A/N: Sorry a day late. I promise I will get back on track.

Chapter 11 Farewell

∞Edward∞

How can there be any funeral services when they never recovered her body? This is too unbearable. Her parents had decided that since they loved Bella so much they purchased a plot out at the cemetery for her. Her plot read:

Isabella Marie Swan

September 13, 1984 – February 21, 2009

The past is history. The future, a mystery.

But we will hold dear our memories of her,

her smile, the sound of her laughter...forever.

It was now Wednesday February 25th; it had been raining more than usual this day in Forks. It's as if the state of Washington was feeling the loss of my dark angel.

I stood by my parents at the graveside and watched as a generous amount of family and friends came to pay their respects for Bella. Even the parents of the children she taught in school attended.

This has got to be a nightmare. I hadn't slept a wink since finding out that she died. Deep down, I hoped that she didn't suffer that her death was quick and painless. My heart clenched as I wondered what had crossed her mind while she was going over the cliff. Knowing Bella, it was probably something unselfish.

As I stood by her plot during the services I couldn't even look at Renee because she reminded me of Bella too much. She was severely depressed and was sobbing uncontrollably. Chief Swan had wrapped his arms around her to comfort her as he cried. This is not what Bella wanted. She didn't want anyone to have to grieve for her.

Bella had fought so hard to protect her family and friends from having to experience all this suffering. She was so stubborn and never gave up. Her main priority as of late was to help save the Newton family.

Pushing my entire grief aside I knew I couldn't give up on what Bella wanted. I decided at that moment that I was going to continue to carry on with the plan that the FBI had laid out.

After the services the family and friends went over to Chief Swan and Renee to pay them their condolences. I stood there watching them being embraced as tears rolled down everyone's faces. I knelt down and placed a single white rose in front of the plot. I lightly skimmed my fingers across her engraved name and told myself that I would never be able to speak her name again.

As I stared at her name on the plot, images of her beauty flashed across my mind. The feel of her baby soft skin, the feel of her lips against mine, the smell and touch of her hair, and the sound of her angelic voice- all would be just a memory. A part of me was missing and I would never be whole again.

Feeling a hand on my shoulder brought me out of my daydream. I stood up and saw Alice standing at my side. Her face was moist with tears and she appeared to be trembling. She moved closer and embraced me in a tight hug.

She gazed at my eyes and whispered, "We all loved her. And you know she loved you." That's all she said and walked away meeting Jasper. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her on the forehead. I had a small ping of jealousy run through my body at the sight of their loving embrace because I knew I would never be able to have that feeling with anyone other than Bella.

I continued to stand there in the rain. Everyone had left including Bella's parents. They had told me goodbye and had given me a light hug.

I knew it was time to leave because I was soaked to the core and had started shaking from the cold. I climbed in my car and blasted the heat as I headed home.

******

From across the cemetery sat a black Mercedes with blacked-out windows as three people watched Bella's services.

"Well, that takes care of Isabella," Aro directed to Number One and Number Two.

Number One draped his arm around Number Two, brushing her red, curly hair away from her face. "So do you want us to take care of the doctor?"

"It would be our pleasure," Number Two added.

"No, just keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get nosy like the teacher did," he said as he smiled at their contact. "If he becomes a problem call me. I will be returning to Las Vegas today. I have business to attend to with Mike." He taps on the roof indicating to his driver to leave. They watched Edward get in his car and then left the cemetery.

******

As I made my way into my driveway I remembered the conversation that I had with the FBI.

"No matter what happens you stick to our plan," Agent Black had firmly stated to Bella and I.

And that's what I was going to do because that's what Bella would have done. I was going to do this for her.

I made my way into the house and saw my parents, Emmett and Rose sitting down on the couch drinking coffee. All their heads shot in my direction when I made my way into the living room. I ignored their gazes and made my way up the stairs, going into my room and then slammed the door shut.

