Disclaimer: This story is based off of the characters written by Stephanie Meyer in the Twilight Saga. I do not own any of these characters.

Bella

The day that Alice and Jasper came, I had every intention of finding Jacob and telling him what happened. But after I left them at the house I went running. As I ran I considered what we'd talked about when it came to the treaty and decided that even though the information was important, I wasn't going to put the treaty or the packs trust in me at risk by talking to them in person. I also wasn't ready to go back to the Cullen's house, just in case Alice had tried to push against my warnings and they were still there.

I ended up choosing to hunt again, and spent several hours in the woods until the first few lights of morning peeked over the horizon.

I headed back to the house and as I approached to look for the phone, Jacob was already there.

Before he could start in on me, I told him that Alice and Jasper had come to see me. I refused to go into much detail as I was still upset by the encounter, but I did let him know that I sent them away. By the smell of it, they had listened to my wishes and taken off. What I didn't expect was that Jacob would have smelled Alice's visit to Charlie's house or her snooping through Edwards meadow.

Jacob had relaxed though, knowing that I'd sent them away. Knowing that he could still come around and visit since they were not staying in Forks.

But since then I'd been almost completely alone. Jake had come back to see me a few times, and Embry checked up on me once in between. I knew they were busy, Renee was in town now so they were juggling the chaos of two grieving parents now as opposed to one. And my mother could be quite a handful.

I tried to warn Jacob about her when he'd come let let me know of her arrival, but he was too distracted. I tried to chalk it up to him already having a lot on his plate, but I could tell there was more to it than that. I knew that he was still upset about Alice and Japer's visit, it seemed to have gotten him thinking about the long term - something we'd both been avoiding. I also assumed it had something to do with what I'd said about things between me and the pack.

I could see that he hoped for a second chance, for us to be able to go back to the way things were. But I think he knew as well as I did that that wasn't possible. We would have to find some kind of new normal once the memorial service was over.

*

I'd just come back from another trip out hunting; I'd hunted every night since turning and realized that the thirst would never be fully satiated. I took my usual seat on the steps and stared out across the lawn. The rubble of Edward's piano had only been disrupted slightly by the rainfall of the last couple days. I sat staring for nearly an hour when I caught the sound of a set of feet moving at inhuman speed toward the house.

I stood up and stared in the direction of the footfalls, and a few hundred yards out they paused. I instinctively lowered into a defensive crouch as the inhuman steps slowly moved closer. I growled a warning, I had told Alice and Jasper to leave me alone, I was not interested in dealing with them.

I hadn't had time to think about forgiving Alice, I was still struggling through the changes of losing Charlie and Renee. Anger spiked in me again as the steps refused to slow.

I listened for another set of feet, but heard nothing. Then I zeroed in on these footfalls, they were lighter and more graceful than Jasper's but they didn't dance the way Alice's did. I narrowed my eyes as the person approaching came into view.

"Bella?" A familiar voice asked, I straightened my stance in surprise as the blonde stepped closer.

At the edge of the trees Rosalie stood staring at me with a dazed look in her eyes. I wasn't entirely sure what to say, so I stood there watching her. Just as I was about to open my mouth, she said, "I ripped Edward's arm off." Her tone was flat, matter-of-fact.

I paused, "I destroyed his piano." Surprisingly, my tone matched hers.

She looked at me, her eyes finally coming into focus and smiled. I couldn't help but return her grin, and then we were both laughing. The type of laughing that was manic and uncontrolled. We were thrown into a fit of hysteria and neither of us seemed to want to pull ourselves from it. I don't know how long we stood there, but slowly the laughter died down and we were standing there staring at each other again.

"I'm sure I'm the last person you expected a visit from." She said after a minute. I looked at her and straightened up as she continued. "I'm not here on behalf of Edward or Alice. I actually don't really know why I'm here at all. They told me the news and I was so upset - and then I was running. And well, here I am."

I paused for a fraction of a second before I said, "I guess it's odd I'm making this offer considering it's your house. But would you care to come inside?" Her half smile was back and she nodded.

We went in the house and she walked to the sofa, I took a seat in the chair Jake had used so many times and her nose scrunched.

