No matter how many stars I wish on, I don't own Twilight or its characters, darn it! Twilight and its original characters are property of Stephanie Meyer. All original characters (Not many of them, but the few that are here) are the result of too many late nights and too many energy drinks! :) Take care all! ~AD

Chapter 1

I was trying desperately to pick up the pieces and re-created a life for myself...A life without them in it.

I'm still not completely sure what special brand of insanity drove me to that place, but I'd decided to seek out the meadow where Edward and I had spent so much time together. What it would ultimately accomplish, who knows.

What I do know is that it was there that he found me.

It was there that he almost killed me.

I had wondered at the wisdom of leaving Laurent alive, even when he'd come to warn us about Victoria and James. I mean, if he'd turn on his companions that easily, he could do so again. Last I had heard of him, he'd been living the "vegetarian" lifestyle with the Alaskan vampires.

How wrong I was to assume that I didn't have anything to fear from him anymore.

He'd told me of his plan to track me for Victoria, and her plans for me. I had tried to bluff my way into an escape, but I think I'd known that it wasn't going to happen.

He rushed at me then, in that faster-than-humans-can-see speed. The pain as his teeth pierced my skin was blinding. I could almost feel the venom from his saliva start to course through my veins.

Then, as sudden as he'd come, he was gone.

It was only later that I found out that he was dead. The wolves had gotten him.

I vaguely remember being carried in strong arms, hearing the rush of the wind as the landscape whipped by me. Mostly, I remember feeling as if I were on fire. If I'd seen smoke rising from my limbs, I wouldn't have been surprised in the least.

I burned for three days. I thought I'd died and ended up in my own personal hell, similar to the pictures I'd seen in the picture books when my mom had gone through her religious phase.

Three hellish days later, I finished turning. The first sound I became aware of was a loud humming.

Afraid to move, I listened to that hum for a while, waiting for the burning to return. Instead, what I heard was the muffled clang of metal on metal and a familiar voice cursing.

Cautiously, I rose to my feet and took stock of my surroundings. I was in a small room that looked very masculine. The room stunk to high heaven, but it was somewhere familiar.

"Jacob," I breathed.

I made my way to the small window that allowed the bright sunlight into the room. I could see Jacob in the distance, working on his beloved car...

He was too far away for me to hear clearly, yet I had.

I held perfectly still and concentrated. Yes, I would hear him muttering to himself. The hum that I'd heard was the car's engine as he worked on it.

Curiosity had me holding my hand up to the rays of sunlight. My skin glittered as if made of granite.

Slowly, I took stock of what I knew.

Laurent had bitten me and the venom from his saliva had given me the transformation that I'd longed for. I wasn't a fragile human, I was something more. Yet, I wasn't prepared.

I hadn't come up with a plan. I had no idea of what I'd tell Charlie or Renee. I had no one to help me adjust to this life. I had no one to help me learn to hunt...

The thirst hit me then, and I knew I had to get away. Far away. Before I hurt Jacob or his family.

Quickly, I made my way through the house, and threw myself out the front door. I saw Jacob's head pop up, and heard him curse once more as his head hit the raised hood of his car.

Not wanting to stop and take the chance that I'd attack him, I ran toward the woods in the distance. I reached the edge of the wooded area faster than I'd thought possible, and continued to run. There was a freedom in the running, and the feeling was so exhilarating that I'd almost forgotten what I was running for.

Not entirely clear on the technique, I literally tore into the first animal that I came across.

The deer tried to fight me, but with my Newborn strength, it was a wasted effort. I went through three more before I reached a state that I felt I could stop and not be a threat to anyone. I stopped and sat back on a fallen log. Now that I actually could think, I needed to.

A large wolf came cautiously from the woods. I held myself perfectly still. The thirst was still causing me discomfort, and I didn't want to take it out on more innocent animals. The wolf slowly retreated, and within moments, Jacob came running into the area that I'd found myself.

"Jake?"

"Bella, Jesus. What were you thinking, running off like that?" He said.

"Jake...what are you doing here? You shouldn't be here." I said, still afraid that a part of me wanted nothing more to get more blood somewhere.

He slowly held his hands out. "I only want to help Bella."

