It was five in the morning when Bella gave up on getting any decent sleep. She got up and got dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt over that: working clothes. She was determined to get through as many of Charlie's things as possible today. She'd put it off long enough; it was time to move forward. She needed to find the things that Charlie had left to Sue and Billy and get them over to La Push, get that uncomfortable errand over with. She also needed to get the house emptied so it could be put on the market. Once that was done, she could leave Forks.

She was surprised by how sad the thought made her. It had become oddly comfortable, this familiar old house, this friendly little town. Despite her problems with Jacob and his people, it felt good having people who knew her close by. And the Cullens, they'd been something even better, people that this new after-grief Bella might be able to find friendship with.

And then there was Edward, that beautiful glimpse of… something. The closest she could come to giving it a name was possibility. He was more than a person; he was the small chance that the world might be good to her again one day, that this awful past year had an "after" to it that would be worth getting to. That hope drew her in, and, if she were being entirely honest, he drew her in. Chemistry wasn't a strong enough word for the insensible desire she felt to stay near him, despite his eccentricities. She wanted him, even though she was far from sure that having him was smart, or even safe.

And that's where the problem came in. He was kind to her, and, for reasons she didn't understand, he cared for her. That much was obvious. But what was just as obvious was that he was lying to her, in ways that were small, and in ways that were scary. He'd been in her house and didn't have a valid explanation as to why. He knew too much about her – her music, her habits, old and new. She was starting to get that feeling, the one you get in the pit of your stomach when the world isn't quite level beneath your feet anymore. She'd gotten it at that fateful ultrasound, when the technician had left the room, face somber, to bring in the doctor. She'd gotten it when Jacob had started wandering alone through the city every night. She'd gotten it when her phone had rung at 2:47 p.m. on a Tuesday and Sue Clearwater had come on the line, her voice full of tears.

Yes, Bella knew this feeling far too well. It's what you felt the moment before the ground came out from underneath you. She didn't intend to wait around for it to happen this time.

She ate a quick breakfast of coffee and toast and got to work. That first moment was tough, opening Charlie's door, facing the bedroom he had left empty. She could still faintly smell his aftershave and cigarettes. She went over to his dresser and found the aftershave bottle sitting on top. That was the first item that went into her "Keep" box. She looked around and saw a book – a well-worn copy of Slaughterhouse-Five – sitting on Charlie's nightstand, a dry cleaning claim ticket stuck in as a bookmark. It was the last thing her father had read. She picked this up and added it to the "Keep" box as well.

She dragged an empty box over to the dresser and opened the drawers. The clothes were a little easier to deal with. They almost all went to Goodwill; she only kept his police jacket and a pair of lumpy mittens she had knitted him for a Christmas gift a decade ago. She could still remember him opening the package, trying them on and exclaiming over them.

Oh, dad. I miss you. I miss you so much right now.

His shoes joined the clothes in the boxes. As she picked up each pair, she held them for a moment, thinking of all the steps he'd taken in them.

Death makes even shoes sacred, she mused.

On the shelf in his closet, she found boxes of old papers, photographs, and myriad other mementos. The album from his and Renée's wedding was there, too. Bella turned the pages, fascinated by the images of their laughing faces. They were so happy, she thought.

She packed all of the photographs, letters, ticket stubs, and hundreds of other odds and ends from those boxes carefully into her own "Keep" box. All these things had mattered to Charlie. She might never understand where all of them came from or why he'd kept them, but she'd hold onto them until maybe she did. She was strongly tempted to sit with them on the floor, pore over them for hours, maybe for days. She could indulge in her wonderings, her memories, her tears; let herself get lost in these little pieces of her father's story. But that seemed like a bad idea now. Time had become relevant for her again.

In the back corner of his closet, she found the guitar. She couldn't resist taking it out of its case, running her hand over the smooth wood. She plucked a few strings, wishing she'd learned how to play it. Charlie had tried to teach her, but it hadn't stuck. She could remember him playing, though, for hours, on the porch, in the living room, by the fire on camping trips. He would play, and sometimes sing a little; his voice was plain, but nice enough for the simple tunes he'd pick. She wanted to hear more of his music then: Simon and Garfunkle, The Everly Brothers, John Denver. She'd definitely be keeping his record player and albums.