"It seems you have a little different agreement with the wolves than we did." She said, clearly catching whiff of Jacob and Embry. "I smelled them in the woods, but I didn't expect they'd have come in the house."

"I'm sure less has changed than you imagine. I just happen to be best friends with their new Alpha." Her eyebrows raised in skepticism but she didn't say any more about it. Her eyes shifted to her hands and she pressed them together. "So you ripped his arm off huh?" Her eyes met mine and her lips pressed together in a guilty line.

"Yeah, not my finest moment."

I smiled. "I think I would have liked to see that actually, do you think it hurt?" My tone was amused and she looked at me for a long moment before she responded.

"It does hurt, but getting it put back on hurts worse."

"Do you know from experience?" I was genuinely curious.

"Not personal no, but I've seen extremities come off while Emmett and Jasper were going at it a few times." A true smile pulled at the corner of her lips. "Jasper couldn't find his left ear for almost an entire day one time. Alice and Edward were out hunting so we didn't have help on where we could find it. Esme had a cow and sent us searching all around the area. It took an entire evening but Carlisle finally found it and helped Jasper put it back on." I couldn't help but laugh with her. After a moment her expression turned sad again and our laugher was cut short.

"Have you given any thought to why you ended up here?" I asked. Her eyes met mine and she sighed.

"I think I'm here to apologize. Not for Edward, or even for the rest of my family. But for how I acted toward you while we were still living here." She paused. "None of us chose this life." Her eyes met mine again, with a sad expression.

"I don't know how much Edward told you about our family, but none of us asked to become like this. Unchanging, forever. And when Edward fell in love with you - well, I was upset that he would offer you this life that none of us wanted. I thought he was being selfish, taking your choices away. More than that, I thought that you would want this life. That you would make the wrong decision, and ask to be like us-" She looked like she wanted to continue, but stopped herself.

My thoughts were hung up on her statement "When Edward fell in love with you." I tried to push it to the back of my mind, the thought went against everything I knew. So why did that statement feel true, right? As part of my mind pondered that possibility, I prompted Rosalie to keep going.

"Why would it have been so bad for me to want to become a vampire?" I asked, she flinched slightly at the word and her eyes bored into mine.

"I don't know how much it matters for me to say now, we're here and you're changed. But I suppose the facts are that now that you have changed you will never change again. You will forever look the way you do now. You will never grow older, your body will never change - and you will never be able to bear children." Her voice was soft, and I could tell this was something that meant a lot to her, I tried not to be insensitive as I thought of what to tell her.

"I never really thought about wanting kids before," I stared carefully. "I guess, I've been the responsible one all my life I never considered taking on even more responsibility through motherhood." She was quiet as she took in what I said.

"When you were human - I just thought you deserved the right to have that choice."

I smiled, "Guess we'll never have to find out what I would have chosen." I joked, she returned my smile with a bitter one of her own.

"That's true, regardless. I'm sorry for the way I treated you. Even if you had made this choice, it wouldn't have been my place to interfere. And I certainly shouldn't have treated you differently because of that. Please understand that we all regret how things turned out," I could see her sincerity in her eyes, "We-I should have been here to help you through your transition. It wasn't fair to you to go through all this alone."

I'd known all this, and this is something that I'd been so angry about when Alice and Jasper had come. Now, having someone else say it - and apologize for it - the anger was gone. It was instead replaced by the prick of tears and a tightening in my chest.

"Thank you for saying that, and for understanding how hard it's been. Even without you knowing about the rest." It was my turn to look down. I briefly picked at one of my nails. "You were right, I'd never expected you to come. But I'm glad you did." We shared another smile and our ears perked at the brushing of leaves in the distance.

Rosalie cocked her head in the direction of the front lawn, "That will be Emmett," she said standing up, as we moved outside Emmett hollered.

"Rose!?!" She said nothing, instead she stood with me on the porch until his large frame lumbered though the trees. When he caught sight of the two of us his worried look turned to a huge smile, "And Bella!" He boomed, running up and scooping Rosalie into a hug, they shared a quick but passionate kiss and he turned to me.

