Chapter 23

Bella POV

I had spent my whole childhood living in the sun. From the time Renée took me from Forks we lived in sunny, costal California, until we moved to the sunnier, arid outskirts of Phoenix and I spent just about every moment of the day in vivid sunlight.

Until I moved back to Forks anyway.

There the sun barely shone, and most days it rained, unless of course it was cold enough to snow, like it was this Christmas. But I readjusted fairly quickly. And then I started dating vampires and the simple thought of spending a lazy morning stretched out in the sun with my favourite book no longer even occurred to me, let alone tempted me. Nowadays I found myself more likely to curl up in an armchair with a good blanket and book and often accompanied by Jasper. Or running through the forest surrounding Forks at a speed that didn't even register properly in my flawed human brain. Or acting as the ambassador to the pack of werewolves that had made themselves home just north of our town.

And although there were times my new life was stressful and I wished for a lazy day in the sun, I really did love it.

There were hard times, times when I was sure something was going to go awfully wrong and someone wouldn't come home, but there were great times too. I found the true love of my life, I made myself a new family, found some great friends and discovered a whole new world I never even knew existed.

Although I didn't always fit neatly into this world.

But that was something to worry about later, when I wasn't indulging in a bit of personal nostalgia and reading a book while laid out in the sun.

After our little trip to Port Angeles in November, Jasper and I had made good on our plans to get out of Forks every so often. I needed a chance to get away from the supernatural, and we both needed a chance to get out and just be together. So on a spur of the moment decision one say after school we decided to come and see Mom down in Florida, and it just so happened to work out perfectly to come over New Year's.

We arrived late last night, the day after Christmas, and I had a few hours this morning to spend with Mom by myself while it was sunny and Jasper was 'sleeping in', before a big storm front was going to roll in and leave us under pretty much constant cloud until we left in a couple days.

That was pure luck. But I wasn't going to question our good fortune.

So I endeavoured to enjoy the two hours of warm sun Alice had predicted I would get to myself this morning.

I had pretty much given up reading the book I'd borrowed from Mom when I heard the back door of the little yellow house on the beach swing open and shut and someone sit on the lounge chair beside mine. I was laying back with my eyes closed but I turned my head towards the newcomer, assuming it would me Mom.

"How's the book?" She asked.

"Honestly?" I said opening my eyes. "It's pretty terrible." I laughed and she joined me.

"I know, I know, but you know me, when I see a book sale I go crazy. I must get it from you." She joked.

"That must be it." I laughed.

Mom and I continued our easy conversation, catching up on everything from my time at school and her work to how things were going with Jasper and I. Of course we called each other frequently and had spoken about it, but there was something totally different when we were together. I told her about the dates I'd been on and she wanted to know all the details, and she laughed with me when I filled her in on the story behind the ring.

"You know, as much as I like Jasper, and from everything you've told me about him the last six months, I can see he makes you very happy and you would make a life work together, but marriage is a lot and you shouldn't rush into it." Mom offered the advice in one of her few moments of wisdom.

"I know Mom, don't worry we aren't going to rush into it." I answered turning to lay on my side so I could see her where she lay on the lounge chair beside me.

"It's not really in your nature to rush into things though is it?" She said with a laugh.

I laughed back and although I told her I agreed with her, I couldn't help but think about how I had rushed head first into this supernatural world without stopping to think about the possible consequences. And now it was far too late to leave and I just had to adapt and live with it.

And it was there, under the warm Florida sun with my Mom beside me that I came to a realisation. My whole life I had thought I would have a quiet, simple life. I would finish school, study English literature or something similar, maybe go on to teach it and maybe somewhere along the way find love. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be practically married before I even finished high school, and have been in more life or death situations than most people would be in their entire lives, and certainly not with the knowledge there would be more to come before things got easier. And even then, to make my life easier and spend forever with my love I needed to turn my back on everything.

It was a lot. More than I ever dreamed or expected or wanted. But it was what I had, and I would make it good. With the help of Jasper, our adopted family, and the people who had become my best friends, it would work out.

It was a pleasant little vacation in all. To see my Mom again was the best present Jasper could have ever given me, and I was so grateful for him helping me to organise and pay for my last minute trip; my birthday vouchers only covered so much and my savings account was best described as dismal. We saw in the New Year all together, Mom even allowed me a glass of champagne with her at home before we all sat on the beach and watched the fireworks, and shared our wishes for the year.

But as pleasant as it was, I was happy to be heading home. Our flight from Jacksonville left in just a couple of hours and I was taking one last quick walk along the water's edge with Mom while Jasper packed the rest of our belongings.

"I'm happy to see you so happy Bella, so full of life." She said as we walked hand in hand.

"What do you mean?"

"You've never been a carefree person, and I can see through that face of yours and I know you're stressed about something, but around Jasper you just have this happy energy and I am so happy to see it."

