Almost a week had passed, and Bella hadn't managed to spend any time with the elusive Doctor Cullen. Her mind reeled with thoughts of their last encounter and she longed to see him again, to be surrounded by his intoxicating scent and his secure embrace. He assured her constantly that he wasn't avoiding her and determined to understand what she was, had spent the past few days closed off in his study.

It was with a feeling of excitement therefore that she opened the message that appeared on her cell on that rainy weekday afternoon, anticipating its contents with an air of exhilaration.

I figured it out. But before I tell you anything, it is only fair that I give Charlie some time to explain. You need to ask him about your great grandfather.

Although his happiness was contagious, Bella regretted that she was unlikely to get any immediate answers. She had tried to talk about her ancestry with her father before, but he was exceptionally guarded when it came to that particular subject.

And if he won't explain?

Her phone buzzed straight away and her heart thudded as she scanned his reply.

Then I'll tell you everything.

His promise was ominous and the ever-impatient Bella left her trolley exactly where it was in the frozen section of the grocery store and jumped haphazardly into her car to visit the chief at home.

She tapped her converse repeatedly on the thick rug quilting Charlie's living room as she waited nervously for him to return with two steaming mugs of coffee.

'Bells,' he began disdainfully, 'I knew there would come a time when I would have to tell you about our family history, but it never seemed appropriate. When you were with your mom in Phoenix I always justified things to myself by saying there would be no point burdening you as you were so far away. But ever since you came back to Forks, I've been running out of excuses. Don't get me wrong, I love having you here, you know that. It just means I have to explain some things that are going to be hard for you to hear.'

This was the longest she had heard her father speak uninterrupted in as long as she could remember. Desperate for him to continue, she nodded encouragingly, taking a small sip of her drink to show that she wasn't' going anytime soon.

Charlie closed his eyes briefly, as if wishing he were anywhere else. He looked comfortable in neatly ironed combats that were perfectly creased at the sides. He wore the blue snowman jumper that she had given him the previous Christmas, and the print made her smile despite her nervousness.

'I don't know how much you know about the Quileute legends?' He started slowly, unwilling to disclose too much information until he had had an opportunity to determine how she was going to react. Relieved with the easy introduction, Bella jumped straight to the point.

'I know how true they are.' Her blunt remark left her dad in shock, he suspected that she knew about Jacob, they were so close, but there was just no way he could have told her. Understanding his questioning look, Bella elaborated. 'Jacob didn't tell me, I figured it out on my own. Just after I moved back here he started phasing, and when I couldn't get hold of him for weeks at a time I went over to the reservation to get some answers. I saw it happen.'

'Right.' For the first time ever, Forks' longest serving officer was lost for words. He had navigated his way out of many a difficult situation during his service, but not a single one was even remotely comparable to the subject of his only child's heritage. 'You know about Ephraim then, Jacob's great grandfather?' Bella nodded again, urging him to continue. With a low cough to clear his throat, Charlie delivered the final blow lifelessly. 'Ephraim is my grandfather too.'

Bella raised a hand, requesting a minute to digest this piece of information. When it finally sunk in she was devastated.'

'So that makes Jacob my…'

'Third cousin,' Charlie finished emotionlessly.

Bella almost heaved as she thought of the times she had tried to force herself to be attracted to her shape-shifting friend. She thought back to the time when he had pleaded with her for them to try and make it work, and she had politely, regretfully refused, knowing that somehow it just didn't feel right. Now she knew why.

'I'm not like them, Bells, we're not like them. My father married outside the Quileute's, and though we have some of their traits, we don't carry the same burdens. You have nothing to fear from them and they have always taken care of you.' Seeing her open-mouthed, he tried to comfort her. Knowing she had to speak to Carlisle, Bella stood hastily, pulling her father into a brief but awkward hug. Promising she was okay, she then floored it all the way to her own personal fortress.

She used the drive as an opportunity to speed-dial Jake using her hands free.

'Hey, cuz,' he greeted warmly, clearly Charlie had recounted their conversation. Bella was appalled.

'You knew? You knew, Jacob, and you still asked me to try and make it work? That is disgusting! What on earth is wrong with you, you creep!?' Nothing he said would calm her, in fact his responses only seemed to infuriate her further.

'Quileutes marry Quileutes, Bells. It's how the best werewolves are bred.' He somehow seemed to find the situation amusing, though sensing he was in trouble by her use of his full name.

