AN: I love you, reviewers! You're so nice to me! Allow me to bask in the warm glow of your compliments. Ahhh… But wait, a shadow of a doubt… What if my oncoming chapters disappoint you? Noooo!!! Please put my fears to rest, or confirm them, if you feel so inclined. (This is my best attempt at begging for reviews—how sad.) Now on to the metaphor (which I'm pretty sure no one gets, but it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside)! You are the marshmallows in my hot chocolate. 'Nuff said.

Chapter 4—Rewind

Bella stared blankly out the window as the rain pounded harshly against the surrounding area, as if trying to wash away all traces of the outside world—including her son. The thought instantly gave her chills—well, the kind of chills only a vampire could get. Strong arms slowly wrapped around her waist, pulling her gently back into Edward's intoxicating embrace. "Bella," he whispered lightly in her ear, gently skimming his god-like lips against the soft curve of her neck, "why are you worrying so much about him?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but then realized she had stopped breathing (something that was required for speaking). After taking a moment to recollect herself, she managed to stutter, "I thought you couldn't read my mind."

Chuckling slightly, he kissed the top of her head. "That doesn't mean I can't tell what you're thinking. Now why are you worrying?"

Pulling away sharply, she turned and started unleashing her panic on poor, unprotected Edward. "What if something has happened to him? You know how disoriented he can get sometimes. We should have never let him out there on his own!"

Her sudden outburst didn't seem to faze him, and he bravely took her back into his arms. "Bella, just take a deep breath." She tried to protest, but his grip was relentless until she took a gasp of air. "There. Don't you feel better now?" The spite in her gaze must have been enough of an answer, because he reluctantly relinquished her body and moved across the room. Running a hand through his perfectly disheveled hair in a rather exasperated manner, he said, "I'm not going to say I'm not worried about him, but I do trust him." Edward locked his striking gold eyes with hers. "But I also trust you. If you want to go rescue him, I won't stop you. Just don't ask me to go along with it. You, of all people, know that we're on thin ice."

That was definitely true; it was no secret that Zander and Edward were having problems, but she didn't want to dwell on it. Tenderly, and with a certain touch of remorse, she kissed him. "Thank you," she breathed softly, and then went dashing out the door and into the familiar Forks rain.

It didn't take long for her to locate her son's distinct scent, which often reminded her of crayons and play-dough. Ahh, the good old days—she missed them so. After walking for awhile, Bella found herself becoming slightly apprehensive. What was that feeling?—it was strangely familiar, but oddly foreboding. Only one word came to her mind, but that one word carried so much power. Werewolves. She had passed into La Push territory, and every part of her existence as a vampire told her to leave—but the part of her that was a mother pushed her frantically forward.

Tearing through the underbrush, every sense acutely alert, she searched the woods. A sudden noise sent her running toward the source. Yes—it was Zander. There was her son, lying on the ground with a werewolf standing over him. A sudden anger seized her as she prepared to protect her son, but something stopped her. The werewolf wasn't attacking Zander; it was laughing at him. For the first time, Bella realized what was going on: the werewolf was a girl; she seemed to have no intention of harming Zander, and, from what Bella could see, she was actually flirting with him. Uh oh. This was really bad—really, really bad.

Bella was at a loss. If the girl was no threat, as she believed, then Zander was safe—unless he encountered the others in La Push. He had no experience with werewolves, and had no way to protect himself if things got out of hand. Being a half-vampire, he had no control over his powers, an attribute that had caused many problems when he was younger. Once, when he was six, he'd called them in the middle of the night from Chicago—apparently, he had been "sleep running." The whole rest of the year, Edward had kept a careful watch on Zander every time he needed to sleep.

It hadn't been too long ago that the two of them had been very close. She remembered a time when her son was constantly attached to Edward—they were always playing some game or another. Only recently had the problems begun. They argued on almost every topic, but that was just a vent for the real problem—Zander's humanity, or lack thereof.

Bella clutched the tree as she gazed at the two of them. They were closer, but otherwise unharmed. Then a sudden thought came to her: how much did they like each other? For all she knew, this had been going on for quite some time. Could they have another distorted Romeo and Juliet story going? But this one could be slightly more dangerous…

Another voice suddenly entered the clearing, but instead of kind, this one was harsh and threatening. Cautiously she looked up. A man was standing there; he was tall and muscular, but the most shocking thing about him was his face. There was nothing especially different about him, except the familiarity. The man spoke again, grasping her son roughly. She would have attacked by now, if she hadn't recognized his voice. It was all becoming clearer now—he was older, but he was still Jacob.

Jacob, the lovesick boy she had left behind, the friend that had been there even when Edward wasn't. If she had thought things were complicated before, they were thoroughly screwed up now.

A small pain hit her where her beating heart had been, and she was filled with a feeling of remorse. She'd truly missed Jacob, although she couldn't know how he remembered her. How would he react when he realized she'd become a vampire, thus breaking the treaty and betraying him? Why? Why did it have to be Jacob here?

Bella stared worriedly as Jacob grabbed her son roughly. He'd never been particularly violent, but she didn't know how he'd changed in the past years. Would he be willing to help them once he found out who Zander was, or would he hate them for it? Why should he help them? She'd abandoned him, along with everyone else in Forks, everyone else in her life.

She clutched a branch weakly and started moving down towards the edge of the clearing. Her mind was made up: the whole reason she'd come back to Forks was to give an explanation, and Jacob deserved one almost more than anyone. Although she didn't know how he'd act, she knew she'd hurt him, and she knew she couldn't allow him to hurt Zander.

Tactfully, she positioned herself in front of them and waited for Jacob to notice her, which didn't take long. A look of confusion and hurt set upon his face as he gazed upon her for the first time in many years. She couldn't quite read his face, but he dropped Zander's arm without losing his gaze. His deep brown eyes studied her, but Zander just started moving away. Her whole attention was set on Jacob, but then Zander stole the stage by uttering, "Mom?"

End Author's Note: Wow! Two chapters with the same cliff-hanger! I bet you guys hate me. But I promise the next chapter will actually resolve this, and will be longer. But I'm not updating next week, so you'll have to wait for it. This is all my friend kyo-obsessedru2's fault so go flame her story Ghost of my Past. I dedicate this chappy to Courtney because she told me to. See you in two weeks.

Side-note from Editor Rin: …Don't listen to her. Don't go flame kyo-obsessedru2's story.