A/N: Well, the response to the last chapter blew me away, guys! You can tell that this is not a "Jacob is great" story, huh? LOL.

Well, every action has consequences, and this chapter will be just the beginning. The main arc in the story starts here, and is just a beginning. I hope that you will all continue to enjoy, and leave me more reviews! I live for every last one of them!

Chapter 13: The Path Forward

Bella

I woke up curled in a ball on my bed with Edward stretched out next to me. His arm was around me, holding me close. I shifted, stretching, and his hand began moving up and down my arm in a comforting gesture. I turned around so I could look at him. He smiled at me, kissing my forehead.

"How are you feeling, love?" He asked, his face full of concern.

Love? How long had he been calling me that? Did I just now notice? "I'm ok. I guess I totally crashed out." I sat up, still a little disoriented. Suddenly, it all started coming back to me. I gasped, staring over at him. "Where's Charlie? Is he ok?"

He sat up, looking at me carefully. "He's ok, love. Esme is taking him to our friends in Alaska. He's in the middle of changing."

"Changing?" And then I remembered. I had asked Carlisle to save him; just as Edward's mother had done so many years ago. "Will I ever see him again?"

Edward leaned over and kissed my arm. "Yes, love. You will definitely see him again. He just needs time to orient himself to his new life, that's all."

"I should call Renee." I got up and fished my cell phone out of my jacket that was sitting on the floor. The screen did not unlock; the battery must have died. I leaned over my desk, picking up my charger and plugged it in. Once it registered it was charging, I turned it on. I waited for it to boot up, before clicking on the phone icon. As soon as I hit send to call Renee, I remembered. "Wait, she doesn't have her cell phone any more. Crap."

I looked up at Edward, who had shifted to sitting on the bed. "How am I supposed to contact her?"

He shook his head. "I'm not sure, honestly. Do you want us to try and find her for you?"

I thought about that for a moment. If we did find Renee, she would have to come for me. I was a minor, and wasn't legally able to live on my own. I shook my head at him, turning the screen off on my phone. I set it down on the desk and walked back over to the bed, sitting down next to him and leaning my head against his shoulder. "She has her new life now. I don't want to bother her."

He wound his arms around me, shifting me so that I was on his lap. I leaned my head down on his shoulder again, slipping my arms around him, too. "I'm sorry you are going through all of this. I wish I could make it better."

I leaned back so I could look at him. "You do make it better. You make everything better."

He smiled my favorite crooked grin and leaned in, capturing my lips. I returned the kiss gently at first, but I felt heat building up in my stomach. Soon, I shifted my legs so I was straddling him, bringing my arms around his shoulders and pulling him closer to me. His arms dropped to my hips, bringing me closer still and rubbing along my legs.

I knew he had limits, and I was stretching them already by being this close. I just wanted to be near him. I wasn't kidding when I told him that he made everything better. His very presence helped me to calm like nothing else. But knowing him as I did, I pulled back taking a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Edward." I looked down, biting my lip. He surprised me by chuckling, and kissing my nose.

"Don't be sorry for that, love. I could kiss you all day." And then as if to prove it, he brought his mouth back to mine. His hands continued to rub on my legs as he deepened the kiss. He had never kissed me like this before. His mouth had been mostly off-limits; but his lips covered his teeth while his tongue entered my mouth.

I moaned into his mouth, and that was the mistake I made. So quickly I didn't realize what was happening, I was shoved on the bed and Edward was against the far wall. His arms bracing himself, as if he was holding back.

I apologized again, not looking at him. My head was in turmoil. If my own boyfriend couldn't be around me, what chance did my father have? Edward was wrong, I wasn't going to see Charlie again. He wouldn't be able to be around me at all. The bloodlust that they all fight every day would be worst for him because he would be young, as they called it. I hung my head in shame and sadness, as it totally overwhelmed me.

Edward came closer to me, kneeling down and putting his hands on my legs again. "I'm so sorry, Bella. That was unforgivably rude."