'Bred! Bred?' She was out of control now, shrieking like a maniac. Tears welled up in her eyes and threatened to spill if she didn't quickly find an outlet for her pent up rage. Pulling over on the outskirts of the forest, she beat her hands against the dashboard until it cracked. Noticing the damage, she howled. 'I am not some sort of werewolf factory, Jacob! This is horrible and disgusting and wrong!' This was too much for Jacob, who finally retaliated.

'No, Bella. What's wrong is your getting cosy with that fanger when I have done everything I possibly can to keep you away from them. Obviously he hasn't told you about the treaty, otherwise you probably wouldn't keep going round there, risking all of their lives and ours.' With no idea what he was talking about and not the slightest inclination towards finding out, Bella screamed a final angry retort before slamming her phone down on the unoccupied seat next to her. A million thoughts and unanswered questions raced around her mind, and she couldn't focus on any single thought for long enough to figure out what any of it meant. Restarting the engine she got back onto the road and didn't stop until she was in the arms of the only person she believed hadn't hidden anything from her about her own personal life. The betrayal stung, and she wept openly.

Carlisle stroked her hair soothingly as she silently sobbed into his grey sweater. Apologising for the tear stains, she allowed him to lift her face up towards his, with his cool hands on either side.

'You have nothing to apologise for, Bella. Will you tell me why you are so upset?'

Having successfully managed to calm her down, Carlisle asked Bella twice if she wanted to hear the rest of his findings. Already too hurt to forgive Jacob, she knew she had to find out exactly what she was before she could go back to the life belonging to the person she had been before.

The doctor pulled out a heavy volume from the drawer underneath his desk and slammed it onto the table, though its size didn't present any difficulty for him with his dangerous strength. Rifling through the pages, he finally stopped about halfway through at an incredibly complex looking diagram.

'I picked up the birth records for your family, they were in the library and its publically accessible information, I hope you don't mind.' She nodded her consent and watched as he pointed to a single name, handwritten in beautifully neat calligraphy.

Renee Dwyer

'That's my mom,' Bella confirmed, her voice a quiet whisper. Carlisle moved his hand barely an inch to the name above it.

Elizabeth Higgenbotham

'That's my grandmother, she died just after my mom was born,' she continued, unsure exactly what this was building up to. Carlisle looked at her sombrely, with an expression that was almost pitiful, but not quite. He radiated empathy, and it was only Bella's need for information that prevented her from curling up in his arms and pretending the last few hours hadn't happened at all.

'She was a vampire.'

Bella's brow furrowed in confusion and she looked over the page again to ensure she had read the names properly. Not wanting to believe it was true, she looked to Carlisle, wordlessly pleading for him to tell her it was all a mistake. Finally gathering the courage, she asked one word.

'Was?'

Carlisle closed the book silently and returned the offending object to its hiding place, where the frightened and distressed woman who sat before him would be unable to see it.

'Elizabeth was turned immediately before she gave birth to your mother. There were complications, you see, and the doctor who later delivered her baby was unable to save her despite their best efforts. It lasted for hours, she would show signs that she was getting better and then she would suddenly relapse. Eventually she passed out and wouldn't respond to any medical intervention. It was a case of turn her or let both her and her unborn baby die. So in some part there wasn't really a choice at all.'

'Elizabeth managed to live a few months as a vampire, but she was desperate for her family. She kept returning to Forks to watch them and eventually tried to go back to them. The Volturi, that is the vampires responsible for maintaining our secrecy, found out what she had done and killed her that very night. I am so sorry Bella.'

He looked pained as he explained what had happened to the family she had never been given the chance to meet. Circumstance had taken her grandmother and only months later her grandfather, leaving Renee without any real family of her own. It went some way towards explaining why Renee was the way she was, but did nothing to fill the now empty cavern in Bella's hollow chest.

Carlisle reached out and held Bella's outstretched hand between both of his own. He kissed her briefly in the palm of her hand and then closed her sprawled fingers around it, sealing the kiss and closing his eyes regretfully. When he spoke, his voice was low and strained.

'Ask me Bella, how I know all of this. Ask me how it happened.'

With a feeling of absolute dread that filled Bella from the top of her head to the very tips of her toes, she turned her face away from him so that he wouldn't see her revulsion.

'The doctor in the story,' she whispered, her voice cracking along with her shattered heart, 'it was you.'