Disclaimer: Once again I do not own Twilight. Only my imagination!
No Copy Right Infringement Intended

A/N First of all I can understand why I have mixed reviews; you are all entitled to your opinion. However to call my fic stupid is a bit out of line. Especially since I spend a LOT of time writing reviewing and trying to make it fit the vision in my head. IF you don't like it, no one is forcing you to read it.

2nd: I am a mother. Holding grudges and holding onto hate gets you nowhere. Bella had THREE years to work out somethings on her own and is not the same teenager she was when she left. Why is she so forgiving? She wasn't physically harmed in any way. It was her fault she ran. She owns her mistakes. She is showing her daughter that it's okay to forgive. I don't mind critiques, but to be hurtful gets you nowhere. Maybe if 3 years hadn't passed she might have slapped him. Should she have slapped him while he was holding his son? I'm sorry MY Bella is better than that.

Sorry for the rant, but I needed to address it, I almost didn't post this next chapter, but look at me being forgiving… Hmmm is this the REAL world?

Chapter 4

BPOV

That moment you both have something in common.
BAM! Instant Friendship!

I watched Jacob go with amusement coloring my eyes. With him gone I was able to better appreciate the craftsmanship of the Uley's home, without the awkward tension. It was a mostly an open floor plan, only a small den was enclosed. I assumed it to be the man cave. Or would it be wolf cave? I nearly giggled out loud at the thought. I knew the mirth was showing on my face, but I wanted to relish in my own private jokes a little while longer. The kitchen was jaw dropping. I could cook some serious meals in a kitchen like this. And from the size of the large table and huge island, it was my assumption that Emily was cooking for the pack.

"Care to share?" Her sweet voice broke through my inner musings.

"I was just wondering if that was the wolves den..." I chuckled angling my head in the direction of the walled room.

Emily's hand flew to her mouth trying to suppress a giggle which erupted out of her.

"Incidentally it is." She grinned after finding her composure.

She reached out for my hand and I allowed her to pull me into the partially closed off room. It was much larger than I anticipated. The room had enough seating to easily fit the entire pack and significant others and the TV mounted to the wall was enormous!

"Wow." I whispered.

"It's a bit much." Emily laughed, "But the pack is here so often we needed a space for everyone."

The room had two large sectionals to love seats and 4 squashy arm chairs. Plus room to walk around. AND it wasn't cramped.

"Is it an addition?" I asked.

"It is!" She beamed, "Sam put Jared and Paul to good use building this."

The distressed medium colored hardwood floors with the light olive green walls complimented the space. It was clean and beautiful. As I looked around I noticed little Eli completely dwarfed sitting on one of the sectionals and I couldn't help but grin that he was watching Mickey Mouse.

"Is this your favorite show?" I asked him crouching down to his level.

He nodded his head emphatically, his dark eyes wide and excited.

"This is my little girl Lizzie's favorite show too." I whispered conspiratorially.

"Lizzie." he tested the name, "Like Mickey Mouse?"

"She loves Mickey Mouse."

He was pretty articulate for his age, but I credited that to him living on the Rez with a bunch of rowdy werewolves. He'd have heard a lot more adult conversation than my little Lizzie. And while I tried to speak to her as an adult now... I had made the mistake of waaay to much baby talk when she was just learning. Not to say that she wasn't still learning...

"You should bring her by one day." Emily encouraged, "Eli would love to have a playmate."

"Lizzie hasn't really had a chance to be around other kids." I warned Emily, "For the most part it really was just us."

"I imagine it was really hard for you, on your own." She sympathized, gently squeezing my shoulder.

Emily was a sweet girl, I decided. She wasn't overbearing, she wasn't forcing me to tell her anything. She was being a friend, which is something I hadn't had in a long time. We were both mothers and that bonded us. I could just tell we were going to be very close friends.

"Do you have any coffee?" I asked her sheepishly.

"Of course, Bella, come on"

We entered the kitchen and she busied herself making a cup of coffee. I was going to tell her I'd take it black, but she seemed so intent I didn't have the heart.

