A/N for 2020-03-18: Folks, this early update is brought to you by my amazing and now self-isolating Beta Eeyorefan12, and me, now on indefinite school holidays. I'm just gonna say that you should be careful when you ask for an early update ;-)

As well, in case you missed it, I recently published an outtake from this story here on FF, called "The Meadow."

Cheers,

- Erin

Bella was walking back to the bedroom from the bathroom when the contraction made her stop. With one hand on the wall, she closed her eyes and slowed her breathing to match the constriction in her midsection. The tightening was a wide belt of pressure, slow and even, shifting her entire abdomen. When she opened her eyes again, a very worried pair of golden ones floated inches from her face. She started back a bit. Edward wasn't touching her, but he might as well have been for his proximity.

The next contraction was stronger, and she actually moaned into this one, a small tendril of pain sliding out from the centre of her lower back.

"Bella?" Edward asked.

"Mph," she answered, eyes closed again, focusing on breathing. The pain receded, and her body relaxed.

When she looked at Edward again, he was practically vibrating with worry.

"Those were almost a minute long and a minute apart."

Bella nodded, rubbing her back. "Tell me about it. I'd forgotten how strong they could feel." Her practise-contractions had been much the same with Meredith and Joshua. Recalling her and Matt's own panicked response to those first labour-like moments, she reached out a consoling hand to Edward. "Really, this is just Braxton-Hicks. Nothing to get excited over."

'Excited' in no way described Edward. His face was taut with anxious worry, and she swore she could see the corners of his mouth twitching.

If it had been Matt in Edward's place, he would have been mildly concerned. But this was Edward, and she imagined that, for all his medical knowledge, even a textbook pregnancy for herself would be cause for him to fret. With her earlier preeclampsia scare, she knew this pushed his anxiety to stratospheric realms. Her midwife had assured her that she was fine to continue working, so long as her blood pressure remained stable and low. It had, and Bella felt well, though tired. But that was typical for her—for any pregnant woman in her third trimester.

"Pregnancy is normal," she reminded him. "Not something to worry about."

He tried to smile at her, but his jaw remained stubbornly tight.

"I'm just going to go get ready for work," Bella mumbled, attempting her own reassuring smile.

His hands were suddenly coiled around her wrists, not exactly restraining her, but pulling her closer. "Can we talk about that for a moment?"

Her guard rallied. She knew what was coming next. He was going to try to get her to start her maternity leave early. They'd had the conversation several times, always a gentle nudge from Edward, but even as far as they'd come together, the thought still made her defensive. The words 'Absolutely not,' were in the forefront of her mind, but she searched for a gentler way to deflect his worry—

"May I drive you to work today?" he asked sweetly, transforming his grip so that he was holding one hand, his other bringing her fingers to his lips.

She let her breath out, relieved. The sweetness of his own exhalation washed over her face as he kissed her forehead, making it difficult to remember what she was so guarded about. Then he kissed her cheek, and the corner of her lips—

"Please?" he asked.

"Sure," she said, slightly dazed. As he moved back a little, and her thoughts became her own again, she shook her head slightly.

"Dizzy?" he asked, his voice full of concern again.

"Only because of you," she said, blushing with embarrassment. She wasn't thinking clearly. Her emotional reactions coloured everything at this point in her pregnancies. With her first, that had been terrifying, thinking she was slipping back into the madness that had claimed her before. The second pregnancy was easier, having the first to know she wasn't going insane, but even so, it was almost second-nature to let those fears have purchase in her mind.

You're just hormonal, she told herself, knowing full well that it wasn't hormones that were overwhelming her but the man before her—looking a bit too proud of himself. And it didn't bother her at all.

Josh's feet thumped loudly onto the floor from his bed. He appeared in the hall, skipping towards them. His words, "I need waffles!" were loud, and directed to Edward and Bella's feet.

"Morning, Honey," Bella said, rubbing his head as he came close to snuggle up against them both.

"Need waffles," he repeated to Bella's waist.

"Okay. Let's go get you some waffles," Edward said, his eyes still on Bella.

"I'm going to get dressed for work."

Edward glanced back at her only briefly as he walked Joshua down the stairs.

Back in the master bedroom, Bella sat down on the bed, sipping some water, waiting to see if the contractions really were done with their workout. It also gave her time to think, rather than just react.

She was trying to reason with herself, thinking about whether it really would be so bad to take off work a bit earlier than she'd planned. It would let her feel like a newlywed for a little longer, and would give her and Edward more time together with Josh and Mer before their newest sibling arrived.

Then again, she was really enjoying her job since she was only working part-time-a luxury for a teacher. She had a whole new and exciting unit planned for one of the senior courses, and a group of students who were up for the challenge. Taking leave now would feel like it had before, when her health had forced her to leave too soon and not to see things through with the kids.