Bella brought the guitar downstairs and set it on the couch. She looked at the oil painting on the wall. It was a rather mediocre landscape, but Charlie had loved it. He had always said that the image painted there of rolling hills and valleys, running rivers and clear lakes, was his personal idea of what heaven must be like.

Bella felt her eyes fill with tears.

It took her a good forty-five minutes to get the painting down from the wall and loaded carefully into the back of her SUV. It was large and heavy, and she was terrified of damaging it. She had to find large pieces of cardboard to protect the back and front, blankets to pad the corners and keep it from shifting, and a few lengths of elastic cord to hold the whole thing down. She put the guitar on the floor of the front passenger seat, positioning it carefully.

She went into the shed after Charlie's fishing and woodworking supplies next. Getting them together involved a good deal less nostalgia and a good deal more dirt and sweat (and several rather annoyed spiders). She piled all the gear into the back seat of the car. As she got behind the wheel, she took a deep breath.

God, even stinky fish smell reminds me of him, she thought, shaking her head. She saw him in her mind, sitting beside her on the dock at the lake, trying to get her to bait her own hook. "You're not big enough to come fishing with me until you're big enough to hook a worm," he'd say, and then, of course she'd make herself do it. Of course she wanted to be big enough to go fishing with her daddy.

Bella picked up her phone and tapped out a text message to Sue: "I'm bringing the stuff by that Charlie left for you. I'll put it on your sun porch if you aren't home."

She was on the road to Sue's before nine. (How productive anxiety can be! she thought.) She was sorely tempted to stop off at David's monument, but resisted the urge. Maybe on the way back. Bella didn't want to show up at Sue's with puffy eyes. She wanted to look strong in front of these people that used to be hers.

As she drove closer to La Push, Bella waited for dread and anger to rise up in anticipation of seeing Sue again, but it just wasn't there. Bella couldn't hate Sue. Whatever had happened between Bella and Jacob, wherever Bella stood with the tribe now, Sue had loved her dad. Sue had been there for him, with him, when Bella hadn't been around. Because of Sue, Bella knew that her dad hadn't been lonely in the last years of his life. That covered a multitude of sins as far as Bella was concerned.

When Bella pulled up in front of the house, Sue was sitting on the front stoop wearing her coat and slippers. She held a steaming cup of coffee and smiled as Bella walked up.

"Hi, sweetie," she said, embracing the younger woman. "Thanks so much for coming."

"Sure," Bella said. "I'm finally making some progress with the house. I wanted to make sure these got to you okay."

"Hold on," Sue said. "I'll get Leah to come help us." Sue went back inside, and came out a moment later with her daughter. Bella had to look twice at Leah. She was taller than she'd been when Bella had last seen her; Bella was sure of it.

"Hey, Bells!" Leah said, running forward and catching Bella in a hug. Bella could only squeak in reply as Leah squeezed the air from her lungs.

"Wow, when did you get so strong?" Bella asked, laughing, when she could speak again. An odd expression crossed over Leah's face, and then Bella understood. "Oh. Oh. Wow, okay."

"Yeah," Leah said. "Crazy times, huh?"

"You said it," Bella said. "So, how's it going for you?" Beyond her hurt over her situation with Jacob, Bella was intensely curious about the experience of the werewolves in the tribe.

"Uh, better these days," Leah said, going around to the back of Bella's car. "It was rough at first. I was angry. You know, I didn't ask for any of this. Not me, not Sam, not Jacob. We all got kind of fucked over by all this."

You and me both, Bella thought.

"But there's good parts of it, too," Leah continued, an enigmatic smile playing on her lips. "Now that I'm used to it, it's pretty neat being the wolf. And it's a good feeling, knowing that I have a purpose like this. I'm here to protect my tribe. I was chosen; how amazing is that?"

"Yeah," Bella said. "Pretty amazing."

Bella unlocked the hatch and helped Leah free the painting from where Bella had secured it. Leah carried it to the house on her own with almost no apparent effort. Sue followed her daughter into the house and directed her to lean the painting against a wall in the small living room. Bella saw a few lightened square spots on the wall where other pictures had been removed to make space for Charlie's heaven. Bella smiled.

Sue stepped back and looked at the painting, her eyes filling with tears.

