I do not own Twilight or New Moon. Stephenie Meyers does.

Family Tree Chapter 2

JPOV

Filthy bloodsucker. I hated it. I loathed seeing them together. It sent shivers running up and down my body that were so difficult to control. I'd told her that I didn't care anymore, that we couldn't be friends…but the truth was, I couldn't forget about her. I had her note tucked in my pocket. I loved her; and that damned me more than anything. I'd kept my distance for two weeks, but as time went by, I needed to see her. I was able to get close enough to see her when the bloodsucker left in the morning, even if it was only for a few minutes; while she got ready and ate breakfast. I longed to talk to her, just for a moment. I'd wrestle with myself, but I knew I had to keep cool. I needed to be stronger before I could really let myself be alone with her. For as much as I loved Bella, I despised her decisions. She had no self preservation instinct at all. Oh…the vampires thought that they liked her well enough to protect her, and Edward loved her. But how long would it be before that love faded? And when it did…as I knew it would…I would be ready. I would step in and I would save her. Then maybe…maybe she would smile at me again. Maybe she could even…

Snap!

I looked up and scanned the trees carefully. I let my hearing adjust and sighed in relief. It was only a couple out hiking. I slid behind the tree and breathed deeply.

Watching them, in that restaurant, as though he was normal was almost too much to take. Seeing the way he looked at her with those manipulative eyes, taking her hands the way I used to…I felt anger boiling up inside of me. I didn't want to let myself change, not here, so close to people.

BPOV

The cocoa was good, a bit hot, but very sweet, the way I liked it. I looked at the cute bunny and then looked up again at Edward. His face was tight, controlled. I instantly felt a tightening in my chest. Something wasn't right.

"Edward?" I whispered.

His eyes snapped to mine and he smiled weakly.

"How is it?" he asked, indicating toward my hot chocolate.

"It's fine. Are you ok?"

"Of course darling, of course. Just trying to keep other people's thoughts out of my head. It is a full restaurant, after all."

"Oh, ok." I smiled in relief. But as I continued to watch him, it was clear something was going on. Before I could question him further, a huge stack of pancakes thudded on the table in front of me.

"Here's your syrup dear and some extra butter. Anything else I can get you?" Pam asked.

"No thank you." Edward replied in his silken tongue. "Go on Bella, eat while it's hot."

I grabbed my fork and speared a pancake. I held it up and nibbled on it as it hung precariously on the tines of the fork.

Edward laughed. I knew I'd get him with my "atrocious table manners" as he'd dubbed them last week.

"This is really good, you should try some Edward." I teased.

"Maybe I will. Or have you forgotten the pizza incident?"

"I knew pizza could be a date, but an incident?"

"In the cafeteria, you dared me…" he continued.

"Yes I distinctly remember you telling me it tasted like dirt."

He nodded and I reached over to his plate, stealing a piece of bacon.

"You don't mind, do you?" I asked mischievously.

"Not at all, eat as much as you can."

"Are you trying to make me fat?"

He rolled his eyes, a move I'd seen a million times before, practically anytime I said anything idiotic…which happened to be all the time.

"Bella." he growled sexily.

"Yes?" I asked innocently.

"Even if you were fat, I'd still love you."

I considered that. "So, you're telling me you think I could get fat?"

"This conversation has absolutely no way of ending well for me, so I think I'll just shut my mouth." Edward said wisely.

I nodded my head and tucked into the food. The pancakes were awesome. I drowned them in syrup and attacked the omelet on the other side of the table. Edward looked on with mild disdain.

I looked at the results of the carnage. I'd downed three pancakes, half an omelet, and two pieces of bacon and hot chocolate with whipped cream in like five minutes. I was impressed with myself.

"You finished sweetheart?" Edward asked softly.

"Sure am, I'm stuffed."

Edward nodded to the waitress and she set the check down in front of him. I reached over to grab it but it was gone. Edward stood next to the table and was helping me slide out of the booth before I knew what had happened. He placed his hand at the small of my back and steered me toward the entrance. I looked back at the table and spotted a fifty dollar bill on the gleaming wood.

