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I am so totally fail! I'm so sorry for making you all wait this long! It wasn't my intention, I swear… Work just got crazy (hahaha ohhh I amuse me) and I have had zero time off. Also, my laptop has failed so I'm currently borrowing the fiancé's laptop (thanks, baby!)

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The answers are FINALLY here!

I had more to add to this chapter but I decided to post what I have now and make it a two-parter. I'm starting immediately on the second part. I just wanted to alleviate the suspense for you all!


"I don't want to go with them," she whispered to me, her beautiful face troubled. I brushed her hair back from her forehead in gentle strokes, my other arm rubbing small circles on the arm she had draped over my torso.

"You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to."

"I just want to be with you."

"Don't think about it right now, Bella."

"Don't leave me."

"I'm right here," I soothed, my forehead pressing against hers. Her breath on my face was sweet and warm.

She drifted off then into peaceful slumber. I watched her as she slept, littering her face with kisses when her brow would furrow – a result of her dreams. I found myself wondering – not for the first time – what it would be like to be in her head.

If I could have any superpower, I'd want to be able to read minds. That way I could never be deceived again, and I could understand Bella better. I could know exactly who she was inside, and how she felt. With all that I already knew of Bella, she'd want to protect everyone from harm. She'd want a projectable force-field to cover those she cared about.

Jasper's story had been hard to swallow. I didn't believe him at first, until he brought in Charlie and Renee Swan. They confirmed everything, offering up proof – as if just being here wasn't proof enough – and wanted to take Bella with them.

Looking at my Bella, I thought about how much she really wasn't mine. Things went from bad to worse as reality continued to sink in. She wasn't mine, she was going to go away, and she was everything they said she was. It made perfect sense. And I had been so wrong about her. I had been so hopelessly wrong about Bella, and I had invested my entire soul into a girl that now had to go.

Would she find me again?

Even if she did, I don't know if I could have it in myself to be with her.

It felt all wrong.

***

JPOV

"Do you remember Cystemaco?" I asked them all. There were nods all around. Of course they would remember – Carlisle had worked for Cystemaco for years before working at the hospital.

Cystemaco was a scientific research and development facility located in Seattle. They did a lot of genetic research, stem cell experimentation, DNA mapping and neurological research. Carlisle left Cystemaco because they began working with the government after a particularly huge breakthrough – not only had they developed what they called IVG (In Vitro Gestation) but had also made significant progress in designing DNA as well as accelerating growth in the womb. Carlisle didn't agree with some of the government's suggestions as far as accelerated IVG was concerned. They wanted to create soldiers to work on the frontline in the Middle East. The way the Pentagon saw it, people bred by IVG weren't real people – they had no parents and were programmed for no other life. Cystemaco could specially design hundreds and thousands of emotionless, fearless soldiers right down to their musculature and the tone of their voice – if Cystemaco gave them the ability to speak at all.

So where does Bella fit in?

"The big guys up in DC decided that IVG soldiers would be easier to pass through and justify if they used IVG in a way that could assist the 'everyday American'," I explained. They remained silent, holding on to my every word, the cogs in their heads just whirring and trying to make sense of it all. "They decided to experiment with... designer babies, I guess is what you would call them," I went on, sighing. This next part was the hardest of all...

***

BPOV

"Designer babies?" Jacob asked. I was clutching onto him with one hand while I leaned against Jasper's arm and Edward held me close to him. I didn't know what Cystemaco was, but I didn't like the sound of it. Why would anyone make someone solely for the purpose of using them in war?

"Parents who are unable, for one reason or another, to have children would be able to use IVG," I told them. "They take their ability to map DNA and design DNA, just like the soldiers. People can pick and choose the features of their child right down to their general temperament. They can make the child look just like them, or how they would have wanted to look as a child, or like someone else completely. They can design their babies. They can even choose the age at birth."

"They can choose age?" Alice echoed, her voice filled with a horrified kind of awe. I nodded.

"You can choose exactly what age you'd like your child's life to begin at, beginning at 40 weeks after creation of course."

"You've been working for these people?" Esme asked, her usually pretty face creased with worry. I didn't like seeing her so upset. Everyone was upset. I just didn't understand. I mean, I understood his story but what did that have to do with me?

"I've been... kind of... not really," Jasper answered, obviously unsure of how to explain his connection to Cystemaco. I didn't really care. I wanted to know my connection to them.

"What does this have to do with me?" I asked. Everyone just stared at me. Their faces were full of worry, full of sympathy. They knew already – they had figured it out and I was the only one being left in the dark. I looked to Edward, but he looked away from me. He'd never done that before. "Edward?" He shook his head as I tried to turn it to face me. I wanted him to look at me and tell me it was okay, and that he loved me no matter what. No matter what I was.