"I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable. I'll be better next time, I promise." I still hadn't looked at him.

He brought his hand to my chin, moving it so that I was looking right at him. "It wasn't you, love. Well, it sort of was, but not in the way you are thinking." He pursed his lips together as if trying to hold back a smile. "Would it make sense if I told you that I am only a man?"

I cocked my head to the side. "No?"

Slowly, so as to not frighten me, Edward pushed me back onto the bed so I was laying in the middle. He crawled over me, settling between my legs, carefully putting a little of his weight on me. I felt hardness between his legs, gently pushing into me. He kissed me softly and then sat back up, staring into my eyes.

Then I got it. What he was trying to say. "Oh," I said, eloquently. I shifted a little under him, causing the friction I desperately wanted, and I watched his eyes darken.

"Can you feel what you are doing to me?" he asked, his eyes black.

I giggled. Yes - I actually freaking giggled at him. His lips came down on mine, harder than usual. I slipped my arms up his back, just relishing the feel of him on top of me. I brought one of my hands up to the back of his head, gently tugging on his hair as he kissed me harder.

Soon – way too soon – he pulled back, a look of frustration on his face. "Go away, Alice," he said to the room. He didn't look away from me.

"Unless you want to be caught by the Forks PD in this situation, you'll listen to me, Edward!" came the reply from the other side of my bedroom door.

He sighed and stood up off the bed. He glanced down at me; eyes still dark. "We need to get you up, love. We will have visitors shortly."

I got out of bed then, disappointed about losing my alone time with Edward and made my way downstairs. Since I hadn't changed the night before, I just walked downstairs in those same clothes. No one would really care, anyway.

As we waiting for our visitors, I grabbed a bowl and some cereal, pouring myself some. "So, what's the story?" I glanced up and Edward and Alice, noticing that Elizabeth was in the living room. She smiled and walked closer.

"Charlie was injured when he fell in the forest," Liz explained. "Carlisle just happened to be here, and assessed quickly that it was a spine injury. Instead of calling an ambulance, Carlisle called a friend of his upstate and got Charlie in to a treatment facility. They are still assessing his injuries now."

I nodded, taking a bite of my cereal before it got mushy. "And that's all I am supposed to know, right?"

She nodded, a sad look on her face.

"Ok. I can do that. Have I spoken to him?" Liz shook her head. "Got it." I didn't go into anything more. If I was going to do this, I needed to remember the lie over anything else right now. After the officers left, then I would ask about the future. How this was going to work with my father gone, where was I going to go, etc. This was enough for now.

I was almost done with my cereal when two cruisers pulled into my driveway. I glanced out the window; I recognized the young officers, but I couldn't put names to their faces. Charlie had introduced me to everyone several times when I came up here before, and my first week here, but I couldn't think of any of their names.

I met them at the door, not willing to extend this visit any longer than it had to be. They walked through the door, as I opened it for them. They both looked at me with sad eyes, just as Liz had, but they came in and stayed in the doorway.

"Do you want to sit down?" I offered, pointing to the living room.

"No, ma'am. We just wanted to come by and give you an update." The shorter of the two glanced around at Edward, Alice and Liz who were all standing behind me. "We heard from the hospital that has Charlie."

I faked my eyes getting excited. "Really? How is he?"

The other one's eyes narrowed at me. "He's as well as can be expected. His injuries were as bad as Dr. Cullen said yesterday, apparently. They assured me that if they hadn't gotten to him when they did that he may have never walked again."

I visibly sighed for them. "But he will walk again? He'll be ok?"

"They don't know that yet, unfortunately. They were still assessing him when they called. They just wanted to give us an update, since they hadn't been able to reach you."

"Oh, ok." I had run out of things to say. The officer's eyes were still narrowed at me and it was making me uncomfortable and worried with my performance.

"Are you ok, Miss Swan? Do you need anything?" he asked me, not taking his eyes off of me. "Have you been able to reach your mother?"

