A/N - maybe 1 or 2 more

Previously:

Turning her big brown eyes to me, she skipped up to me, mud splashing around her boots. "Ok momma, I'm ready!" And she snaked her hand into mine.

My eyes drifted back up and locked with Ness's. For a long, timeless I stared deep into Ness's wide, chocolate brown eyes, the color, shape, and depth seeming so familiar; and then, suddenly, like the turning on of a light bulb, everything suddenly became clear in my mind.

I knew, now, why this girl seemed so familiar.

Of course she looked familiar. Of course she did.

Maybe the fact she was married to Jacob Black slowed down my cognitive process, but now that I understood, there was no denying it. In fact, it was so obvious to me now, the veil that had somehow hidden the obvious truth torn away.

Looking again, it was all so clear.

The hair - the color of copper pennies.

The jaw and nose - patrician straight, perfect, flawless.

The pale white skin - with a rosy hued blush at the center of her cheeks.

The lips - slightly out of balance.

And finally, the eyes - deep, dark, multi-hued, the color of melted chocolate, set wide in her face, doe eyed and irresistible.

I was looking at the child of Edward and Bella Cullen.

Chapter 3

The realization of what - no, rather who - I was looking at brought my mind to a screeching halt. I felt my heart thudding in my chest, and my earlier excitement when I discovered that Bella still lived got pushed somewhere else in my consciousness as the truth of this girl's parentage rocked me to my core.

How? How was this possible?

At that moment, something on my face must have given me away - perhaps my stupefied expression? - as a pair of beautiful brown eyes stared back at me with sudden awareness in them, her gaze sharpening and all pretenses suddenly falling away.

Somehow, this girl...Ness..recognized that I knew the truth.

Bella's daughter...well, her mother was always perceptive...

My hand came up unbidden, covering my mouth and suppressing the strangled, hysterical laugh that tried to force it's way out as my mind finally kicked back into gear.

I was looking at a fully grown woman, who was somehow the daughter of my 35 year old best friend!?

How? How was this possible? This girl looked like she was twenty one, maybe twenty two years old, not even close to the expected sixteen or so that she must be if Bella had given birth immediately after their honeymoon...

How?

Ridiculous theories ran through my head. Were Bella and Edward a couple before she came to Forks? Were they pretending in the beginning - did they really know each other beforehand?

My eyes ran over Ness's face and figure, trying to discern the truth. Could she be a bit younger? Could she be 16?

There was no way. This girl...this woman...had a fully mature face and figure. Maybe you could convince me she was 19, but 18? That would be a stretch, and any younger...just ridiculous. Especially as she was married to Jacob Black!

No, this girl was not a teenager, no way; but even if I could somehow believe she was 18 years old, that would still mean Bella had her when she was only 17 herself.

I furiously ran through my memories of Bella in high school, trying to remember a time - any time - when Bella wasn't her thin, willowy self.

But I couldn't: I could not find a single memory that would indicate she was ever pregnant.

How was this possible then?

A premature birth maybe? Before she was showing? Or a test tube baby?

Was Jess right? Did they only get married because she was pregnant?

As my mind raced through more and more theories to explain away what was standing right in front of my incredulous eyes, Ness stepped closer to me, her hand gently squeezing my upper arm in a gesture of support.

She wasn't trying to pretend, she knew that I knew.

Up close, her brown eyes were so familiar to me; wide, kind, warm: Bella's eyes, to a T.

She was smiling gently at me, leaning closer and talking softly. "Its okay, Angela. Everything is okay. I promise."

I nodded jerkily and tried to slow my breathing, and I began to slowly relax as the wonder of this girl's existence seeped into my consciousness.

Bella had a daughter. A stunning, full grown daughter.

I wanted to shout in happiness for my friend, but I needed to understand how this was possible.

"But...how?" I finally asked. "How are...," I trailed off, not even sure what I wanted to say, suddenly aware of the two men behind me, and Jacob Black's imposing presence a few feet away.

Jacob stepped closer, a concerned look on his face; and despite Ness's calm demeanor his size intimidated me and I tried to take a step back.

"Jacob, wait," Ness said in a surprisingly commanding tone, and he settled back on his heels. "Jake, please go call Alice. Tell her what's going on."

And then she turned back to look at me, her eyes thoughtful, before she turned again to Jacob. "And try my mom."

Jacob looked carefully at me, his eyes darting back and forth across my face. Whatever he must have seen there satisfied him and nodded, stepping past me and walking up to Charlie and Billy. He leaned down, whispering quickly and quietly to them even as he pulled a cell phone from his pocket.

I looked back at Ness, who gave me another warm smile. "I've always wanted to meet you, Angela," Ness confided, causing my eyes to widen. "Whenever I used to ask my mom about her friends from Forks high, the only person she ever really talked about was you."