Sitting down at my desk and I powered up my computer. I purchased a ticket from Sea-Tac Airport. I decided I was going to Canada. Even if the FBI did not intervene like planned I would still be going to Canada, just so I would be able to clear my head and figure out the next step I would need to take in my life.

The flight was scheduled for Friday at 10:40 am.

After purchasing my airline ticket I felt extremely drained, exhausted and all the sleepless nights caught up with me all at once. I made my way over to my bed and before my head hit the pillow I was out.

I slept for hours and was awakened by a knock at my door. I propped myself up onto my elbows and glanced briefly at the clock reading 9am. The knock came once again and I said with a raspy voice, "Come in."

My Mom, Esme, walked in and gave me an apprehensive smile. "How are you doing, son?" I shook my head still trying to comprehend that Bella was dead. "I have breakfast ready downstairs if you would like to join your father and I. Um…I know I never got to meet her, but you and your father seemed quite fond of her so…um…that makes me believe I would have liked her, too. I'm sorry, Edward, if you need anyone…please…come talk to me. Well…I will be downstairs, so get ready and come down, okay?" I rubbed my face with my hands and nodded. She backed out of the doorway and lightly shut the door.

I slowly crawled out of bed and made my way to the bathroom, hoping that a nice hot shower would help me prepare myself to inform my parents of the decision I have made to leave for a while.

After I showered and got dressed I made my way down to the kitchen feeling relieved that my father was still home and that I would be able to talk to both of them, killing two birds with one stone.

As I entered the kitchen Carlisle was doing the morning paper crossword puzzle, with one hand in his golden blond hair and a cup of coffee in the other. Esme was standing at the stove making scrambled eggs.

Trying to engage their attention, I cleared my throat and spoke up, "Mom, Dad I have something I would like to tell you." I sat down and Esme brought a plate of cheesy, scrambled eggs with whole wheat toast and sat across from me, sitting by Carlisle. They were silent waiting for me to proceed. "I need to leave Forks. I am not sure for how long or if I will come back, but staying is too painful and it reminds me too much of Bella." Pausing I looked at both of them to engage their reactions.

"Okay, Edward, where will you go?" Carlisle asked.

"I thought I would go to Canada and visit some of our family up there, but I am not sure when I will get there. I thought I would just rent a car and drive around; hoping to gather my thoughts and feelings about losing Bella." I didn't want them to try and contact our relatives soon, since I really wouldn't be there and they would be quite suspicious if they found out I didn't visit them at all.

"Well, even though the hospital will feel the loss of a good doctor I can understand why you would need to get a way. I just hope it is not going to be permanent. This community already lost a great teacher, so I think it would be hard if we lost a great doctor as well." Carlisle glanced at Esme and she nodded. "But your mother and I will support you in any decision you make. We would just ask if you to keep in touch with us."

"Yes, I will," I say, not knowing if that would be plausible or not.

Finishing my breakfast I informed my parents of my flight plans and since they both had to work Friday I told them I would drive myself. It worked out better that way.

I spent the rest of the day packing a couple of bags and talking to Emmett about my plans. The day went by slow and I still felt as if I had a huge weight on my chest. I knew it was because I had a part of me ripped away from my seemingly now pointless life.

Laying on my bed trying to sleep I hoped that tomorrow goes as planned, that way Bella's death would not have been in vain.

******

Friday morning I woke up finding the clouds outside my window the darkest I believe I had ever seen them in my life. Lightning struck through the sky casting light throughout the forest outside my window. I didn't want to get up just looking at the sky made my stomach twist in knots. This was going to be a bad day. Hopefully I would still be able to get a flight out of Washington.

It was still quite early, but I decided to get a jump on things and get ready to go. The FBI had given me specific details on the clothing I was supposed to wear. So I pulled on a plain white T-shirt, plain dark blue jeans, white Nikes and dark sunglasses. Of course today was not a day for sunglasses, but not deviated from the plan, I put them on. I left a note on the kitchen table letting my parents know that I loved them and that I would be in touch.