"Bella, I think what Jasper is trying to say is that you are one of the IVG babies," Rosalie explained softly.

I felt as if my world was being torn apart and put back together again. Everything looked different now. If I was an IVG baby, the reason why I couldn't remember my parents because I had no parents. But there was still one question that stood out more than all of the others whirring around my head.

"But why can't I remember anything?" I asked. Esme sniffled, making me wonder why she was crying. It made no difference to our relationship – I would always think of her as my mother. Edward tightened his hold on me, protecting me. But from what? I didn't understand.

"Bella..." Jasper trailed off, looking at his feet again.

What wasn't he telling me?

***

EPOV

"This is exactly what we all warned you about," Alice hissed at me when we managed to get a minute alone. Everyone was sound asleep except myself, her and Emmett. We sat in the kitchen drinking coffee and fretting about the entire ludicrous situation before us.

"You don't understand, Alice."

"We all love her, Edward for crying out loud. But you've gone and gotten yourself and Bella into a huge mess. It's just a huge mess and-"

"Look, I know all of this, okay?" I cut in tersely. I didn't need all of this crap reiterated. I knew that I had done something disgustingly wrong by getting involved with Bella and for encouraging her to let her feelings get out of control. I didn't need reminding that she was going to be a wreck when she had to leave me. I didn't want to think about how I already knew this was going to happen – because selfishly I had wanted to let myself feel what it was like to be truly in love with a person. I wanted to know what it was like to be with your soul-mate, or whatever.

"Lay off, Al... he feels like shit already," Emmett defended, throwing me a concerned look and passing me one of his cookies. Emmett didn't often show his feelings in a direct way, opting instead to do little things like offering food and favours when he wanted you to know he had your back. The only people he was directly affectionate to were Rosalie, mom and Bella.

"She's going to put up a fight," Alice sighed, holding her head in her hands. Emmett nodded, patting her shoulder.

"We're just going to have to make it as easy as possible for her."

"How easy can it possibly be? We're talking about Bella here," I argued, gulping down my coffee. "I feel like a monster."

***

JPOV

"When Cystemaco decided to extend their IVG program to the public, they targeted a few specific couples – couples who had been trying unsuccessfully to conceive via IVF," I began.

"What's IVF?" Bella asked.

After a lengthy explanation of IVF and how it all worked and why it may not work for some couples, I continued on even though I wan't sure Bella fully understood it all. It didn't really matter anyway.

"Bella you were created for certain couple that Cystemaco offered their services to," I blurted, opting for a more direct approach this time. "The names of the people who wanted you are Charlie and Renee Swan."

"You know who they are?" Jacob asked. I nodded, but kept my focus on Bella who was frowning deeply.

"They made me?" she asked, her eyes searching my face. She was looking for a tell – a sign that I was lying to her.

"Cystemaco made you, yes."

"So I'm not even human," she whispered, a statement more than a question. I could see that it broke Edward's heart to hear those words. But they couldn't be more wrong.

"No, Bella. You are entirely human. There is nothing about you that isn't human, I swear," I assured her. I wanted to reach out and hug her, but I was afraid that she was afraid of me or in too much pain to handle it. She noticed my twitch and smiled – she never missed a damn thing for all of her observational skills. "You were made to be a daughter for Charlie and Renee."

"I… have parents?" she asked, looking completely lost and bewildered. The poor thing's world was coming crashing down around her and rebuilding itself in a completely different light. I couldn't imagine, not for one second, how confusing it must have been for her.

"I'm your mother," Esme hissed, and we all knew the malice in her voice was directed at the Swan's rather than Bella herself.

"They own her," I told them. "They ordered and bought her. She belongs to them."

"Human trafficking is highly illegal," Alice pointed out. "It is a basic human right. It's part of International Law."

"Alice I'm sure they've found their way around that," Rosalie laughed, rolling her eyes. She was right. Cystemaco had, indeed, found loopholes that made IVG legal.

"But I still don't understand why I don't remember anything. If I was made to be a daughter for these people then I still have at least 16 years worth of memories missing."

"They wanted you this age, Bells," Jacob said softly, his eyes shut against the stress of it all. He swallowed and looked away. "You don't remember because you were born this age."

***

EPOV

My head snapped up for the first time that evening. My eyes had stayed trained on Bella's from the beginning of the conversation. I watched as her face went through a myriad of emotions, and I kept her close to me. I couldn't speak. My eyes darted rapidly between Jasper and Jacob. I waited for what seemed like forever to hear whether or not that was the truth. When we found her, was she just a newborn?