"You can't possibly know what you're offering," I sobbed. He needed to leave, why didn't he understand that? Couldn't he see that I was different?

"I might know a little more than you give me credit for," he said, a little bitterness tingeing his voice. "Charlie thinks you need some time away, and that you're staying with us out here on the rez. I couldn't bring myself to tell him that you'd died or anything, so you'll still have to deal with that, but I'll try to help you with everything else."

"You can't help me," I said. "The only people who could are gone, and I don't know where to find them."

"I can help you." He was pleading with me now, "Please, Bells, let me help."

"What do you think I am?" I asked, suspiciously.

With a long sigh, Jacob looked at my face closely. "You're one of the Cold Ones. A Vampire."

I stared at him. "How...How do you know about that?"

Jacob ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Just...give me a minute so I can think of how to explain."

And so he went on to explain about the wolves, and how he was one of them. They were "made" to hunt and destroy vampires. He was, however, prepared to break from the pack in order to take care of me. He wasn't going to allow the pack to harm me, especially when it wasn't my choice. As long as I continue to be no danger to the humans in and around their reservation or Forks, they'd have no reason to come for me.

To say I was shocked would be the understatement of the century.

We sat like that, talking until the sun sank behind the mountains. And still, we sat together. I came to realize that there was no way for me to survive on my own, at least not right now. At some point in the future, I would have no choice, but for now...

The next few days were spent with Jacob, in wolf form, teaching me how to hunt without making so much of a mess or being noisy. I was finally getting the hang of it, which was good, considering I was thirsty all the time.

After a week of holding Charlie at bay, I finally had to figure out a way to go home. Being that I had spent so much time between visiting Jacob on the reservation and in my room, it was easy to continue that pattern and stay out from under Charlie's watchful gaze. I spent most of the money that I had left in my bank account on brown contacts to hide the bright red eyes that all Newborns have. Luckily, my eyes were slowly fading to gold...but I was still using the contacts, just in case it was too much of a change, too fast.

Finally, I managed to make my way through the remainder of High school, and made plans to go to a college that was far enough away from both Charlie and Renee that I'd be able to continue keeping contact with them for a while without them noticing the changes (or lack of them).

I tried to convince Jacob to stay behind, but he followed me anyway. Secretly, I was grateful for his company even if I did feel guilty. I knew he had feelings for me, but I just couldn't return them. Especially not now.

Before we left to move across the country, we sat down and actually talked the situation through. He knew that I thought of him only as a friend, and even if he hoped for more, he settled for friendship.

I was so happy to have someone familiar near me.

Even if he did smell rather strongly of dog.

I was able to keep up that ruse for almost five years. I went to a small college in Maine, mostly night classes to avoid the sunlight, and graduated with a degree in science. It meant the world to me to see both Renee and Charlie together, and so proud of me. At least I got to give them that.

Within the month, I walked away from my life, and attempted to simply disappear.

Jacob helped me a lot in that time.

Renee died in a car accident two years later, and I mourned her from a distance. I was afraid that I'd be recognized, so I didn't go to her memorial.

The pack kept us up to date on Charlie's health and activities, and through them I was able to feel connected (however distant) to him. I was told when he started getting grey hair. When he got sick, and, eventually, when he died. He never stopped trying to find me.

Again, I mourned from a distance.

Jacob's father died shortly after mine, and I hope I was some comfort to Jacob. He posed as his own cousin and went to the funeral.

A good forty years had passed by that time. I can't really be sure, as time had ceased meaning anything to me.

I had not aged a day, and neither had Jacob.

It took us both a while to realize that as long as he was in close proximity to a vampire, that he wouldn't age. I begged him to go home, try to find someone and start the family that I knew he wanted.

A few years later, he finally went. I kept in touch, and even got photos from his wedding. Years later, his letters started including pictures of his children.

I was happy for him, but I kept feeling like I'd been left behind again.

I moved around here and there, passing myself off as an emancipated minor. I got rather good at creating new identifications for myself, using names and documents for people who were around my age who had passed away.

Finally, Jacob wrote to me that it was time to come home. Everyone who could have possibly recognized me was either dead or knew my secret (the remaining few members of the wolf pack).

It took me a while to decide, but finally I agreed with him.

