When Emmett asked her to go on a walk, Bella's breath hitched. A familiar hindsight anxiety dropped an anvil in her stomach and she almost denied him. It had completely avoided the Cullen family just how Edward had told Bella that they were ditching her. When he saw how her eyes widened in fear and heard her heart rate pick up, Emmett assured Bella that he would never leave her until she got tired of him. She assured him that it would never happen and they smiled, the ropes still in their hands from hanging the galaxy.

Bella definitely ended up regretting it. Her feet were aching and the branches scratched at her arms. Once Emmett realised this, he immediately picked her up, carrying her the rest of the way to their supposed destination. As soon as he picked her up, she was being set down again, her eyes covered by cold hands.

"Listen," he whispered into her ear. She shivered and he asked, "What do you hear?" It was rhetorical and she knew that. Bella took in a deep breath and let herself hear the sounds of nature. The sound of running water was close and birds sang a sweet song of freedom in the distance. Bella allowed herself to let out a deep sigh, her shoulders dropping from their usual anxious state.

"How did you find out about this place?"

They had been sitting on a low branch of a tree which overlooked the stream and he shrugged.

"I don't really remember," he said, eyebrows furrowed, "I wanna say it was the first time we came to Forks. Alice and Jasper hadn't found us quite yet and Rose and Edward were so loud with each other, nothing could calm them down when they started fighting. I guess I just got sick of it, ran anywhere and ended up here."

For a moment, as they looked into each other's eyes, the world was silent. No one else had ever existed, or would. Just them, alone, water flowing beneath them into the ocean of their hearts, where love was water in abundance.

"Everyday after you guys left," she started, striking a chord in her heart, and thus in his, "I went to our place - just to see if he would be there. I always hoped that it would be over; you would be back and everything would be back to normal. But now, I am so glad that this is our new normal, Em." She didn't have to justify herself to him, why Edward's leaving broke her until she was a thousand piece puzzle of hurt, yet she did. He listened, not speaking, not trying to fix her. Just listened.

She expected herself to cry, for the life she almost had with a man she wasn't sure she ever loved, or at least in regret of letting it go on for so long. The tears never came and they both celebrated that victory. Bella was finally healing from the spell of manipulation that Edward had put on her. It led her to wonder if Emmett would be so hesitant in changing her. The transition from human to vampire was something that Bella hadn't thought of in months. Emmett had never made Bella feel like she was a fragile human needing protection, like she had to make the change to gain his respect.

Emmett gave Bella a lingering kiss as he said his goodbyes. Lauren would be at her house soon and if Emmett didn't leave, then he never would. The two were absolutely chaotic together. Bella sincerely hoped that Lauren would never be a vampire, purely because she was sure they would open a black hole or something of the sort. Adding Jacob and Jasper into the mix could be catastrophic, she didn't even want to picture that.

Jacob had invited Bella to a small party that the pack was throwing. He encouraged it when she had asked if the orange-haired girl could come. "The more the merrier" he had said, if she remembered correctly. Though he did specify that the Cullens were still not allowed on Quileute land, which made Emmett huff and roll his eyes.

"Please do not tell me you are wearing that!" Lauren, ever the fashionista, was appalled at Bella's choice of frilly brown shirt. In Lauren's defense, Bella had received the shirt from her mom for her fourteenth birthday. To say the shirt was adolescent was an understatement.

"I wasn't sure and this was the default, I guess," Bella informed sheepishly.

"Girl, I love you, but no." After rummaging through Bella's closet, Lauren managed to find a burnt orange mock-wrap blouse with long chiffon sleeves. Bella smiled, the shirt being one that Emmett had insisted she buy the day they went to the mall. It paired well with the washed black jeans she was already wearing, and the black Chuck Taylors she had yet to put on.

Lauren helped her with a light eyeshadow look, then a small winged eyeliner, just enough to make her eyes more feline in appearance. Blush was almost never necessary to the pale brunette, her natural embarrassment provided that for her. Lauren applied a dark pink lip gloss to Bella's pout.

Knowing it would incite a much wanted reaction, Bella took a picture in the full length mirror that hung on her wall. She sent it to Emmett, along with a wink emoticon. Then, she waited. It didn't take long for the dark haired vampire to respond, a short "hurry back".

Jacob had failed to mention that the rest of the pack had been so...grown up. While Bella was spoken for, she definitely wasn't blind. Sam, who had been on La Push beach when Jake had revealed the Quileute legends, was standing at a solid 6'5 and built like a strongman. Though he was slightly shorter than Jake, he had a more domineering persona, he was a natural authority, and everyone knew it. Paul and Jared, who Bella only knew through Jacob's stories, were tall and broad, with Jared a few inches taller and Paul with bigger biceps. Embry was much taller than the day she had met him, his eyes held a new ferocity in them and his hair was short, matching the others. Jacob had explained that the members would cut their hair in a sort of mourning ceremony for their youth when they had officially joined the pack.

Embry was the first to greet Bella, Jared in tow. He spoke quickly, excited at seeing the pale girl on the rez once more. Though, this time, she held a new happiness in her eyes and a fullness in her face that she had lost. Bella introduced Lauren, whose hair Embry complimented, mentioning in passing that orange was Jacob's favorite color.

"I thought it was green?" Bella asked, confused.

"It was until about a few days ago, now all he can think of - I mean speak of," he quickly corrected himself, "is the color orange!"

Embry and Lauren got along nicely, with Bella and Jared left to be the reserved duo, only making funny comments when the moment arose. Paul soon made his way over to the group, a red solo cup in hand. Bella then felt the need to get herself a drink, noting she also needed to search for Jake. She was silently excused, nods of acknowledgement that she was leaving were thrown her way.

When she made it to the table with drinks, she bumped into a large figure. Noticing the familiar smell of pine and sandalwood, Bella called out Jake's name. He looked down at her, a smile breaking out on his face. He picked her up and spun her, declaring how much he had missed her.

"C'mon, let me introduce you to Lauren." Famous last words.

A quick walk back to the group. A quick introduction. A quick glance into the green eyes of Lauren Mallory. A connection, a future, an imprint. Jacob's knees buckled and Embry and Jared were quick to catch him, hollers of joy coming from all members of the pack.

Bella smiled, "Well, I guess they get to tell you now."