I shook my head. "No, Edward and Alice, along with their mother, stayed with me last night. I don't have any way of contacting my mom, unfortunately. I just have to wait until she calls me."

"Why is that, Miss Swan?"

I almost yelled at him, asking what business it was of his. "My mother and stepfather are on a trip right now around the US. She got rid of her cell phone and only calls me on payphones. I don't even know where she is right now."

He never looked away from me. I asked him to wait a second, and I ran upstairs to get my cell that was still charging on my desk. It was at 40%, so I grabbed it and ran back down. I brought up the voice mail Renee had left me, putting my phone on speaker. I let the officers listen to the message, stubbornly staring, daring them to question me again.

Fortunately, this seemed to appease narrow-eyes, and he changed his expression. They asked me a few questions regarding the night before, and I repeated what Liz had told me. I said I really didn't know more than that, because I had totally passed out after he had left. I was really stressed, I told them. I was able to display real shock when they asked me if I remembered them coming over the night before. Since no one had told me that, I hadn't known.

"I took her to her room after Charlie left. She was really upset, as you can imagine, having seen her father in that condition." Edward walked up next to me, putting his arm around me. I leaned into him, just waiting for all of this to be over.

"Mrs. Cullen, what are your plans now?" the officer asked, looking at Liz.

"Carlisle and I were planning on driving her up to stay with Charlie. We need to get her packed up today, but will get out on the road as soon as possible." Liz's face was nothing but calm. I made sure not to change my face at her words, as if I knew she was going to say them already.

The officer nodded. "Thank you, ma'am. Please make sure Charlie calls us as soon as he can. We need to make sure his minor daughter gets to him. Otherwise, we have to track down her mother. She cannot stay on her own."

Liz nodded and smiled. "Yes, Carlisle already gave the nursing staff instruction to have Charlie call you as soon as he is able to. I promise I will do the same once Bella is with him."

The officers left after that, and I was grateful. I went back to my now mushy cereal, tossing it in the sink to worry about later. I turned to face the vampires in the room. "I'm assuming you aren't taking me to see Charlie," I said, glancing around at their sad faces. "So, where are you taking me?"

Edward stepped forward, putting his arms around me. "We have a few options, love. I wanted you to be awake before we made those choices. Mother says that there are three options we have that won't cause any issue for us, but Alice can't see until you make a choice."

I nodded, only half understanding him. He told me about their powers, but I really didn't understand exactly how it worked. So, I asked him to go on.

"We have a small house in rural British Columbia that we could go to. We only need to remain out of the public eye for about a year or so, depending on Charlie's resiliency. We can test his control well before he sees you," Edward explained.

I thought about living in British Columbia; I had heard it was really pretty. But I also tried to imagine what Edward would mean by a small house. Did that mean it would just be him and I there? Would the rest of his family be there?"

"No, that's no good," Alice said, stepping forward. Edward frowned, looking at her. "Try one of the other places, Edward."

I glanced between them. "Do I get to know why that's a bad idea? Or are you just going to tell me no and move on?" I raised an eyebrow at them.

"The area of British Columbia we were going to live in has a coven of vampires living close to it. We will draw their attention."

I nodded. "Ok, then, what's the next option?"

"We could go to Maine. We also have a house there that we haven't been to in about a decade."

"Maine? You want me to move to the entire other side of America from my Dad?" I almost yelled at them.

Edward shook his head. "Charlie will be in Alaska, love. He's going to be far away from you anyway."

"No, I do not want to go to Maine. No way. What's the last option?"

"There is a cabin that Carlisle took Mother and I after we were changed. It's in the Northwest Territories. It's quite isolated, but we can stock it up with everything you need."

I considered for a minute; that made it sound fine, I guess. Suddenly, I was tired. Exhausted from everything I'd experienced. I nodded to him, not even trusting my voice. He glanced at Alice, who nodded also. I guess that was the place.