"Your dad was so much more than people realized, Bella," Sue said. "He like to fish and hunt and watch the ballgame, but he was a poet, too, and a musician. He helped me see so much beauty in the world, so much I hadn't been able to see since I lost Harry."

Leah put an arm around Sue and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"I'm really glad he had you," Bella said. "It makes all this so much easier, knowing he wasn't alone here."

"Oh no," Sue said. "Charlie was our family. And no matter what anyone else says, you are, too." She reached out to Bella, pulled her into the hug with her and Leah.

"Thanks, Sue," Bella said, blinking back tears.

A few minutes later, they went back outside and finished unloading the guitar and the items for Billy.

"I'll just keep these on the porch for him until later," Sue said, glancing warily at Bella.

"Yeah, that's probably best," Bella agreed.

Sue and Bella sat down on the front stoop. Leah stood in the yard in front of them. She lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

"Try not to hate Billy too much for how he's being," Leah said. "He has good reasons for doing what he did."

"See, I don't agree with that," Bella said sharply. "I've never been anything but a friend to the tribe. I married his son; I gave birth to his grandson. I thought I was family. It's bullshit for him to put me out now, and you know it."

"Yeah, yeah, it is," Leah said, "But you shouldn't blame him for thinking that way, at least not entirely. He had reason to worry about what a woman scorned might do to them. Because of me, and because of what I did when Sam fell for Emily."

"What?" Bella asked.

"I was angry. God, I was so angry," Leah said, running her hand through her hair. She'd cut it very short sometime in the last few months. "Them telling me that he couldn't help it, that it was because of the wolf… That just made it worse. I lost my mind. I mean, Bella, Sam was my first everything, and I loved him completely. And this… stupid, pointless magic just coming in and ending all that? And then having to see him with my own cousin?" She shook her head. "Jacob told you about the telepathy?"

Bella nodded.

"Well, imagine hearing the thoughts of the man you love, while he's thinking about the woman he loves, and that woman isn't you, and the way he loves her… It's so much bigger than how he ever loved you. Sam tried to control it, but it was there, right in my mind, all the time."

Bella shook her head. She couldn't even imagine how painful that must have been.

Leah pinched off the burning end of the cigarette and stomped the ember out carefully in the grass. She tucked the butt into the pocket of her jeans.

"And, well, Sam could hear my thoughts, you know? So, when I started having these thoughts about getting even, ruining their lives the way they'd ruined mine, he could hear them. I thought about taking pictures, selling our story, making them freaks, anything to stop this delirious, perfect happiness of theirs. I know it's awful, but I couldn't help thinking it. I never would have done it; it was just fantasy, something to do with all my anger and hurt. But the thoughts were specific enough and frequent enough that Sam was really worried. He told Billy, and then Billy was worried, too. They didn't know what to do about me."

"And so, when Jacob left me because of the wolf, Billy didn't want to take any chances on another angry female wanting revenge," Bella said.

"Yeah," Leah said. "I'm not saying that he was right. I'm just saying that I really scared them all for a while. So, try to remember that it's not as personal as it must feel."

Bella didn't say anything. She was glad that Leah told her, but she didn't know if it could change how she felt about Billy and Sam at this point. They'd hit her low, and they'd hit her while she was down. It's hard to let something like that go.

"But things are better now?" Bella asked. "You seem… really happy, actually."

Leah smiled and flushed. She opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment, the door to the house opened again. Bella and Sue moved aside, and a young woman stepped out. She wore a long nightgown covered by a robe. Her long hair was messy from sleep.

"Good morning, Sue," the woman said. She was slim, petite, maybe an inch or two over five feet. She had the dark hair and deep coloring of the other Quileute women, but Bella didn't recognize her.

Leah, however, looked at the woman like she was everything in the universe, all the questions and answers and possibilities that have ever been or would be, contained in one slightly shivering body.

"Hi," Leah breathed. She went to the woman and embraced her, kissing her gently on the mouth. She leaned her forehead against the other woman's for a long moment, her eyes closed. After a moment, with some effort, she broke away and turned to Bella. "Bella, I'd like you to meet Malina, my girlfriend."

"Oh, wow!" Bella said, then flushed. "God, I'm sorry. Hi, Malina. It's very nice to meet you. I'm Bella." She jumped up and held her hand out to Malina.

