Chapter Three

The History Books Forgot About Us and the Bible Didn't Mention Us

POV: Renee Dwyer

7 Months Earlier

Jacksonville, Florida

Charlie had brought her to Florida himself, in the truck he bought for her. After threatening to run away from him, Bella was at too big a risk to be allowed by us on a plane by herself. He must have waste tons of gas, but he came here nonetheless.

Phil and Charlie were sitting with Bella at the table, and I was making coffee. Handing a cup to each of the men, I sat with mine before pushing a cup towards my daughter, who had just revealed to us that she was four weeks pregnant. She looked down at the cup, confused.

"Thanks, Mom…but I don't think I can drink this. It's bad for the baby, isn't it?"

"Does it matter?" I shrugged. "You're having an abortion anyway, aren't you?" Charlie groaned, obviously having had this conversation before. Bella looked back up at me, horrified.

"What is wrong with you people? Kill my baby?" She looked more disgusted, more hurt, than I had ever seen my daughter. Somewhere deep inside, it hurt to see that she was so upset, but my confusion and anger at the situation at hand more than trumped that.

"Bella, honey, trust me. You don't want to go through pregnancy for a baby you're just going to give up for adoption. You get scars and stretch marks, and…oh, Bella, it's just not worth it if you don't get the reward at the end." I reached over and patted her hand and she looked up at me, shaking her head.

"Mom…I'm - "

"Don't even say it, Bella," I said, angrily. "You are far too young to let this ruin your life."

I saw Bella's eyes blank. "Mom…I'm not even a year younger then you were when you had me." Then I saw the pain again. "I ruined your life, did I?"

"No, no…" I was caught now, well and truly collared. "No, sweetie, but…but I had Charlie. I was a married woman."

Bella sighed and turned to the small rucksack she had brought with her. Delving into it, she pulled out a very small box. A ring box. She slammed it on the table in front of me. I picked it up and looked into it, slowly. The rings on my own finger - I hated to say it - paled in comparison to this sparkling antique. Phil, looking over my shoulder, whistled slowly.

"This…this is from Edward?" I said, my voice hushed and rusty. Bella nodded defiantly.

"He was going to marry me. And I wanted to marry him. He wanted me with him, by his side, forever." The way Bella said it made it sound like I couldn't possibly understand. Bella sat back in her chair, pushing the cup of coffee slightly forever. "If you hadn't taken me away, he'd be with me. I'm pretty sure that this would make him happier than anything else ever could."

I shook my head. "Bella, you are too young for this…I love you with all my heart, darling, but…you don't now how much I wish I'd waited a while before I had you."

"Look, this is how it's going to play out. I'm having my baby. I don't care if I have to go back to Forks and beg the Cullens to take me in. I'm having that baby, and I am going to keep it." I broke constancy with Bella's glare and my head sank down into my hands. I heard Bella's chair scrape the floor.

"Fine," She said, and she stood up, grabbing the ring box from the table. She slung her rucksack over her shoulder, and was about to put the box back in, but my daughter paused. She opened the ring box and took out the ring before closing the box with a snap. She glared at me as she placed the ring on her finger, a gesture of solidarity and love for Edward, and I hated it. "I'll leave, then." Bella made her way out of the kitchen. "I'll be sure to send you a school photo, Grandma." She added sarcastically, and I heard the front door open.

"Bella!" Phil jumped out of his seat, and jogged out of the kitchen. "Bella, come back and we'll talk…"

Charlie looked at me, and I shrugged. I was trying desperately to hide my panic, but I wasn't sure if I could. Bella, my Isabella, was about to walk out of my house and face life as a single mother - or worse, a young wife with a baby, which was, in my opinion, a cage, and not one that my Bella would be comfortable in.

Phil walked in, pulling Bella gently by the elbow. I was surprised - Phil was very quiet, and this outburst - for him, it had been an outburst - of opinion was unusual. I watched him intently as he sat down and wrapped his hands around his coffee. He indicated Bella's chair and she sank back down into it. "Bella is an adult," he said matter-of-factly, to Charlie and I. "She has the right to make her own decisions. She has the right to decide if she wants to stay here or go back to Forks."

"No," Charlie shook his head. "I'm sorry, Bells, but Edward Cullen is no good for you."

Bella said nothing. Her dose of courage had apparently run out. Tears slid down her face and she just stared blankly at the table.

The conversation went on for most of the night. Phil and Bella lost. Charlie and I won. On some counts. Bella would keep the baby, if she truly wanted, and we, Charlie, Phil and I, would help her.

But she would not see Edward Cullen again.