"Edward! Would you quit it! I can pay for myself you know, it isn't the 1920's anymore. Edward? Are you listening?"

EPOV

I hurried her to the car and tucked her inside, even clipping the belt across her lap before I allowed myself to breathe. I walked quickly to the driver's door and slid in. In ten seconds we were back on the highway. I couldn't take that dog's thoughts anymore. I clutched the steering wheel and concentrated on the road, as hard as it was to concentrate when the object of my every earthly desire sat next to me fuming.

His thoughts disturbed me. I understood what it was like to love Bella, hell, every guy who ever met her felt the pull; but this was something more, something to worry about. I didn't know that he'd been watching her and this really bothered me. To think that those few minutes I left her alone, he had been right outside her window…

Why hadn't I smelled him? I was absolutely perplexed. He was within my sight for God's sake! I snuck a glance at my red faced passenger.

Her eyes were like dancing red coals as she looked back at me. To see her angelic face forced into something so foreign was hilarious. She was trying to be scary…but that was next to impossible. It made her look even younger when she was angry.

"Bella?" I asked carefully.

"Oh, so now you're talking to me."

"I'm sorry. I just needed to get out of there. I hope you can understand."

She looked over at me surprised. "Why? What happened?"

"Nothing happened. Nothing so dramatic anyway. I was just hearing some disturbing things from some minds around me, and thought it would be best not to alarm you."

"Why would they alarm me?"

'They…concerned you. I guess I'm just jealous." I knew that I was lying to her…but at the same time, I wasn't. I was jealous. Bella and Jacob had this "connection" and it was something I was not comfortable with. Even if he was human and harmless…he would be an obstacle, an opponent, a challenger regardless. Knowing the way he felt made it impossible for me to see him as only her friend. From the few times I'd gotten glimpses into his mind, it was apparent that he wanted more from Bella. I just wondered if at any time she'd been tempted by him, while I had been away. He had mentioned some kind of note in his thoughts…and I could only hope that she had given it to him a long time ago.

She looked at me incredulously. "You're kidding! Edward! I love you! You don't have any reason to be jealous, regardless of what other people might think. Seriously, don't worry about it. You had me freaking out for a minute there."

"I'm sorry honey. I couldn't help it. Sometimes the male ego gets in the way."

"Well, next time just tell me all right? Then, I can tell you that I will love you forever and you shouldn't worry about any other idiots."

I smiled at her. She was so adorable.

"What would you like to do today?" I asked her.

"I don't know."

"Well, I was thinking of going to the mall, maybe we could even invite Alice and Jasper."

"That would be great." She beamed up at me.

I nodded and took off toward my house. It wasn't long before we'd arrived. I opened the door for Bella and took her hand and walked with her up the path to the front door. The moment we were inside, Alice had Bella in a bear hug.

BPOV

"Alice! I've missed you!"

"So have I Bella, it's been eons, really."

I looked into her piquant face and relaxed for the first time in the last 24 hours. I normally didn't like going to the dreaded mall with Alice…she rarely left without buying me something, but I really wanted to spend some time with her. The last few hours with Edward had been strained to say the least. It was as though there was a great chasm between us, one that we could only cross by being truthful, and so far, it seemed as if neither of us was ready.

An hour later and we were at the mall. Jasper had declined but that was perfectly understandable. He'd kept himself at a distance, for my safety, and though I didn't like it and didn't think it was necessary, I appreciated his concern. It didn't put a damper on Alice though. She was in full force. Edward stood by and let her drag me into oodles of stores, many of which I never ever would have gone into.

I put up a great fight outside of Hot Topic, but she didn't let me get away with it. Once I was inside, I relaxed. There were a lot of unusual clothes from random TV. shows and old movies and tons of band wear. Edward bought me a shirt that was feminine and cute, until you looked closely at the fabric and saw that it was comprised of tiny pink skull and crossbones. Alice insisted on getting me these black fishnet stockings, though I knew that there was NO WAY I would ever wear them. The only thing I felt really drawn to was a pair of socks that had pictures of vampires on them. I showed them to Alice and she threw them on the counter faster than I could tell her no.

