brought the rudimental tools to create a passport for Makenna, and it was simply a case of adding a photo and persuading her to wear contact lenses to cover her red eyes.

While she was able to transport me through time, she couldn't easier transport me through locations, so it was agreed that we would return to our Forks house for the time being.

We were all leery of doing this. Not for the obvious reasons of the wolves, but for the fact we didn't want anyone in town knowing we were there. Charlie Swan had enough emotional upheaval to be dealing with without adding our sudden reappearance to his list of troubles. I had no expectations that he would receive our return happily, given the damage I had done to his daughter when I left her.

When we arrived at SeaTac, the rest of the family were waiting for us. Esme moved at a fast human pace to Carlisle and they embraced. Though they were both careful to conceal their thoughts from me, their happiness at their reunion was obvious. I didn't begrudge them it. I reminded myself that I would soon have my own reunion with the one I loved.

Unexpectedly, Esme didn't greet me next, she moved straight to stand in front of Makenna and touched her lightly on the arm. "Thank you for doing this for us," she said sincerely. "We are all in your debt."

Makenna smiled slightly and nodded.

Eleazar had already decided that he was going to stay in Forks with us for a while, so we made our way through the airport to the underground parking garage. I left my siblings to travel back together, and made for the Mercedes with Esme, Carlisle, Eleazar and Makenna. As we drove, Carlisle explained about our treaty with the wolf pack, warning her to avoid hunting in the area.

"It will not be a concern for a while," she said. "I hunted recently, and my gift is not too taxing now. I am practiced."

"Nonetheless, I will show you the areas to avoid," Carlisle said.

It was early morning when we drove through Forks, for which I was grateful. Our cars were recognizable to the people of Forks as they were ostentatious, and I didn't want us to be seen.

It was with relief that we pulled into the garage. Makenna looked around as we made our way to the house. As we went inside and she caught sight of the spacious main room of the first floor, her eyes widened. Her thoughts were of open admiration; she was comparing her beloved island with our lifestyle. I wondered briefly whether she would want to stay after she had helped me.

We took seats in the lounge area, Esme and Alice flanking me, but Makenna remained standing. She wasn't accustomed to the human act we tried to maintain.

"When do you want to do this?" she asked.

"Is now too soon?" I asked. "I mean, do you need to prepare?"

She shook her head. "Now is fine."

I felt like my every nerve was taut in preparation. My unbeating heart seemed heavy in my chest. I was anxious to start and at the same time afraid. I had this to sustain me for weeks, the thought of seeing Bella again, but now, in the face of it, I was scared. Each trip to her past would be one step closer to the last, and I feared for that time. How would I go on when I couldn't be with her anymore?

Then, like a soft touch on my chest, I felt her come, and I relaxed. Bella was there. I still couldn't see her, but her presence was stronger than ever. I felt that if I just reached out, I would be able to touch her.

I smiled. "I am ready."

Makenna took a deep breath and started to speak. "I can facilitate your trip to the past, but much of it comes from you. You need to manage your emotions, as if you do not, you will be dragged back to the present. You must understand. You will not be free to choose what to do. Whatever happens, happens. You cannot save her life. You cannot change her fate. She is dead and dead she will stay."

"I know," I said, hating the knowledge. "But I just need a little longer with her. Just a little longer."

She nodded. "I understand. Close your eyes, Edward, and fix your mind on what you want."

I closed my eyes and smiled slightly, fixing my mind on seeing her again. I felt a disorienting sensation, almost like dizziness, and then I felt it. Something had happened.

I was still a moment longer, not quite ready to open my eyes and destroy the illusion.

The air was different. There was a light breeze on my face, bringing with it the damp sweet smell of the forest. The soft sounds of breathing, and the rain against the window had disappeared. Instead, there was the light scurrying sounds of animals, and the wind shifting through the trees.

I was scared to open my eyes and destroy the illusion, but if I didn't have the courage to even open my eyes, I would never know the truth.

She was always so brave. If it was her here, instead of me, she would already be searching her surroundings. Touching the trees, grabbing handfuls of the leaves I could feel crackling beneath my feet. She would want to experience it all. Now. To leave nothing to chance.

She would already be looking for me.

It was that realization that made my eyes snap open and my breath come in a choking gasp.

She could be here.

My feet moved without conscious instruction. It was as if my body knew where I needed to be and was taking responsibility for getting me there, at least until my confused and cowardly mind could catch up.

Bella

I had no idea I would be swept along with him, but when he closed his eyes and smiled slightly, I did the same, and then everything changed. I felt a tug, the feeling I got when I returned to my body usually, but this time I wasn't in my body, I was with him. I watched as he looked around, looking scared and slightly awed, and I knew I couldn't leave him yet. I had to see him into the care of my past self before I could go. I had to help him through.

He started walking and then running through the forest, sprinting forward, and I went with him, pulled along by his need. Then we reached the house, and he stopped dead in his tracks. He looked afraid again, and I leaned closer to him.

"Unless you did all this to see my house again, you need to go a little closer," I said, having no expectation that he would hear me. "But it's completely your choice."

He looked momentarily stunned, and then he breathed my name. He could hear me! It was the most wondrous feeling. He knew I was there. I was equally torn apart and elated at the thought. I couldn't let him know I was still there, but at the same time, I couldn't let him go into this alone.

I leaned closer and cupped his cheek in my hand. He looked scared, and I understood the stress of the moment for him. "It's okay, love," I whispered, pointing at the house. "Just watch."

I knew I would come eventually. Edward's eyes fixed on the house, just as the back door opened and I came running out.

"There I am," I sighed. "I knew you would find me."

So… He's finally there. I got a little choked up editing the last scenes of this chapter. It's the crux of the whole story—their past together—and it's a good feeling to have them finally together again in some way.

Until next time…

Simaril x