After I packed up my Volvo I drove straight to Seattle. Pulling in the parking garage I was happy that my parents said that they would pick up my car next week when they would be in Seattle. I didn't want to leave my car especially not knowing if I would return.

Before I was able to exit my vehicle a man opened the passenger door and slid in. I took in his appearance and noticed that he was dressed exactly like me from his sunglasses to his Nike shoes. His features were quite similar to mine. He appeared to be the same height and build with the same hair color. It was kind of creepy and unsettling how similar we both looked

"Dr. Cullen I am Agent Pattinson. I'll make this quick. I need your wallet with your ID and your cell phone." Without delay, I reached in my back pocket and handed him my wallet and cell. "In about two minutes there will be a white van with blacked out windows pulling into the parking space by the driver's side, get in and they will let you know where you are going. I will be taking all your bags, so leave them. I will also be taking the flight as planned by you to Canada." He quickly turned and looked out the back window. "They're here. Get out!" No sooner than when he spoke those words I was out of the car and then quickly pulled into the van.

The van hastily made its way out of the parking garage and made it back out onto the street. Agent Clearwater and another agent I did not recognize were in the front seat. Everything was silent for a while until we were pulling up to FBI headquarters. We descended underneath the building as a garage door opened and closed behind us. They stopped the van and got out with me following behind them.

"It's good to see that you still followed our instructions, Dr. Cullen." Agent Clearwater stated.

"It's what Bella would have wanted," I answered as I frowned at the thought.

"Yes, this is want she would have wanted." She paused, but quickly started. "All right let's get this show on the road. We will be taking you in a helicopter to a little unknown small island in a gulf here in Seattle. This is where you will be doing training. You will be receiving a whole new identity and we will be changing your looks, but that will be toward the end of your training. After that we will be sending you to Las Vegas to recover the Newton's and hopefully we can get close enough to Aro. Any questions?"

Wanting to get this done I simply answered, "No, let's go."

We entered the elevator and made it all the way up to the roof. The helicopter had already started, so I made a quick sprint to it having my hair blow all over as I climbed in.

Things were happening so fast; my mind was having a hard time processing it all. It made me feel as though I was in one of those movies with Pierce Brosnon or Jean Claude Van Dam. It was actually quite invigorating and sparked an entirely different feeling inside me.

The helicopter ride was really neat I was able to see all of Seattle from a different perspective, it was really pretty. Feeling a little twinge in my heart I thought of Bella and how I would have loved to share this with her. I quickly pushed that out of my mind and knew I would definitely have those feelings return.

As I looked into the distance I noticed the small, almost nothing, island. It had a large home which almost took over the entire span of the island, except for a good size sandy beach on the west side of the island.

While landing on the beach the helicopter made the water and sand kick up. Agent Clearwater informed me that the helicopter would not be staying so she instructed me to get out. Upon exiting the helicopter I was sprayed by the water and the sand suddenly stuck to my body. Barely being able to see through my eyes, while squinting, I noticed a figure exit the large home. It was a woman. Her dark hair was blowing all over the place as she held her hand up to her eyes she was slowly approaching me.

Finally, while the helicopter took off I rub the heel of my hands into my eyes blinking a few times before completely regaining my sight. My feet felt heavy, I couldn't move. It couldn't be. I was so confused and almost instantly I reached my hand over to my arm and pinched myself. Ouch! I knew then that I wasn't dreaming.

Feeling lighter at the sight of her I started moving forwards. We both stopped when we were just a few feet apart and gazed at each other. How could this be? My angel was still alive. Her beauty was beyond anything that I had seen before. She was wearing a yellow sundress while her slightly wavy hair lay over her shoulders. Her chocolate brown eyes were wide and beautiful, but they held some sadness and they seemed to be tired. Her lips were fuller than I remember and had a hint of pink lip-gloss. She was stunning.

Still not believing what I was seeing I stepped toward her reaching out my hand and caressed her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into my touch.