"Well Jasper is very calming to be around." I answered, not willing to go there about what I was stressing about, Mom could just carry on thinking it was about school or something.

"You're young and in love." She said, pausing before adding, "It suits you, far better than it ever suited me. Remember you are your own woman, and far more like Charlie than you are me, don't worry about repeating my mistakes."

I didn't know how to respond to that, but it was clear Mom thought I would be marrying Jasper sooner rather than later. And for whatever reason, the woman who told me not to marry before I was thirty, was giving me her blessing.

All too soon, Mom and I were standing in the little entrance of her little yellow house and saying our goodbyes while Jasper loaded the luggage into the back of the Uber that would take us to the airport.

I somehow kept my eyes dry, even knowing this was very possibly the last time I would ever see her, and I tried to keep it light. I hugged her tight, returned the kiss on her cheek and told her she was silly for crying while half-heartedly agreeing to make this a tradition, to come home for New Years, no matter where I ended up next year. I knew I'd never make it to another holiday with Mom.

I fell apart on the backseat with Jasper's arms around me once we watched Mom and Phil's waving figures pass out of sight, but by the time we were on the first of three flights home, my eyes were dry and my conscience clear; if the worst happened and I never saw Mom again at least she had these last good memories of me.

But of course in my life, good things didn't last and while sitting in the airport sipping a coffee while waiting for the second flight Alice called.

Jasper took the call and held my hand reassuringly and made sure he had all of the information before passing anything on to me. I tried not to pay attention until then. Here was not the time for me to lose my already shaky control and have a gift episode over another false alarm.

He looked grim as he turned to face me.

"First," He began, still sending the calming waves at me, "All the family are safe, Charlie and your friends too, but there has been an incident in Forks this morning, we'll have an escort home from Port Angeles."

I nodded and forced myself to keep breathing. Everyone was safe. Now. But it didn't matter that they may not have been earlier, they were safe now and that is all that matters. I nodded once again, signalling Jasper to continue on.

"There have been a couple of vampires hanging around Forks in the past week but they've managed to evade everyone." He said quietly as we moved to a quiet corner where we wouldn't be overheard.

Jasper sat down in the corner on his jacket, and pulled me down to sit across his lap, my back leaning against one of the walls, and my right side tucked snuggly into his chest with his arms around me, I felt safer than I ever have and I allowed myself a few deep breaths before I prompted him to continue.

"This morning, due to the increase in Vampire activity, Jacob and Quil made the transition to become wolves." I was shocked by that. I mean sure, I knew both the boys would probably join the pack at some point but they seemed so young to me.

"In all the chaos that caused, Victoria managed to get into town." He said quietly.

It took every ounce of will power, and more than a little help from Jasper, but I was able to keep my head in the present, where Jasper and I were sitting in a busy airport in the middle of the afternoon and I had been told everyone was safe.

"What did she do?" I managed to ask in a timid voice, unable to muster anything further.

"It looks like she randomly picked a couple of houses to go through until she found someone you were likely to know. She attacked a boy from school, Austin Marks."

She picked well. I knew him. Austin sat with us sometimes- well the human group sometimes- and was good friends with Ben. We had calculus together, and just a month ago after I told Angela about the day Jasper and I went to Port Angeles, he asked me about Jasper's motorbike and I introduced the two of them. I wouldn't say he was a friend, but I knew him.

"And is he…?" I asked in a clear, detached voice, willing myself to view this from afar and not get caught up in the emotions.

"They haven't found a body, it appears she took him, wherever she's been hiding out." Jasper responded.

The next several hours, and two plane trips passed in a blur and seemed to simultaneously drag out and be over in a moment. We hardly spoke. I curled up in the chairs with Jasper's arm around me and he did his best to help comfort me and keep me in the moment.

But I was struggling.

It was just like hearing about the random disappearances in Seattle.

I started thinking about Austin's family. I knew he had a younger brother, just a freshman at school. And over the summer I sold fishing gear to his father, he seemed like a nice enough man. They were a normal family.

And then they were dragged into this supernatural mess.

And there would never be any closure for them because they would never find a body. There would always be doubt in their minds about what happened to Austin.

And even knowing this was how this family would react, how any normal family would react, I was willing to put my own family through it.

Eventually we landed at the little airfield in Port Angeles, our little vacation over and our supernatural lives back in full swing.

After collecting our luggage we easily spotted Emmett's Jeep in the parking lot, my bear-like brother hanging out of the driver's side window with his face turned up in the light rain, enjoying the feeling on his face. A more subdued looking Rosalie sat beside him, and as we approached, Edward climbed out of the back seat and helped me in out of the rain.

"Ah look the two lovebirds are back from their romantic getaway!" Emmett's voice boomed through the car as he pulled himself out from the rain, shaking his head like an overgrown dog and splashing water over us all, eliciting a hiss from Rosalie and a glare from the rest of us.