He picked me up in a bear hug and swung me in a circle, "Good to see you too Emmett." I laughed as he set me down.

"How's immortal life treating you?" He asked, his grin wide. Rosalie moved to nudge him but stopped when she caught the genuine smile on my face.

"It hasn't been too bad, better with friends." My eyes shifted to Rosalie and her expression was pleased.

"Glad to hear it! But what's with the stench?" His nose was scrunched the way Rosalie's had when she'd caught whiff of the pack.

"That would be the werewolves." Rosalie told him, resting a hand on his arm. "Bella is friends with their Alpha."

Emmett looked at her, and then back at me. "Badass." He said nodding in approval.

I grinned and rolled my eyes. It was nice to see this side of Rosalie and Emmett. When I was human, neither of them were present a lot of the time I'd come to the Cullen's house. And when they were it was more formal terms. They weren't playful or relaxed like this, thinking back none of them really were. I could see now that they had all been posing as human for my sake. And I didn't get many stories about him family through Edward, it felt like as much as he could he kept me separate from his family.

"So Bella's riding with werewolves now, too cool for her own kind?" He asked punching my shoulder.

"Definitely too cool for you." That earned a grin from Rosalie.

"Why don't we go inside?" She asked and Emmett shrugged.

We spent the rest of the morning catching up, there was a lot I didn't know about their family.

Rosalie walked me through her life, and her change. It finally clicked what becoming a vampire had meant for her. But as terrible as her past was, I could see the pride in both her and Emmett as she explained her journey of revenge. Her story transitioned into Emmet's and how she had found him.

Through the thick haze of my human memories, I recalled the day in the cafeteria where we'd spoken about Edward and his family hunting. He and Emmett had been planning on going out hunting for Grizzlies that weekend, and I found it more humorous than I probably should have to know now why that was Emmett's favorite meal. When they wrapped up their stories I briefly asked about rest of the family, but they were reluctant to explain farther. Rosalie told me that as much as I had the right to know more, privacy was something their family valued, and eventually - if given the chance - she was sure they would tell me their stories. I briefly thought about what Alice may have found out after our trip to Phoenix last year, but I brushed past Rosalie's words instead.

I knew she wasn't trying to convince me to go to them, she only wanted me to know that the option was there. I just wasn't ready to consider that.

Eventually the conversation circled back to me, and I told them of what had become of me after they left. I didn't leave much out, remembering how good it felt that Jasper had been able to feel what I had gone through. I didn't want to hide from Rosalie and Emmett. I didn't want to be in the background anymore, suffering alone. They stayed quiet through my rehash of my human experience.

When I got to Laurent finding me in the meadow, I figured because of the treaty, it was fair game to talk to them about Jacob's pack. I told them about how he'd saved me and how they'd been helping me through this first week.

Emmett was the most serious I'd ever seen him as I talked things through. Up until we got to me speaking about hunting - that was when he asked how many humans I'd killed so far. He was impressed that without help I'd been sticking to the vegetarian lifestyle and joked about the werewolves making it easy since they stank so much. He wasn't wrong.

It was refreshing to be around Emmett, he listened to the hardships but still found a way to turn around and brighten the mood. He reminded me a lot about why I enjoyed Jacob's company so much.

Rosalie was very quiet. I couldn't entirely tell what she was thinking, but she seemed upset.

I covered my version of events when Jasper and Alice came to see me, and Emmett had been interested to find that Alice wasn't able to see me. After a few light guesses as to why I was able to block them out, Rosalie piped up.

She was careful with her words, and assured me that she wasn't trying to convince me to forgive anyone. But she told be about how broken up Alice had been when they'd come to tell the family about me. She truly regretted leaving, and I had been able to see that on Alice's face. She also told me that Edward had told her to chose him or me, and losing him meant losing the entire family. As much as she cared for me, she chose to stay with her family.

That made plenty of sense to me, but I was still upset that she hadn't at least insisted she would say goodbye. I deserved that much. I ended up telling Rosalie that I wasn't sure I would be mad at Alice forever, but I wasn't ready to forgive her. .