Malina shook it, laughing. "Nice to meet you, Bella," she said.

"To answer your question, Bella," Leah said, "Yes, I'm really happy now. I can forgive Sam now, and I think he's forgiven me. Hell, I've even thanked him for cutting me loose. See, I thought I loved Sam... But, I get it now. I was born for a greater love than that. I was born for her."

Bella felt her own face flush as Leah bent and kissed Malina again. Sue smiled at Bella in sympathy. Her expression seemed to say, Yeah, I know, they're like this all the time.

"Come on inside for a minute, Bella," Sue said out loud. "I'll send some coffee cake home with you."

Bella gave Sue a look of gratitude and followed her inside.

Bella leaned against the counter while Sue cut a big square of cinnamon coffee cake and lifted it into a plastic container.

"So the house is coming along?" Sue asked.

"Yup. I'm maybe halfway done? I need to get to the attic still, but Charlie's bedroom is mostly done, and I've done a lot of cleaning in the rest of the place. I still need to take care of the cars, and get the yard in shape. It's coming along, though."

Sue looked at Bella seriously. "Do you need any help with money right now? Until the house sells? I know Charlie's affairs were a bit of a mess when he passed."

"Uh, no," Bella said. "It's actually fine. Charlie had a will, some money in the bank, even a retirement account. For once, money is one thing that I'm actually not stressing out."

Sue looked confused.

"That's really odd," she said. "He'd made comments to me about how he was going to have to go live in the woods and live off of fish when he retired. Charlie wasn't really a saver."

"I don't know, Sue," Bella said. "But I went over his will with Jasper Cullen earlier this week—"

"Jasper Cullen?" Sue asked, alarmed. "Why?"

"Because… he was my dad's lawyer," Bella said.

Sue shook her head.

"No way," she said. "I mean, I'm honestly surprised that Charlie had a will at all. He was kind of a 'live in the moment' kind of guy. But a Cullen for his lawyer? No way."

"Why not?" Bella asked. "What's wrong with the Cullens?"

Sue bit her lip and glanced around restlessly. She took a quick sip of her coffee and made a face at the cold, bitter taste of it.

"Charlie and I didn't agree on everything," Sue said. "But one thing we were together on is that there is something wrong with that family. Charlie said they pinged his police instincts, and as for me… Well, I'll just say that I'll never trust them. You shouldn't either, Bella. And if they're involved in Charlie's business, or in your life in any way… You should be very, very careful."

The uneasiness in Bella's stomach from the night before returned.

"They've been very nice to me, Sue," Bella said. "And anyway, I'm almost done here. My business with them will be done soon."

"Okay, good," Sue said. She reached for Bella's hand, held it tightly for a moment. "Just remember, you can call me, or even Billy, if you ever need us. If… anything doesn't seem right. Call us, okay? We'll come right away, day or night."

"Sure, okay," Bella said, taking the container of food from Sue and heading for the door.

They said their goodbyes quickly, and Bella got back into her car. She'd left her phone sitting on the passenger seat. She picked it up and saw a missed call and voicemail from Edward Cullen. She set the phone down without listening to it.

A knot of tension built in her as she drove back toward Charlie's house. She didn't know what to do with Sue's warning. She'd been surprised when she felt the need to defend the Cullens to the older woman. It didn't make sense; she hardly knew them, and certainly had more than a few misgivings of her own. Despite the red flags that continued to be raised by her interactions with Edward, though, something inside of her stubbornly refused to see him as dangerous.

Which is why you really need to get the hell out of here, her mind responded, in Renée's voice this time. You're grocery shopping hungry, girl. You've been alone for too long, and this beautiful man appeared, and you just can't make a good decision as far as he goes. Wanting him to be good doesn't make him good, Bella.

She knew all that; god she knew. She knew she should leave. She should probably actually give the police a heads up, just to be safe. It's a dangerous world for a young woman alone; bad things did happen.

But what if she was wrong? What if he was her chance at something better, at something good, and she made the mistake of running away from him?

She pushed the tangled thoughts out of her mind, focusing instead on her plan for the day. She would finish up in Charlie's bedroom, get it empty, dust it and vacuum it and clean the windows. Then she'd call Goodwill and see if they'd do a pickup for the furniture, maybe tomorrow or the next day. She didn't need to keep playing house here, pretending she could stay, pretending that she had a life here. She'd move to a motel once the beds were gone and stay there until she could get back to Seattle.