Right now, her health was good—knock on wood, she told herself. Even though her energy was flagging, it was no real impediment so far. And with Edward being such an incredibly supportive partner, one who willingly took on the daytime parenting duties while she did something she loved, well...maybe a little more time at work was a gift she should just accept graciously. Glancing at the clock, Bella realized she needed to set her ruminations aside for the time being, and get herself ready for the day.

The workday passed in its usual busy but happy blur. By the time the last school bell had rung, Bella was glad to sink into her chair and put her feet up on the desk, sighing as her blood, aided by gravity, made its way back to her heart.

"Okay, varicose veins suck," she muttered to herself.

Her phone, abruptly buzzing in the desk, broke the silence of the room and made her start, knocking a stack of papers onto the floor in her rush to get it.

The number was from Forks. "'Lo?" she managed, catching the tail end of the last ring before it would go to voicemail.

"Hi, Bella?"

"Yes," Bella said, recognizing the voice, but not quite able to retrieve the name.

"It's Mark Barclay. I work with your dad—"

"Oh?" Her stomach seemed to move sideways. Don't be stupid, she told herself. It's probably nothing.

"I've been trying to reach him. We've had someone call in sick, and I was wondering if he could cover a shift before his started. He isn't answering at home, and I wondered if you maybe had another way to reach him?" Mark asked.

Not exactly nothing, then.

"No," she said, almost whispering.

"Okay," Mark sighed. "I'm sure I'll catch up with him somewhere else. I can always call in one of our reserves if we get really desperate."

He spoke these last words almost to himself, but Bella's innards felt like they were liquefying.

"Sorry, I didn't meant to bother you—"

Too late for that.

"He's just been such a homebody lately. I wasn't sure where to reach him when he wasn't at home . . ."

Mark kept talking, and Bella listened—or tried to. His voice had become sounds—some of which she understood, and some of which was just noise—noise that she knew she needed to listen to in order not to appear rude, or odd. She was a Cullen now, and she could not appear odd—could not draw unwanted attention their way.

"Thank you for letting me know. I'll make some calls and see what I can find," she promised Mark. "You'll let me know if he phones you?"

"For sure. Sorry to trouble you, Bella."

Bella dialed Charlie's cell phone, more frustrated than surprised when it went to voicemail. She knew Mark would have been trying to call him there too, but it was instinctive for her to try.

It was Alice's number that made her phone jump in her hand next.

"Alice?" she croaked into the speaker.

"Bella, does anyone on the reservation harbour bad feelings towards your father?" Alice asked.

"What?" Bella asked, thrown by the question.

"Do they?"

"I—" she stopped to think. Did they? She mentally scanned the reservation's known occupants, considering Sam and Emily, the few Clearwater cousins she knew, Billy Black. Her mind flickered to Seth and his wife, but they didn't live on the reservation, and neither did Leah. "No, I can't think of anyone who does. Why?" There was hope bubbling in her midsection. Her mind had gone to the worst possibilities with Mark's call. The man clearly didn't think anything untoward had happened, but with all that Bella had seen, it was so easy to overreact when perhaps it wasn't called for.

"When I talked to him the other day, he mentioned talking to Billy Black and having plans to go see him," Alice explained. "That's what he must have done because he disappeared this morning. Just now I saw you going to phone Edward about—"

"Yes, I was," Bella said, thinking that she really should call him . . . but then again, she was overreacting and worrying. Maybe her dad's phone had died or . . . he had probably gotten caught up and lost track of the time. He had been grieving after all. If he was seeing Billy, that was good. Their friendship had dissolved after Jacob's death, despite Charlie's best efforts to keep it alive. If they were rekindling it, it was a hopeful sign.

Calling Edward would be good, too.

"Should we go have a look in Forks? Just to make sure he's okay?"

"Yes, please." Bella told her. "Call me when you find him, okay?"

"Of course," Alice said.

They made their farewells, and Bella cleaned up the papers she'd accidently knocked to the floor.

"Don't overreact," she told herself. Looking at the clock, she realized she only had a few more minutes before Edward came to pick her up. They could talk in the car. This was probably nothing. Trying to distract herself, she put her mind to the next day's lessons and the current day's marking.

While Edward had agreed with her that she shouldn't be overly concerned, by dinner time, there was still no word from Charlie or anyone else about his whereabouts. Alice and Jasper had looked in and around Forks with Rose and Emmett, and they'd come up empty. But if he was still on the reservation, it would make sense that Alice still had no visions of him. When Bella had called Billy, he'd only been able to confirm that Charlie had been there and left much earlier and suggested that Charlie might have stopped to fish for a bit on his way back to town.

Bella kept telling herself that he was fine and that she was worrying for nothing. After all, his regular shift didn't start for a few more hours. At this point, he was just out of touch.

That strategy had worked until after dinner. At seven, she and Edward were putting the children to bed. By eight, the children were asleep and she was pacing. Unable to help herself, she called the station to see if Charlie had arrived for his eight o'clock shift, but Mark, now clearly concerned, told her that he had not.