Edward and Alice helped me to pack for my year of seclusion. I couldn't really think of it in any other way. Charlie was isolated due to necessity, and I guess I had to be as well. If the police thought that I was with him, I had to stay out of sight so that no one would see me without him. Several questions bubbled up in my head, but I wasn't sure I wanted to ask any of them; I had forgotten Alice's gift for a minute.

"It's ok, Bella. You can ask us." Alice sat on the side of my bed, folding the clothes that I was bringing her, placing them into the suitcase.

"Who is coming with me? Am I staying by myself?" I didn't look at her. I wanted to find out without making my feelings known.

"Edward to start. The rest of us may join in a few months. For right now, though, the thought is that we had Edward stay with you and your dad in the hospital upstate while the rest of us continued to go to school."

I nodded, secretly crazy excited that it was just Edward coming with me. "That makes sense. Don't want everyone to think you moved the entire family just to stay near me. No human family would do that."

"Exactly. So, Edward will drive you away, after signing you up for online school in the state. He'll help you finish high school in the cabin. Once an acceptable amount of time has passed, we'll all join you."

I risked a glance at Edward, who was standing in my closet with me. He smirked, his eyes darkening in the dim light of the room. I smiled back at him, when Alice shrieked at me.

"Oh, Bella, please stop that. I really don't want to see that!" I walked out into the room to see Alice with her hands over her eyes.

I laughed. "Then stop looking, you crazy fortune teller."

Edward laughed as well, knowing full well what I had been thinking based on Alice's vision. We continued for some time before I asked my next question.

"What about the treaty? I know Billy broke it already, according to Edward. But what about Carlisle biting Charlie? Has anyone said anything yet?" I glanced between the two, biting my lip again.

"Don't worry about the wolves, Bella. They understood that they were at fault first; I doubt anything will happen with them," Edward assured me, touching my back lightly.

"But what do you see, Alice? Do you see anything bad happening with them? And what about Jacob? Does he understand what he did?"

Alice looked uncomfortable for a moment before answering. "I can't see when the wolves are nearby. Something about them blocks my visions, so I'm not sure unfortunately. As for Jacob, I'm not sure there either. Esme said that the others were restraining him when she left to come back for Charlie. That's the last I heard."

"We'll sort it out, ok? Mother and Carlisle will talk with Sam and Billy. Don't worry about it, love." But I saw worry etched on Edward's face as he glanced at Alice. Her eyes met his and they sort of stared at each other for a few minutes.

"What?" I said, glancing between the two of them. "What aren't you telling me?"

Edward looked guilty for a moment, before smiling a sad smile. "According to the other wolves in your house last night, Jacob took off after they restrained him. He found out what happened to Charlie and became enraged, until he realized that it was because of what he did that Charlie was being changed."

"I don't understand. Jacob took off?"

"From what I was hearing, it sounded like he was so upset that he cut himself off from the rest of the group. They lost the ability to hear his thoughts when he made the decision. He took off running south, and they couldn't catch up to him."

"Wait, hold on. Hear his thoughts? I thought only you could hear people's thoughts?" I was really confused. Was this mind reading thing going around to others, too?

Edward shook his head. "It's a wolf thing. When they are in that form, they have a sort of shared telepathy. They can each hear the other's thoughts. But when Jacob made the decision to leave, they couldn't hear him anymore."

"Huh," I said, thinking hard. That was definitely strange, but what wasn't strange about the situation I was in? I pushed past it. "But we are sure that Jacob won't come after you or Esme again?"

"No, Bella. We aren't sure. That's part of why we need to get you to a remote place. We don't want Jacob finding Edward." Alice stood up, and took the pile of clothes in my hands that I had forgotten I was carrying. She turned back to the bed and started folding the pile.

"What about Esme?"

Alice shook her head. "Esme is with our cousins in Alaska. She is well protected. So is Charlie."

"Wait, did they make it there already? So fast?"