Despite the crazy circumstances, the thudding of my heart, and the feeling like I was standing on the edge of some tall precipice, her words made me smile, and I felt tears suddenly blurring my vision.

Bella.

The name brought so many memories, many of them hazy with the long decade since I'd seen her last.

And standing in front of me, her daughter; a miracle, that I could not comprehend...

When she smiled at me again, I felt myself relaxing further. She had an amazing quality to her that simply made you like her, like it was as inevitable as the rise of the sun.

"But...but how?" I finally managed to ask. "How is this possible?"

"It's a long story, and not really mine to tell," she answered. "And you've caught us at a bad time, the whole family has either left or is leaving today for a wedding overseas and won't be back for two weeks."

When I opened my mouth to reply, Jacob walked up behind me, the cell phone in his hand thrust out to Ness. "It's Alice."

Ness nodded, and gave me a soft squeeze to my arm. "Excuse me for one second," she said kindly, stepping away and putting the phone to her ear. She began to speak very quietly and very quickly, like one of those radio advertisement speakers that tried to cram a hundred words warning into the last five seconds of airtime.

"Mommy?" a small voice startled me from my musing, and I looked down at Audrey. "What's going on?" I gripped her soft hand, letting her ground me.

"Grown up stuff, honey. I promise everything is fine." And as I relaxed further, really understanding the amazing revelations I'd just witnessed, I leaned down and kissed her plump cheek. "Better than fine, baby. Really."

"Okay," she answered, smiling even as her eyes looked for the puppy.

I watched as Ness spoke on the phone for a few more seconds, before she walked back up to me. "Angela? Can you speak with Alice for a moment?"

Taking a deep breath, I nodded, still reeling from the events of the past few minutes.

I took the phone, and held it up to my ear with a shaky hand. "Hello?"

A tinkling voice I'd not heard in over a decade - and even lovelier than I'd remembered - laughed quietly into my ear. "Angela, it's great to speak with you," twitted the angelic voice of Alice Cullen.

"You...you too, Alice," I stuttered.

Alice spoke in a calming manner. "I know you are confused, Angela, I know. And I wish I could have seen this coming. But never mind that now, I need to ask you for a favor."

I had forgotten what talking with Alice was like; she was like a spinning top, darting around from one thing to the next, a blur of motion and energy. "What favor, Alice?" I finally asked, feeling like I had to catch my breath after listening to her speak.

"I need you to wait two weeks. Two weeks, and your questions will be answered. In Seattle. Please don't say a word to anyone about today's...surprises...and I promise you will be glad for waiting. And I'll owe you one."

Once again, I felt like I was standing on the edge of a precipice; a strange sense of stepping away from my everyday reality slipped over me, and I realized I'd often felt like this when in the presence of the Cullens.

And with a shiver, I realized the last time I'd felt this was when I sat with Bella at my wedding, realizing that something...big...had changed wit her.

"Two weeks?" I finally said, my mind again in turmoil.

"Yes. In two weeks, you'll have a visitor, in Seattle."

As her words registered, a tear leaked from my eye and excitement thrummed in my veins; I knew exactly who this visitor was going to be, and I was suddenly eager to talk with her right now. "Can...can she call me? Can I call her?"

There was a long silence on the phone, and for a moment I thought we might have been disconnected; but then Alice was speaking again. "She's on a plane at the moment, and I'm not sure if she can call while she is away. It might not be...wise." More silence, and then I thought I heard her mutter 'email', but I wasn't sure. Again a long silence, and then she was speaking again. "I will see what I can do," she finally said. "But if you don't hear back from...anyone...then I promise you will see her in two weeks."

Taking a deep breath, I let myself relax despite the pounding of my heart. "Okay, Alice. Two weeks. I've waited 7 years for this, I can wait two more weeks."

And with a quick goodbye, I handed the phone back to Ness, feeling a deep sense of spiritual contentment. More tears leaked down my cheeks, but I felt nothing but joy.

My eyes wandered down to my daughter, playing again with the puppy, and I thought about how unlikely and amazing the set of circumstances that led me to this driveway, on this day, actually were. I had arrived, at just the precise moment, to hear a very specific conversation, and then to meet the daughter of my long lost friend...

As more tears fell, I thought back to something my father often said at his services; he had been a Minister for a long time, and he was a true believer. And always...always he would remind me that God worked in mysterious ways.

And as my eyes rested on the beautiful woman who closed her phone and raised her warm, familiar brown eyes back up to meet mine, I knew that, whatever else may happen, I might be a believer too.

And best of all... I would be seeing my old friend before the end of the month.

Amazing.

A/N- hope you enjoyed! let me know!