"It was very hard on my own." I told her softly, "When I was pregnant I got a lot of stares. I mean even at 18 I looked much younger." I shuddered, "People were always looking down on me because I was unwed..."

"I think some people are very cruel." Emily spoke vehemently.

I could tell she knew from experience and it wasn't fair, because scars or not Emily was beautiful. Just like all the Quileutes.

"I mostly kept to myself." I told her honestly, "I would have coffee with my super Kim, and once I started publishing books I spoke to an agent. But I kept us pretty isolated. I kept in touch with my dad, and I think if I hadn't he would have used his contacts to track me down." I laughed, imagining the images of Charlie or some blank-faced uniformed officer randomly showing up on my doorstep.

"I know you were hurt badly." Emily started, "I won't make you any promises, I'm fiercely loyal to my family, but I'm only human." She shrugged, "We're made with flaws and I make mistakes."

It was real. It was truth. And I could relate to it in a way that made me smile.

She handed me a steaming cup of the coffee and I could detect a hint of toffee and french vanilla. It was delicious without being too sweet or rich.

"This is amazing." I told her taking another scalding sip.

"Thank you."

We sat at the table in amiable silence drinking our coffee.

"How long do you think the boys will be?" I asked her feigning nonchalance.

"It'll depend on what's going on." She replied, her eyes darkening, "But they'll surely be hungry when they get back."

"Would you like help preparing a feast?" I asked, "I've been told I'm quite good in the kitchen."

The next few hours found us creating a masterpiece of dishes. With her large double oven it made it a lot easier to make all the food. I prepped 3 large trays of Grandma Swan's famous lasagna. Emily set to work baking cookies and muffins. We prepped the largest bowl of salad I'd ever seen in person. And we set about making 15 loaves of garlic bread.

The house was filled with the delicious aromas. It was easy being with Emily, her personality reminded me so much of Angela Weber and I idly wondered if she was still in Forks. She had high aspirations and if she was still in town it would be a shame. Someone so loving and with so much potential and talent shouldn't be stuck in such a rainy little town.

When Jake still hadn't returned I began to feel really anxious, "Hey Em, I'm going to go back to Billy's and get Lizzie. I'm supposed to meet Charlie at Sue's."

"That's fine." She assured me, "You're welcome here anytime." she added.

Impulsively I pulled her into a hug before I left.

Walking back to Billy's I took my time and I was able to appreciate life on the Res. It was peaceful here, much better than the hustle and bustle of a big city. It seemed safer. It felt like home.

My thoughts turned to all the Uley's and I tried to see things from Sam's perspective. He didn't know what Jake and I had. He knew that with Leah she had been hurt when he imprinted on her cousin Emily. I tried to think of how I would have felt had I known Jake was a wolf and he imprinted on someone else… I shuddered at the thought. It must have been equally horrible for both Emily and Leah. While I didn't agree with Sam's methods, I understood them and I would do my best to let it go…

The closer I got to Billy's the more anxious I was to have Lizzie back in my arms. When I finally reached the red house I took my time to look at it closely. You could tell from the outside that the house had been remodeled, it was lovely.

I let myself in the screen door being as quiet as I could. I tiptoed down the hall and peeked into the living room. Billy had an ottoman pulled up and he was fast asleep on the couch, Lizzie was curled into him snuggled up with a tattered blue blanket. I recognized as being Jacob's security blanket, from when we were very young.

I smiled and discreetly pulled my phone from my pocket and candidly snapped a photo of the pair.

There was no way I would wake them so I made my way into the kitchen, my room of choice and surveyed the area. There were dishes piled into the sink and I took it upon myself to do them. It wasn't hard to get lost in the task as I meticulously cleaned every surface and put the already clean dishes away.

I looked through their cupboards and found enough ingredients to make a hearty stew. They had a beef broth that I was able to thicken and I added peas and carrots and potatoes. There were a few pieces of cheap steak meat which I cut into small bite sized pieces. I seared the meat before adding it to the stew, locking in the flavor profile I was going for. Savory.