I used to like shopping. Not that it wasn't fun, but these vampires had endless energy.

"Hey Bella, I need to go find a few things for Jasper, why don't you and Edward hang out somewhere? I'll come and find you."

"That would be great Alice." Edward replied smoothly. "Come on Bella, there's a store I want to take you to."

I rolled my eyes but acquiesced by letting him drag me forward. It was a strange store in that there was nothing but dresses inside.

"Ed..ward." I hissed.

"Yes my love?"

"What are we doing here?"

"I'm getting you some dresses."

"I don't think so."

"I know so."

"Well…why? I don't look good in dresses."

"That's what you think…I know better."

"You really like this thing I'm wearing? This hideously old fashioned thing!" I demanded.

"Absolutely."

"You're full of it."

"Full of what, exactly?"

"I don't know, I'm trying to figure that out."

"Well, you let me know when you've sorted all that out. For now, I have a rack waiting for you at the back of the store."

"A RACK?"

"Yes. It is a clothing store, and the owners know Alice all too well, and I've taken the liberty of selecting a few items for you."

"When did you have time to do this?"

"Don't worry about it. Just look over them and see if there's anything you like."

I sighed. I knew I wasn't going to get out of this. He'd gone through so much trouble…and for what? He knew I was not a fan of dresses. In the interest of keeping the peace I moved toward the back of the store.

I gasped. There were like fifty dresses on that rack, and at first glance…all of them were gorgeous.

"Wow." I said nervously and looked over to find Edward beaming.

I moved forward and let my hands feel all of the fabrics…they truly were divine. They looked like the kinds of things that Rosalie would wear. I stood there for a few minutes, trying to pick something that wouldn't look utterly hideous on me, and opted for a simple blue silk wrap dress. I took it off the rack gingerly and walked toward the dressing room. I took off my clothes, a little self consciously, knowing Edward was just on the other side of a curtain, and hurried to put the dress on. I tied it around my waist and was pretty pleased with the results. I turned around in the mirror and noted the way it clung to the few curves I had.

"Can I see?" Edward asked.

"Hold on a sec." I pulled aside the curtain and he gasped. I grinned like an idiot.

EPOV

Oh my God. I gasped for the first time in my (undead) life.

"Bella…you look stunning." I stood and walked toward her and scooped her into my arms. I stared into her gorgeous eyes and melted.

"Put me down!" she giggled.

"Do I have to?" I asked, truly not wanting to let her go.

"Yes, you do. I'm guessing that you like it."

"I like what's in it." I retorted.

She smacked my shoulder playfully and I let her down to the ground.

"Try on another one." I urged.

"Ok."

I watched her flip through the rack and I was excited when I saw her pull the tiny black one. I mean, I knew it was risqué, but she would look unbelievable in it. Just to see her in that dress…I'd gladly pay a million dollars. No joke.

She went behind the curtain and I groaned. I knew that I didn't have any right whatsoever to see her change, and I'd always been respectful of her privacy, but the teenage male in me really wanted to see her in all her shining perfection.

Are all men such pigs?

I laughed and Alice appeared behind me.

"I'm afraid so Alice."

"So, does she like anything?"

"She's only tried on the blue one. She grabbed the little black one though…"

I'm really surprised. That little tiny black one that barely would count as underwear?

"Oh yeah. That's the one." I replied smugly.

"Alice?" Bella called.

"Yes?"

"Can you come in here please?"

"Sure." Alice winked at me and I gave her a rye look. She flounced behind the curtain.

WOW!

I was caught off guard by her obnoxiously loud thought. Thanks Alice.

"What do you think? I mean, it's really short." I heard Bella whisper.

Being able to hear this well could be a blessing sometimes.

"You look amazing Bella. Really. Go show him!"