"That's partly right," Jasper nodded. I shut my eyes and leaned back against the couch. To anyone who didn't know me it could have been seen as a gesture of relief – but I was very far from relieved. My heart had just dropped into my stomach.

There were three tentative raps on the door. They echoed through the mansion and before I could stop her, Bella was jumping up and bouncing over to the door pulling me in tow.

Bella wrenched open the door without a second thought. I pulled her behind me immediately, having already known that the two figures from the car must have grown impatient.

The porch light revealed a man and a woman, tall and short respectively. From who I could guess they were, they didn't really look like Bella at all. They must have opted for choosing specific features unlike their own. The seemed just as taken aback by the appearance of their 'daughter' as she was by them. She didn't know them, after all, and with everything she'd just been told she must have been terrified.

Renee was the first to speak.

"You must be Isabella," she smiled. I recognised the way her nose crinkled and the way her upper lip almost completely disappeared. It looked impish, just like Bella did when she grinned. I felt Jasper behind us as I began to reply.

"It's Bella. Just Bella," I corrected, feeling Bella tug anxiously at my sleeve. She wanted to leave.

"Hey Bells," Charlie greeted. I didn't like how he used our nickname for her, but it sounded so natural coming from his lips. It was like he knew her, though he'd never met her before. Then I remembered he probably knew more about her than any of us knew about them. Bella shrunk further behind me and when I glared at Charlie's chuckle I recognised the deep chestnut eyes smiling back at me. She had his eyes, and she had her smile. The colour of her hair was a perfect mixture of Charlie's brown and Renee's red highlights. She looked more like them than I originally gave credit for.

I hated them.

"Charlie, Renee," Jasper greeted them. They nodded at him before trying to get a better look at Bella. I shielded her more – not only did I not want them to look at her, I particularly didn't want them to study her in her current condition. They would do better to see her when she was her natural, normal, stunningly beautiful self. They couldn't see properly what they paid for. "This is Edward Cullen and his mother Esme." I hadn't even noticed that Esme had joined us. She and Renee looked each other over, ruffling their feathers and puffing up like birds showing dominance. They both had claims to Bella in a maternal way and were sizing each other up.

"Please come in. I expect you have a lot to tell us," Esme greeted them, gesturing into the living room with one hand and pushing Bella and I both behind her with the other. Charlie and Renee followed us all in, looking slightly perturbed by the four other people glaring at them as they took seats near the fireplace. I sat with Bella opposite them. She still kept trying to hide behind my shoulder.

"I'm so sorry for the intrusion," Renee began. No one responded. "We don't mean any harm to Isabella."

"Her name is Bella," Jacob corrected this time.

"I'm sorry?"

"It's just Bella. Not Isabella."

"Point is," Charlie interrupted. "We just need to know a few things about Bella here."

"For what purpose?" I asked. I wondered how they kept so polite when we were all being so hostile. I wanted them to be rude. That way I could hate them more legitimately. Charlie stratched his nose and I saw Bella staring at it. She touched her own nose, drawing the comparison and realising they were the same. Renee drew her legs up to her chest.

"For the purpose of coming to a decision. We need to know more about Bella to ascertain what we're going to do with her."

"What you're going to do with me?" Bella echoed, getting to her feet. I recognised the furious rumble in her chest, but her growl was new to the Swans and they looked to Jasper with alarm.

"Bella, honey…"

"Esme they want to take me away!"she cried, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I won't be able to have breakfast with you anymore! And I won't be able to watch movies with Emmett or read magazines with Rosalie or play with Alice's makeup! I won't have Jacob to play with and Jasper won't be able to teach me anymore-"

"Bella, please."

"Please what? Please just shut up and let them take me? What about Edward? What will I do without my Edward?" she sobbed, turning back and flying into my lap. "I'm not leaving. I want to stay here. I want my Edward forever. You can't take him from me," she mumbled into my shoulder.

"Do you see what you've done?" Alice asked, pleading with the Swans. "She's a normal girl that you've just had dumped into the world. She has been so confused for her entire life and now you want to rip her away from the only world she knows. You can't do this to her. Please, if you have any heart-"

"Just let us explain the truth," Charlie insisted, heading over and placing a hand on Bella's head. She flinched away from him slightly but eventually looked up, puffier than she already was.

"You won't make me go?"

"We haven't decided what's best yet, kid," he said. His words would have been comforting to her because she wouldn't see the lie underneath it. They were going to take her whether she wanted it that way or not. "Come sit with us and we'll tell you everything."

"I want to sit with my Edward."

"Okay. We'll come to you," he smiled. She hesitantly smiled back, but it didn't reach her eyes. Charlie beckoned Renee over, who sat cross-legged beside him and in front of Bella.