Bella's sadness was infectious. That night, as Charlie fell asleep in the guest room, and Phil and I tried to sleep, we could almost hear her lying on her bed, dry-eyed and staring at the ceiling, thinking of the bronze-haired boy who had been so devoted to her every time I'd met him.

Our breathing was the only noise in the otherwise silent house.

POV: Alice Brandon-Whitlock

After Bella goes into labour in Florida

Forks, Washington

It had been so long since I'd seen Bella that I had long since stopped trying. I was lying on the sofa, held tightly in Jasper's arms, when it hit me like a ton of bricks. A red-faced, sweaty Bella, a doctor, a nurse, her mother…a baby.

My first instinct was to be angry. Bella had just disappeared, left my brother broken-hearted, because she had been knocked up by some other fool. But then my thoughts concentrated on the baby she was being handed, and I saw Edward's nose.

That baby was Edward's, there was no doubt about it. The child, being wrapped in a blue blanket, was the living image of my older brother. I turned to Jasper with a smile on my face. His eyebrows pulled closer together, and he smirked at my smug expression. "What's the story, morning glory?" I smiled wider.

"I just saw Bella," I said, very satisfied with myself. Jasper's eyes got wider. "What? Where?"

The door to the room we were in was nearly shot off its hinges. Edward appeared in the doorframe, panic and ecstasy written on his features. "You saw her?" He said quietly.

Bella had disappeared about seven months ago. Charlie avoided Edward's questions, although he was almost never at home, and all of Bella's things were gone. She had completely disappeared from my sight, and not even Jacob Black knew where she was - Edward had been monitoring his thoughts constantly. She had very literally disappeared into thin air, and Edward was a nervous wreck because of it. He missed her more than anything, and it took all of our combine efforts to stop him going to Volterra. In fact, Carlisle and Esme had gone last week, and were still there, to discuss what was to be done about the situation. Edward had not been happy, and that was putting it very, very, very mildly.

My brother was now right beside me, looking into my eyes imploringly, his hands gripping my shoulders. "Alice, please…tell me, I have to know."

"Jacksonville - in hospital."

Edward's relief turned to concern. "Hospital? Why?"

He saw for himself.

His eyebrows creased and he moved backwards slowly, collapsing on the chair opposite the sofa. I saw the hurt and betrayal written across his face. I reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Edward, that child is the image of you. That's your baby."

"No, Alice," Edward moaned into his hands. "You know that's impossible."

"Is it, though?" I said, standing up. "Come on, we're going to go to Florida."

Jasper jumped up, but looked at me doubtfully. "A little…sunny there, don't you think?"

"Nah," I said. I went to the door and out to the hallway, where I let out an ear-shattering shriek, "Rosalie! Emmett! We're going on vacation!"

Rose's intrigued head poked out from behind the library door. "What?" She asked, eyebrows creasing over her flawless face. "What are you talking about?"

I smirked. "We've found Bella."

From my side, Edward emerged from the living room, looking as if he had been dosed with some manner of illegal substance.

"What did you inhale?" Emmett guffawed, coming out of another room. Then his expression turned to concern. "Eddie boy - what's wrong?"

Edward looked at him with wide eyes, obviously not aware that he was being spoken to. Then he just left, going at top speed to his room, where he was, undoubtedly, finding something to give to Bella.

"Edward's still learning to cope with fatherhood," I smirked. Rose's, Emmett's and Jasper's faces blanked.

"That's impossible." Rosalie said at once, but I knew that she was happy for him, as well as being insanely jealous.

I laughed. "Come on, I'll explain on the way. Rose, Emmett, you take the M3, and Edward can ride with Jasper and I in the Porsche…there's no way that Volvo is keeping pace with the speed Edward will want."

Everybody scattered, grabbing what small things they might need, cell phones ect., and I pocketed a roll of bills from my stock market and gambling earnings (seeing the future is quite handy all-round). Edward came back first, donning a jacket.

We got to Florida in a little under five hours - half the time it would have taken, or so Rosalie's laptop internet connection told us, had we made the journey at a safe (i.e. legal) speed. Edward knew where she would be, and the rest of us crowded into the waiting room while he sped down the corridor, truly looking like a movie star in his rush.

I took up an issue of Your Faith Today and began to read a very interesting article entitled, The evils of modern high school. I yawned for effect as I turned the page, and Jasper smiled at me. He leant over and kissed my cheek.

"All in a day's work, my heart." He whispered.

A/N: Sorry for the time-jumping thing. There will be a bit of it in this fic. I noticed that I never posted a disclaimer - I own baby Jasper, and that's it. The chapter title is from "Samson" by Regina Spektor, an amazing artist.