It was time to go home.

Chapter 2

Altogether, I'd been gone roughly 80 years. It was amazing just how little Forks had changed.

Oh, there were new buildings, new faces, and even Charlie's house had been updated...but it was still the same small town.

Luckily, it was still as cloud covered and rainy as ever.

I drove through Forks, and made a stop at the reservation first. Jacob, with his hair greying and surrounded by family was as welcoming as ever. He rushed forward to embrace me as an old "family friend", and introduced me to his wife and children. I was given a guest room for the night, which was interesting now that I didn't sleep anymore. It gave me time to reflect on how to proceed here.

The next day, he helped me by renting a house on the outskirts of Forks that bordered on the forest so that I'd have easier access to hunting. He passed me off as a distant cousin, and even managed to help me get registered for school. I was nervous to go by a name so similar to my human name, but by the end of my second day, I was officially registered as Ella Jane Brown.

I guess that was to make it easier on himself...in case he slipped and called me 'Bella'. I had to smile at that.

The first few weeks went by in a blur of boredom and fuzzy memories from the past. I began to understand why the Cullens always appeared so bored in these classes. I'd gone through enough science, English and math classes to fill a lifetime. I was also fluent in both Spanish and French by now, so I signed up for German language classes just for something new.

By week two, I'd gotten to know a few of my classmates, and even had a small group that I regularly sat with in the lunch room.

By week three, I was comfortable enough to hang out with one or two after school.

After the first month, I was in a comfortable routine of day-to-day living. I divided my time equally between school and hanging out at the reservation. Jacob warned me that a few of the younger members of the tribe were showing signs of changing into wolves, and made sure that he (as an elder) singled them out to talk to them about what was happening.

Heck, we'd even drawn up a treaty between the tribe and myself. No boundaries, just that I'd not feed or cause harm to humans, and they'd leave me alone. I got to meet the potential wolves before they'd be told who and what I was, and they were all nice enough kids.

It was in the second month of attending Forks High School, and I admit that my mind had wandered a bit, when I thought I'd seen a familiar face in the crowded hallways. I hurried after them, but with the bustling student population and the bell about to ring, it was a bit like swimming against a tide.

By the time I got to where I'd seen them, they were gone.

Shaking my head, I tried to write it off as a hallucination.

That night, Jacob's youngest son, Reese, took a spill on his bike and broke his arm. I rode with him in the back while Jacob and his wife rode in the front. Normally, they'd have gone to the reservation's doctor, but there were two women in labor, and the doctors had their hands full.

So it was off to the Forks hospital we were.

We were checked in, and the night nurses checked him over. An intern wrapped the arm, and administered some pain medication.

We were only waiting on the doctor to come and sign the release papers so that everyone could go home.

I sat in a corner while the family fidgeted impatiently, not sure why I felt so out of sorts, when the doctor finally came in.

"I'm sorry for the wait," A familiar voice said, "I'll just look over Dr. James' work, and we can get you all home."

I lowered my head, terrified to raise it. I was afraid that I was imagining the voice, and scared that I wasn't. This couldn't be happening. What were the odds?

"Yes, doctor," Jacob all but growled. "My family and I would like to leave as soon as possible."

"Yes, well..." The doctor seemed to be at a loss, and sounded startled.

Trying to remain unnoticed, I took a peek through my newly cut bangs. It was Carlisle, all right.

Damn.

Fighting the urge to run screaming into the night, I remained still.

Carlisle ran through the instructions for the care and treatment of the arm while it was encased in the cast, and turned to leave. I saw him hesitate, glance in my direction and frown. He was discreet enough to not directly call me out as another vampire, but he didn't like the fact that I was there. He was probably worried that I was luring this family to their death or something. As soon as he left the room, I raised my panicked eyes to Jacob.

"I have to get out of here," I said quietly. "Now."

Jacob nodded his understanding, and pointed to the small window in the examination room. "Hurry," was all he said.

Hurry I did.

I was out the window and across town in a flash, and moments later, I was running up the long wooded drive to my house. This couldn't be happening. This absolutely couldn't be happening. I'd just gotten settled, and didn't want to move again so soon.

But could I really stay, and see them all again?