"Not yet, but they are almost there. Probably in the next few hours we'll hear from her."

I made a snide comment about how fast they drove, which caused them both to laugh. We continued packing for my journey, but in silence. I had asked my questions, for now. I'm sure more would come later.

Esme

I rounded the bend on the house in Denali trying to clear my head before seeing our cousins. Charlie's journey had been hard on me. He screamed and writhed, just like I remember Rose and Emmett doing after they were changed. I had hurt for them also, but having my mate do it? That was the purest form of torture. I couldn't hold back my sadness as I saw Tonya and Irena come out to meet me.

Eleazer and Carmen came up and carried Charlie into the secondary house to the side of the property, while I threw myself at Tonya and Irena, all but collapsing in their arms.

"It's going to be ok, Esme. Listen to his heart. It's beating strong. Carlisle was in time," Tonya soothed, holding me a little tighter. I sobbed into her shoulder.

"I know how hard it is to see someone you love go through this," Irena said, also with her arms around me. "We are here for you cousin. And I promise to keep you both safe, ok?"

I leaned back, trying to calm myself down. "Thank you. I don't know where else I could have gone. I have to be with him, keep him safe. I don't know what will happen when the wolves figure out where we are."

"Kate is running the perimeter now. She'll make sure there are no traces of the mutts getting close to us. I promised we would protect you when Liz called, and we will." Tonya's face was fierce. "Let's get you fed first, though. Carmen and Eleazer will stay with Charlie until you get back."

I nodded in approval, and we set off toward the Alaskan forest that surrounded their house. We took down a couple of moose easily, and I had to admit that it did make me feel better. But I was really itching to get back to Charlie. I didn't want him to suffer this alone.

Tonya seemed to understand, and we flew back to the house. Once we were there, I heard his heartbeat and the loud moaning. My own dead heart was crushed listening to him in pain, but I held on to it. I knew he would be fine; Carlisle had assured me that we had gotten to him in time, and I knew his body was already changing.

"I didn't want this for him, Tonya," I whispered, standing right outside the door to the cottage. I knew that everyone could hear me. "We never even discussed it as an option. We just loved each other. What if he resents me?"

Tonya came over and put her arm around me. "He loves you, Esme. It's going to be ok; I promise. He may be upset when he wakes, but soon he will release that this means he gets to keep you forever. We all struggle at first, but you come to accept it. He will as well."

I didn't say anything, but I pushed past her and opened the door. Charlie was on the bed, and he was still moaning. The pain must have been awful. I walked over to him and tentatively put my hand on his. He didn't shy away from it, so I kept it there, silently hoping he didn't hate me when he woke up.

Edward

We stopped by my house to say goodbye, and to pick up my own clothes. Mother had already packed for me, but I made the excuse I needed to get a few things so that I could speak with her privately. Bella walked into the house and immediately hugged Carlisle, thanking him for saving her father.

I left her with my family, and walked up into my room. Mother was waiting for me, sitting on my couch next to the window. I sat down next to her, taking her hand in mine.

"I don't know if I'm strong enough for this, Mother. It's so hard to watch her in pain."

She patted my hand. "I understand, dear. You have to understand that she is feeling abandoned right now. Her father is not reachable, and honestly neither is her mother. She feels alone, and scared. She may not see them again, and she knows that."

I jerked my head up. "She's going to see them again. Right?"

Mother shook her head. "Right now, Alice and I can't tell. Renee hasn't made any decisions that bring her within reach of Bella; she is very stuck on her own path right now. I see her happy, though missing her daughter. Just not missing her enough to visit." Her eyes were sad. "As for Charlie? It's hard to say. A lot will depend on his control and when we feel she will be safe around him. My heart tells me that they will, but you know that it will be some time before that will happen."

My shoulder's slumped. "Tell me again. What's the plan here."