Emmett asked if I thought I would ever forgive Edward, and Rosalie's words about him falling in love with me leapt to the front of my mind. Rosalie shot him a warning glare for asking, and he'd held his hands up in defense, "I'm not saying he deserves it, I'm just wondering what our family might look like in a hundred years time."

After a short pause, Rosalie turned to me.

"Ignoring what my dear husband just said, I want you to know that the invitation is there if you ever want to consider us family. In the meantime, we'd be happy to help you in whatever ways you need." Emmett nodded in agreement and I sat back in my chair.

I took a moment to think about all that would entail.

Emmett and Rosalie shared a long, concerned look before Rosalie opened her mouth to say something. I held up a finger. "I'm just weighing a few things out." I looked between the two of them. "Would that mean you staying here? In Forks?"

"That's an option. " Rosalie said.

I sighed, "Well if that's the case, I'd need to talk to Jacob about the treaty. If you were around for a while, he and the pack technically wouldn't be able to come to the house unless changes were made to the treaty. Is that correct?"

Rosalie sighed, "I supposed that is correct, yes."

"What if you just came with us?" Emmett asked, Rosalie and I shared a look. "Not back to Edward, but just somewhere where we didn't have to worry about any treaties?" Rosalie looked at her husband for a minute, and then her eyes shifted back to me. I pressed my lips together.

"I don't think I'm ready to leave just yet. My dad and mom are both here, today is supposed to the the last day they'll be looking for me. And I know it's not safe for me to be so close, but with Jacob running back and forth - at least I can check up on them. I need to know that they're doing okay." Emmett started nodding.

"Okay, so we'll stay for a while." He said, looking to Rosalie.

"If it's alright with you." She confirmed, I nodded and she smiled again, "In that case, I'd like to call Carlisle and talk to him about any changes we could possibly be making. He was the one who made the treaty and I feel that he should have final say." I pressed my lips together again.

"Don't call just yet, I think speaking to Jacob first may be for the best. If he's against it for whatever reason I'd rather not call for nothing." I stood up, and headed to the phone.

I dialed the number for Jacob's house, and after two rings Charlie picked up. I froze and in milliseconds Rosalie was in front of me. She held her hand out for the phone.

"Hello, may I speak with Billy Black?"

Charlie cleared his throat, "Just a minute," I could head him holler for Billy before he spoke into the phone again, "Who's calling?" He asked.

"This is Rose with the Department of Natural Resources. I just need to speak briefly with him about certain wildlife in and around the reservation."

"Is this something that could wait? We're using this line for an investigation." I recognized the stubborn tone at the edge of his voice, and the creak of the floor boards as Billy's wheelchair approached.

"It will only take a minute and I wont bother you again." Charlie grumbled as he handed the phone to Billy.

"This is Billy," he announced. Rosalie waited until Charlie's footsteps softened as he walked away.

"I told Charlie you're speaking with someone from the Department of Natural Resources about animals in your area. I'm actually calling to see if you're able to speak with Bella for a moment." Rosalie asked quietly. I could hear Billy shift in his chair.

"Yes, I suppose I can."

Rosalie handed the phone to me, "Billy, is Jacob there?" I asked. He took a moment as he registered my voice. It was probably strange to hear considering he'd been pretending I was dead for the past week.

"No we haven't seen any sightings." He said.

"Can you tell him I have something important to speak with him about. And that it's urgent."

There was another long pause, "What does this have to do with the reservation?" Billy was far better at this than I would have thought, and also straight to the point as usual.

"It has to do with the treaty, something's come up and we need to discuss a few things." I bit my bottom lip as he paused yet again before responding.

"Yes, well there isn't anything to report now. But I'll give you a call if something comes up."

"I'm still at the Cullen's. He can come here or call me and have me meet him somewhere later tonight." I could hear footsteps approaching again on his end of the line.

"Okay, thank you for the call. We'll be in touch."

"Thank you, Billy," I whispered.

"Uh-huh, bye now." The line went dead and I set the phone back onto the dock.

"Now what?" Emmett asked. I looked at him.

"Now we wait for Jacob to get the message."