Edward watched her carefully from across the room but he had long since stopped trying to reassure her with words.

In fact, he had no words at all-unless they were the ones silent to her when his phone buzzed once or twice and he glanced at the screen, sliding his fingers over it briefly before slipping it back into his pocket..

With her phone still in her hand after hanging up with the station, she dialed Sam Uley.

"Sam, it's Bella Cullen." She bit her lip, trying to smother her anxiety in that one, tiny, focused pain.

Sam took a moment to reply. "Cullen. Right. What do you want?" There was no encouragement in his tone.

"My dad's missing. He went to go visit Billy Black. Billy said he left just after one o'clock to head back to town, and he hasn't shown up at work or home yet."

"Did you let the police know?" Sam asked. She didn't hear any concern in his voice.

"Yes, they know," Bella replied, struggling to keep the impatience out of her words. "The police are the ones who called me."

Another pause. "So what do you want me to do about it?" he finally asked.

"Would you please . . . look for my dad?" she asked, hoping there would be a shred of empathy there. She knew they were already indebted for the wolves' assistance this past summer and the Cullens had promised to remove themselves from Pack territory, but this was her father. This was Charlie. Surely there would be some goodwill on his behalf?

Silence.

"You want me to leave my kids and go look for your dad?" His voice was incredulous.

"Please."

Edward hadn't asked who she was calling, but had moved closer to her as she stood in the kitchen. His frown had grown darker and deeper as he listened to both sides of the conversation.

The receiver buzzed with Sam's huffed out breath. "You just don't stop asking, do you?"

Angry, frustrated tears slipped down Bella's cheeks.

She wanted to swear. A lot. About hormones, and worries, and werewolves—

Edward held out his hand for the phone.

Knowing her own pleas had failed, she saw no point in persisting, and gave it to her husband.

"Sam," Edward said, voice low and even.

Bella didn't catch the reply, and Edward's face betrayed nothing, impassive and cool.

"We don't want to impose, but we're asking your permission to search the area ourselves . . . No, I don't expect you would, but I will remind you that you have a treaty because we chose to offer one, not because we needed to."

Bella's eyes widened, hearing the threat.

There was a long period of silence before Edward began speaking again. "We'll need an hour, at most. . . . You'll call your packmates? . . . Thank you. We appreciate your cooperation." He hung up.

"Did you just—"

"Threaten him? Yes." He put the phone down, using his hands to cradle her back. "He's said we can go look for your father."

She knew that if there was comfort or hope to offer, it was here that he'd offer it.

But there was none.

Something very bad had happened to her father. And now they needed to wait and see just what it was.

She and Edward now settled in the living room, Bella trying to distract herself with a book her class would be reading over the next weeks. The words had passed by her eyes and her mind, floating off into the ether of her worry, as she contemplated the many bad things that could have happened to Charlie. He had been so sad lately. Could he have . . . did he . . .? No, she wouldn't allow that train of thought to continue. Charlie would never do anything to hurt her or the children like that. It was something else. He had a bad habit of letting his phone run out of charge. Maybe he had just gone for a walk on the reservation and Alice couldn't see him there because wolves were close by. Or maybe his car had broken down. An accident? Could he be too hurt to call for help?

When Edward's phone buzzed, she didn't even look up. She was too afraid.

Edward lifted his phone to his ear, standing and turning his back to her as he looked out the window. The glass reflected his face back to Bella, lines of worry and then pain telling her more than she wanted to know.

When she heard the quiet beep as he ended the call, she couldn't even look at him and found herself unable to voice her worst fear. Instead, she whispered, almost to herself, "Did they find him?"

Edward didn't answer her right away. After several long moments had passed, Bella forced herself to look up just in time to see just a flash of something in his expression before his features smoothed into practiced impassivity. But she knew what she had seen, and she knew what it meant. She had seen Edward do this once before, although it had been long ago and in the woods behind her house. What he had said to her then had devastated her so thoroughly that it had been a long time before she could face life again. Now, he was about to tell her something he obviously knew would destroy her all over again, and she knew he was steeling himself for the revelation.

She was already shaking her head when she heard his quiet voice. "They have . . . found his car. Charlie isn't there."

She looked down at her lap, instinctively resting a protective hand over her unborn child and silently begging Edward to continue without making her try to speak. There was more. She knew there was more. She felt him move closer to her and in her periphery, she saw one of his hands reach toward her before he let it drop again. She heard him take in a breath before he spoke again.

"Emmett and Jasper caught a scent. Bella, I . . ." Edward's voice faltered for a moment but still she couldn't look at him. She could barely breathe. She waited, but even as she did, she knew what his next words would be and she closed her eyes, wishing she could just shut out everything in existence at this moment.

"Victoria may not be dead."

Her world went black.

DISCLAIMER: S. Meyer owns Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.