"Ah yes, very romantic staying with my mother." I quipped back. "I'm sure Jasper really enjoyed sleeping on the sofa bed in the spare room."

"Oh like he didn't just sneak into your room the moment your mother went to bed." Rosalie joked.

The mood in the car was heavy, but it seemed everyone was willing to just ignore the bigger problem for the time being. It must have been all they had done all day, much like we did. But it could wait until the morning.

"You're staying at our place tonight Bella." Edward said as we neared Forks. "Charlie sends his regards but he is understandably worried about you spending the night alone and he's caught up at the station."

"Understandable." I answered, not willing to let the conversation go any further.

I didn't say another word that night. Not as we pulled up to the house and Esmé greeted me with a big hug. Not as I followed Jasper up the stairs to our room where he left our bags. Not as I grabbed my toiletries bad from my suitcase and made my way to the bathroom for a long, hot shower.

I barely slept, all I could do was wonder how many people would be affected in this tiny town before all of this supernatural mess could be sorted out. Before Victoria could be stopped. We needed to do more, and we needed to do it soon, before she could slaughter every single person I had a connection with on the off chance that it would force me to react.

And that was what it came down to, she wanted us to react because all she knew of us was how we all reacted back in Phoenix. Where I wasn't thinking straight and acted impulsively, and that forced everyone else to be reactive. But this time I wasn't going to play into that. I would make sure I knew what was happening and I would never jeopardise it all like that again.

I was no longer the irresponsible teenager I had been then. I was an adult and it was time to act like it.

"You're feeling better this morning." Jasper stated as I buried myself into his chest. I simply nodded as he rolled onto his back and rested my chin on the centre of his chest as I spoke to him.

"I realised I think I know what she wants." I said, my voice far less sleep filled than it should be at this early hour of the morning.

"And what might that be?"

"Think about it, the first and only time she has seen us all, was that damned baseball game. Then everything else she knows of us comes from the following days where I was often kept in the dark and had little-to-no idea of what was happening." I started, taking a pause to rearrange my thoughts.

"She saw me at my most impulsive and everyone else simply reacting." I continued. "She doesn't know that in this family we have centuries of experience in dealing with people worse than her."

Jasper hummed his agreement of that statement. "So what do you think we should do then?" He asked. I understood why he would seem a little sceptical, I was the least experienced in this out of everyone, but that was why I knew it would work. I didn't have previous experience to give me prejudice to the situation. I was a fresh brain.

"She likes being on the front foot. She likes it when we are the reactive ones with no control. We need to flip it, force her to react to the situation when we are in control." I finished my theory. It wasn't a lot, but it was more than we had before.

"We need to go to Seattle." Jasper added after a few moments to think.

"You think she's there?" I asked, somewhat shocked because until now I thought we had thought Seattle was unrelated to Victoria.

"I know she is, it makes too much sense." He answered, his eyes darkening as he thought about all of the potential possibilities. "She mustn't know about my past, or she greatly underestimates how important I was and thinks I won't recognise the patterns."

"She's building an army?"

"It makes perfect sense, and I'd bet she's just recruited herself a local to help out."

I lay in silence with Jasper for a few minutes, caught up in the fact that we may have just figured out Victoria's whole game plan, and also the fact that she now had Austin. If he wasn't dead already, then he would be in unimaginable pain, and he wouldn't survive long. She had him and I was sure she would make sure he was loyal to her, he would not survive this war he had been unwittingly thrown into.

"If we find his body then I'll know I'm wrong." Jasper broke the silence. "But I have a bad feeling I'm right."

"We should fill everyone else in on this." I suggested.

"They heard," Jasper smiled, "But they would like us to join them in the living room so we can discuss it in further detail."

"Of course!" I laughed. "You think I'll ever remember you all have super hearing?" Jasper joined in the laughing and I could hear a deeper rumbling laugh in the hallway outside our room.

"I don't know," Emmett laughed from outside our door, just loud enough for me to hear clearly. "It's pretty funny how you seem to forget we can hear everything."

I blushed bright red but couldn't do anything other than yell "Emmett!" through my laughter and allow Jasper to drag me out of bed.

Even in the darkness that was a missing boy and an apparently looming war, I was with my family and my family would all be there for me, helping me to see the normality in life through the darkness.

A.N.: Hey guys, sorry for the delay, I hope you enjoy this update. Everything is about to change gears and get a little crazy, leading up to the climax of this story. I'm more than a little annoyed with myself for how much this has been dragged out, and I know you guys are probably feeling the same but things are about to move along faster than they have before.

Also, yeah I've introduced Austin Marks basically into the role movie!Riley had, but I just thought it might be a little better if there was a character we kind of knew in the role of 'local sucked in to guide the villian'. We don't really know him though so I hope it doesn't break anyone's heart that I'm treating him as a disposable character.

Let me know what you think of this chapter, and I'm trying to get back onto the regular updating schedule but I am working two jobs so things might not be super regular.