"What has Jasper managed to get out so far?" she asked, glancing up at Esme once more. Esme took them through the story up until they'd knocked on the door and Renee nodded slowly. "Well this is probably the most important part of all, because it explains so much."

"Let me just start out by saying one thing – we didn't want this for you, Bells," Charlie promised. "We can't have kids, see. We wanted a little girl so bad…" he sighed. I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"If you wanted a little girl then why did you order a teenager?" Emmett asked, his expression frightening to the newcomers. Even I was seeing the grizzly in him tonight, rather than the teddy bear that he was so often referred to as.

"There was a mix-up at Cystemaco," Renee answered, sighing. "One of the technicians didn't mark off an IVG chamber after it had been prepared to host a soldier. That is, it had already been injected," she explained.

"When our techinicians went into the room they saw an apparently empty chamber and injected the DNA that had been prepared for our case," Charlie went on, telling Bella more than he was telling anyone else. "They didn't realise that our chamber wasn't ready yet. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Bella shook her head.

"You were meant to be our baby girl. Our perfect little miracle," Renee said with a watery smile.

"The man who previously injected the chamber came through and wheeled you over to where the other soldiers were being kept. Our own technicians had gone to lunch. What a shock they got when they got a page telling them that the Swan chamber was ready," Charlie snorted. "So they went looking for you, Bells. But they couldn't figure out which one of the chambers had the wrong person in it until each soldier had been in there long enough to survive a DNA test."

"Funnily enough, you were the first one they tried to test. The needle was so long – we were there to oversee it," Renee continued. Bella squeezed me. She hated needles. "And when they pierced the chamber your eyes flew right open. I'd never seen anything like it. Well they panicked, and they went right ahead and tried to stick you with it but the chamber just burst open. Everyone was in such a frenzy because you were still a couple of months away from being ready. You're physically 17, not yet 18 like they make the soliders. You were born too early."

"Then you just stopped breathing, kid," Charlie sighed. "And I just kept thinking 'there goes another one'."

"James and Victoria, the couple that runs the show over there at Cystemaco, they completely freaked out. It was the first one they'd lost. Laurent, the public liason was already there getting ready to spin a story about a genetic mishap rather than a grave miscarriage of care on the shoulders of Cystemaco. They told us they would refund our money."

"As for after that, we can only guess that they dumped you in the forest thinking you were dead. No one would know who you were and the case of the strange dead girl in Forks would be long forgotten when Cystemaco was eventually successful in their creating a child," Jasper finished for them, his hands twisting in his lap.

"Never did get our money back, either," Charlie chuckled.

"So why are you here? And what's been with all the questioning?" Rosalie asked in her usual frank manner.

"Well," Charlie started, getting to his feet and stretching before making his way back over to the obviously more comfortable lounge. "We figured we should find out how much of her is the girl we wanted versus how much of her is Cystemaco's soldier."

"Judging by her looks, she's all Swan," Renee grinned. Bella curled into me. "But from her medical results she has a great deal of soldier-like qualities about her. We wanted to get to know her personally, and through Jasper we've been able to do that to a certain degree."

"Then why not just leave it at that?"

"If we left it at that, son, she'd be the property of Cystemaco. See it all comes down to who owns her," Charlie told Jacob. "If she's ours then it's our call where she goes. James and Victoria are in close contact with us – they know everything and trust us enough to make a wise deduction. If we can see that she's theirs…" he trailed off, shrugging.

"Edward, I need you to buy me," burst Bella, sliding away slightly and taking my arm. She looked at me with such a desperate need I almost wilted on the spot. "I need you to buy me, okay?"

"I-I can't afford to buy you, Bella."

"But you work! You get money! You need to buy me and then I can be yours. Then we can have our own place and we can be a real couple-"

"What?"

"Esme I want to be a couple with Edward," she pleaded. "If you buy me, maybe-"

"Bella it doesn't work like that. The Swans have paid millions of dollars. We don't have that kind of money. We'll talk about this couple business later."

"But there might not be a later!" she protested. Esme silenced her with a raised finger.

"We're not talking about you and Edward being a couple. Period."

"This is what I've been telling you," Jasper said to the Swans. Charlie nodded, looking amused by the exchange.

"She's definitey emotional," he chortled, scratching at his nose again. Renee rested her chin on her knee, watching Bella's every move.

"She only seems to have certain physical and mental advancements that Cystemaco designed for their soldiers. She's mostly Swan."

"Stop calling me Swan. My name is Bella," she grumbled at them. Renee giggled. To say that I was relieved when it didn't bubble and chime is a total understatement.

"Well Bella Swan, it's very nice to meet you."