While it was simmering I decided to do the rest of the dishes I had used to cook and curiosity got the better of me. I walked up the stairs noticing the chair lift that would take Billy to the second story and a second wheelchair waiting.

The first room was obviously Billy's and I gave him his privacy, there were two rooms that didn't seem personalized which I assumed were for guests. Then there was Jacob's room. Even in the 3 years we'd been apart it was a mess. Clothes littered the ground. So like anyone I began to pick up his things and place all the dirty clothes in a basket. Once everything was off the floor I set about making his bed and dusting. It looked 100 percent better when I was done with it.

I took the laundry down the hall and found the laundry room. It was large and made for wheelchair access. I started the load of Jake's clothes and made my way back to the living room where both occupants were beginning to stir.

"Bella." Billy acknowledged groggily, using his upper arm strength to adjust his position on the couch. He gently moved Lizzie and slid easily into his mobile chair.

"Sleep well?" I asked, with a smile.

"Where's Jake?" he queried while rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Out in wolf form" I told him, not knowing the proper etiquette for such conversations, "He and Sam heard howling. It's been several hours..."

"Well he could be gone even longer," He warned but paused and began sniffing the air. "Did you cook?"

"I made a large pot of beef stew." I told him shyly, "You and Lizzie were sleeping and being in a kitchen calms me."

He wheeled himself into the room and stopped abruptly, "You didn't have to clean."

"I wanted to." I assured him with a grin.

"I appreciate this Bella."

"I have to warn you I cleaned Jake's whole room and started a load of his laundry."

Billy laughed out loud at that, "Oh he'll love that."

"I was bored." I whined.

Still chortling he shook his head, "Are you going to be hanging around here?"

"I was going to take Lizzie to Sue's to meet up with Charlie, but I think I might just head back to Charlie's" I told him yawning.

"She can stay here. I really don't mind the company."

"I wouldn't be able to sleep without her." I waited for him to say something when all he did was give me a questioning glance I elaborated, "We've shared a bed for over a year now."

Billy's eyes lit up with understanding, "No wonder she fell asleep so close to me."

"She's pretty clingy, I'm afraid she gets that from me." I frowned.

"It's not bad." he grinned, "Sarah used to be incredibly clingy; it was one of the things I loved most about her"

I patted his arm gently, "I'm gonna call Charlie real quick and get Lizzie ready to go."

I walked close to the front door and fished the phone out of my pocket, hitting the top speed dial button.

"Bells?" My father picked up the phone.

"Hey, Dad." I greeted.

"I'm gonna be working later than I thought tonight." He told me slowly.

"That's actually a relief dad. I've seen Billy, Sam, and Emily and of course Jake, and I am utterly exhausted." I yawned as if to emphasis my tiredness, "Lizzie and I were going to just head home."

"Well drive careful Bella." He hesitated, and I knew there was more he wasn't saying.

"What?" I asked him sharply.

"There were some reports that some of the Cullen's are back in town."

I felt my breath catch in my throat, what the hell would they be doing back? Had they come to mock me? Had they come to destroy me further?

"I refuse to see them." I told him my tone flat.

"That's my girl."

"Do you know?" I asked unable to coherently speak more.

"Carlisle and the little girl." Charlie answered gruffly.

Alice?

Carlisle?

Why the hell would they be back in town?

Why would people have SEEN them?

Didn't they leave because Carlisle was supposed to be 10 years older than he looked? What would people think that they've been gone for 3 whole years and yet they haven't aged at all?

All the questions flitted through my brain without permission.

I had to rein it in.

They had left me. They hadn't wanted me. They were NOTHING.

Dad and I said our goodbyes and using breathing techniques that helped stave off panic attacks put the phone back in my pocket. When I was sure I was okay. I packed up the car and hooked Lizzie into her seat. I thought seriously of finding a place to stay here because I knew they weren't allowed on the Res, but that would be assuming they were there for me for some reason, which was ridiculous. Instead I pulled on my big girl pants and headed back to Charlie's. Silently hoping I wouldn't have to see their inhumanly perfect faces.

A/N: Merry Christmas Guys! Next UPDATE on January 8TH. Have a happy new year and stay safe!