And what then, Bella? another small voice inside her asked. More Law and Order? Days and days inside the apartment, alone? Pretending that you still have friends and a life in that place?

"I don't know!" she shouted into the empty car. "Maybe I'll get a cat. Maybe I'll go back to school or join the Peace Corps or the circus. I don't know; I just have to get out of here."

She turned on the radio, loud, and accelerated toward the house.

As she pulled into Charlie's driveway, she saw a familiar silver sedan parked across the street. As she opened her car door, Edward came walking toward her from the back yard, wiping his hands on his jeans. Bella looked around and saw that the weeds and edges of the lawn had been trimmed, as he'd promised. There were bits of grass and leaves stuck to the legs of Edward's pants. Bella imagined that, when he got closer, he would smell like sweat and grass and gasoline.

Edward smiled as he approached her.

"Good morning, Bella," he said. "I left you a message; I wanted to go ahead finish the yard before it got any colder."

It certainly was cold; there had been frost on the grass this morning when she'd left for La Push. Edward wasn't even wearing a jacket.

"Aren't you freezing?" Bella asked, stepping back from him.

Edward noticed her movement; he frowned, but stepped back as well, giving her more space.

"No," he said. "I stay warm when I work. Are you okay, Bella?"

"I'm fine," she said. "Just a minute, let me put this inside."

She went inside and put Sue's cake on the kitchen table. She leaned against it for a few minutes, deciding.

She could pretend the night with the bath tub didn't happen, that there was nothing to fear from Edward. They could go back to brunch and movies, and she could pretend that she wasn't afraid.

She could call Sue now, ask her to send someone by, just in case. Or she could call the police, tell them I know I'm just being silly but… And they'd understand. They'd warn him away, and run extra patrols around the place.

She could just lock her door and wait for him to leave.

Grow up, Bella, she ordered herself. Just deal with this.

Bella went outside, sat down on a long bench on Charlie's porch. She beckoned Edward to join her. His eyes studied her intently as he sat down.

"Edward, how did you know to come check on me the other night?" she asked.

"I told you, Bella. You called Jasper, and—"

"I didn't," she interrupted. "I checked my phone. I didn't call him. I actually don't think my phone left my purse at all that evening. But you were still there, right at the moment you needed to be. And I'm glad you were, believe me… But I have to know why. Are… Are you watching me, Edward?" She met his eyes, her heart pounding.

"Bella, I…" he looked away. When he looked back, his expression was carefully neutral. "There must be something wrong with your phone."

Bella nodded, feeling her heart sink. At least she knew now.

She sighed, and shifted away from him.

"Edward, I don't know why you've been helping me, or why you care about me at all. And… it's been nice. Having someone care. Having someone… to wonder about. It's been a little bit like being in a story, and you're this mysterious man who found me when I was hurting, when I needed help. It made me want to believe that, maybe, you'd be the one to help me." Bella looked up and saw him looking at her with undisguised longing. She looked away and rushed on.

"But you're lying to me, Edward. I see it, all the time. And I want to pretend that I don't, but… I just have to ask myself, if this is a story… What if you're the bad guy?"

Edward flinched as though she'd struck him.

"Bella," he said, his voice a low rasp. "I will never hurt you."

Bella looked down at her hands in her lap. A single tear ran down her cheek and landed on her wrist.

"I just don't know, Edward, and I can't take the chance. There's… not much left of me, you see. I have to be careful." She looked up at him with wet eyes. "This has to be goodbye, Edward."

He looked away. His face was agony.

"Bella, please—"

"Please just do what I'm asking you to," Bella said, the words tumbling out rapidly. "Please don't make this worse. I don't want to call the police. I don't want to believe you're that kind of bad guy. Please, please don't make it like that."

His face was a study in desperation. His mouth tried to form words, but none came out.

Finally, acceptance settled into his features. He swallowed hard, sat up straighter.

"Okay," he said. "It will be as you ask."

He stood up then and walked away from her, to his car. He didn't look back.

Bella watched him drive away, his car getting smaller and smaller, until it turned a corner and was gone. She wrapped her arms around herself and tried to feel relieved.