I knew the plan, and she knew it. I just needed to hear her tell me again. "You will take Bella to our cabin and keep her safe. Make sure she continues her online school, make sure she eats and sleeps. You are a doctor, so you can handle most ailments. If you need help, if she gets really sick or something, you can always call Carlisle. He will help you over the phone or refer you to contacts he has in that area."

I nodded, and she continued. "Once the school year is over, we will make preparations to move. It's March, so there are only about three months left. We will be there by July at the latest. Everything has to seem normal, waiting until summer to move is the perfect way to do that."

I hedged over my next question, and she could tell something was wrong. "Just tell me, dear. I won't judge you."

"I love her, Mother. More than I ever thought possible. What happens when we are alone together? What about the physical nature of our relationship?"

Is she interested in that?

I thought back to the morning and how Bella had kissed me. I was certain that she wanted more of a physical relationship. I just didn't know how to give it to her. I nodded at my mother, not wanting to speak.

And it's something you want as well. I won't even ask.

It's natural to want to express your love for someone physically, dear. I know that we never really had that conversation when you were younger, but it wasn't appropriate when we were human. It simply wasn't a conversation a mother has with a son. And after, I never saw the need until now. I can explain the mechanics of it, but that would just embarrass us both.

What I will say, though, is that you must be gentle. She is human and breakable. You can do this without hurting her, but you must let her lead. Make sure she is in control, so that you don't overwhelm yourself.

I hung my head a little more and absorbed what she was saying to me. She put her hand on my cheek, raising my head so I was looking at her. I saw no judgement in her eyes; she smiled at me.

I have faith in you to be exactly what she needs you to be. You will keep her safe. I know it, dear. I trust you; she trusts you. Hold on to that and don't keep yourself from being happy. She is exactly what you need, as you are for her.

"Thank you, Mother."

She put her arms around me, and I hugged her back. "I love you, Edward. Keep her and yourself safe."

"I will."

I gathered a few of my personal affects – some CDs and books – and went downstairs. Bella was hugging my mother, whispering that she would miss them. I knew they would get to us as soon as they could, but it did represent another loss in her life. I was saddened for my mate, once again.

We made our way to the car, saying our last goodbyes to everyone. Carlisle and my mother came out to walk us to the car, taking my bags with them. Carlisle came over to stand by me, placing his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at the man who I had spent so much time resenting, only to now understand him much better than before. Realizing how hard it was to restrain how much I loved Bella, and knowing that he had done the same with his love for my mother. I reached over and brought my arms around him, hugging him close.

"Thank you, Father." I thought it would cost me something to say that; but that's truly what he was. He had loved my mother, kept us both safe and cared for. He had loved me through all that I had put him through. All that I had asked of him.

Carlisle didn't say anything out loud, but his mind was filled with indescribable love and happiness at what I had said. Mother stepped forward, placing her arms around us both, her mind similar to his. We embraced for a moment before they stepped back.

"Be safe, son."

I nodded to him, and got in the car with Bella. "Ready, love?"

She grabbed my hand and smiled a small grin. "Let's go."

A/N: OK, so couple things. First, please remember that I marked this story for future lemons. Yes, they are still coming. My Edward has a lot of the same mannerisms as book Edward, but I feel like with his mother there to guide him, there were some changes in his personality. It's coming, and it may be different than you expected. Possibly – some of you are super tuned in to the story and keep having prophetic reviews...are some of you hiding Alice's gift?

Also, in the coming chapters, you will see how different my Bella is, too. These are some of the changes that I personally wanted to make to the original story. You will see when we get there!

One other thing I want to address: I am not a super fan of the wolves and their story lines. They will come back, and be important, too, but imprinting, half-breed babies, etc. are NOT in my story. Even when I first read the books that bugged me. Changing stuff, that's what I'm doing! LOL

Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying. I'm hoping to get one more chapter out this week, maybe Friday or Saturday, I'm not sure yet. Thanks to my endlessly patient sister and beta, zombified419. You both rock so much – thank you for helping me with this story!