"Bella," I whispered almost inaudible. She opened her eyes and pulled her mouth into a small smile.

"Edward," she whispered back. The sound of her voice sent chills through my body giving me goose bumps.

"You're alive." With those words she placed her hand on my cheek and nodded.

Hastily I put my hand on the back of her neck and pulled her closer to me, our lips barely touching. We gazed at each other for a moment and then I hungrily kissed her. I put every feeling I had into that kiss letting her know that I loved her and couldn't be without her. She kissed me back with just as much passion and desire as I did. And I knew in that moment that she loved me too. I pulled away and noticed that she had tears streaming down her face. I wrapped my arms around her as she placed her head against my chest.

"I thought you were dead." Then I felt a surge of anger throughout my body as I looked for Agent Clearwater. She was standing to the side of us with Agent Black. "What happened? Was this a joke to you? Do you have any idea what me and her family have been going through? They believe she's dead. I believed she was dead." I balled my hands up into a fist.

"That was the whole idea. We needed to make it look believable so that Aro and his men would stop following her." Agent Black said smugly.

"Hey, Edward, calm down." She placed her hands over my fists. "I know this is upsetting and a shock as well, but their intentions were good. They were saving me. It's been hard for me to except that my family ais sad and grieving over me, but I hope that there will be some good come from all this hurt and pain." I looked at her as she tried to release my hands from their tight grip. "Even though I said before that I didn't want you to help, I am happy that I won't be alone. You didn't give up and you thought I was dead." She had tears flowing down her cheeks.

Releasing from her grip I reached up and swiped the tears from her face then held it in my hands. "Bella, I told you that I would never give up on you."

"Ms. Swan and Dr. Cullen." Agent Black interrupted. "We will give you the rest of the day to settle. But starting tomorrow we will be doing intense training. We usually would start slowly, but we have to squeeze three months into one. There will be agents on the island around the clock for extra precautions. We do believe that we have been successful getting both of you here without alarming Aro and his men." He pointed toward the house and nodded. "The house has been stocked with everything you would need from personal items to food. There is no phone and you are not to have any outside contact. If you need anything talk to one of the agents and they will be in contact with Agent Clearwater or I. We will be back tomorrow so be up and ready at five. Oh and wear comfortable clothing."

Bella and I stood and watched as Agent Clearwater and Black climbed into a white speedboat and sped off.

Giving me a wide smile as she raised her eyebrows she giggled and pointed to the house. "So, since I have been here for a few days I will show you around." She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the house. The house wasn't to elaborate. The outside was plain with sandy colored stucco and brown ceramic tiles on the roof. It was shaped like an L and had large picture windows. As we made it into the house I noticed that it was more elaborate than the outside. The living room adorned with a large fireplace; there was a brown leather sectional and a large square coffee table in the center of the room. The entire house was covered with a mahogany colored hardwood floor. The colors in the house were warm and inviting, plus it reminded me of Bella. The living room expanded and opened up into a large kitchen.

"Nice, huh?" Bella stated.

"This is more than nice."

"You haven't seen it all." She took me down the hallway and showed me that there were three bedrooms. Each of which were identical with simple queen sized beds, flat screen TV's, brown dressers, walk in closets with there own bathrooms. As we came to the end of the hallway she opened the fourth door. It opened up into a large room. I walked in and was taken over by the scent of chlorine. In the middle of the room was a pool, it wasn't Olympic size, but had about 5 lanes. In the corner were several pieces of workout equipment. She pointed to the opposite corner and there sat a hot tub.

"This is cool. In a weird almost gratifying way I feel like I am on vacation." I said with hesitation.

"Do you want to go for a swim and sit in the hot tub for a while before we go to bed?" she asked as her voice shook and her face flushed.

"Well, I don't have a suit." I grinned.

"Come on, let's go to the bedroom and get you one." She placed a light kiss on my lips and walked me to the bedroom.

My heart felt full and I was elated that she was still alive. I was so happy to see my dark angel before me.

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