"Ok…" she said nervously.

I waited with baited breath and sure enough, it was all that I was hoping for. The dress was tight and it was short. It was nearly backless and the mirrors to either side of her afforded me a very nice view. Her legs were white as snow, and perfectly sculpted. Her shoulders were petite and elegant, and just a hint of her cleavage was showing, though it was enough that I forgot to move my eyes away.

"Edward!" she chided.

"I'm sorry dear, but my God. Any man would pass out at the sight of you!"

A furious blush swept across her features and I took a mental snapshot. This was worth remembering forever.

An hour later and I needed to go hunting. I mean, now. Bella looked at me with concern and I knew my eyes were very dark. I sped down the highway and dropped her and Alice off. Alice carried the multitude of bags inside and then hurried back outside. She no sooner slid in than I stepped on the gas.

"She really got to you, didn't she?"

"Is it that obvious?" I asked rhetorically.

What's going on Edward?

I sighed. Alice knew me too well. I decided to tell her all that had happened over the last 24 hours.

BPOV

Now was my chance. I glanced outside to make certain that they were gone and then grabbed the telephone. With shaking hands I dialed Billy's number. It rang five times and I nearly gave up when…

"Hello?" Billy's voice filled the receiver.

"Hey Billy, its Bella."

"Jake's not here right now." He said with disapproval in his voice.

"I know, I didn't want to talk to him, I really needed to talk to you…that is, if you have the time."

"Oh, I see. Ok. What is it?"

"Charlie was telling me about Running Elk and Doris Song…"

"Oh."

"I am doing a school project on my family tree and I was hoping that you might give me some information."

"What do you need to know?"

"Erm…were they related to you at all?"

Silence.

"Billy?"

"I'm here."

I tapped my toe impatiently.

"Bella…they are related to me, but quite distantly…many generations ago. Of course, I'm only talking about Running Elk. Doris was a white woman."

"Yeah, Charlie told me."

"Ok, what else do you want to know?"

I thought about that.

"How old were they when they got married?"

"Running Elk was a young warrior then, I believe 21 or 22. Doris was much younger, 16 I think."

"When did they have their daughter?"

"She came about five years later. There were two daughters actually, but one didn't survive."

"Oh. How did she die?"

"She was murdered."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, it's part of your history, and I think everyone should respect those that came before them."

"Do you know who did it?"

"We suspect that we do."

"Who?"

"It's not right that I should say who…not with the way things are."

I was forever getting cryptic answers, but I had a nagging feeling…

"You think the Cullen's did it?"

"No…but some of their kind, certainly."

"How old was she when she died?"

"Eighteen."

I nearly passed out. Morbid curiosity spurred me on.

"Do you umm, know the circumstances…of her death?"

"Yes. But I think I've said enough on the subject."

"Fair enough. Can you tell me anything else about Running Elk or Doris?"

"Doris was lovely. Our tribe accepted her, though it was on a conditional basis at the start. She was a natural born healer. Running Elk was a valued member of our tribe. He was an excellent hunter and eventually he became close to my grandfather, the chief. Their daughter, Charlie's mother, Evelyn, was a beautiful young girl. She spent the first ten years of her life on the reservation with us. Then she was the recipient of a scholarship and went away to a boarding school. She never returned. We found out later that she married a higher up in society, a Jack Swan. They only returned to Forks when their second son, Charlie was born. Charlie's lived in Forks his whole life, as you well know. He and I became close friends through Harry Clearwater, who often went fishing with him."

"Wow. Thanks Billy. I really appreciate it."

"Ok, are we done?"

"Yes…for now. Can I call you if I have more questions?"

He hesitated.

"If it's for school…you can. Otherwise, I think it would be best if you kept your distance."

I felt a chill sweep through me.

"Send my love to Jacob." I said tonelessly.

"Goodbye Bella." Billy said and then he hung up.

I stared at the receiver for awhile and when the dial tone sounded, I hung it up.

I'm distantly related to the Blacks. Somehow I knew it all along.