Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Not even a little. Plagiarism or redistribution of my story that isn't authorized beforehand will land you in a world of trouble. The usual stuff. Respectively in this chapter the song by Nick Lachey and the one by PCD belongs to it's rightful owners. The semi-quotes at the start belong to American Mall and it's rightful owners.
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A/N: So, this is a pretty quick update for me. This chapter hard to write as the next chapters will also be, so bare with me. Patience is a virtue.

As usual, thank you to all the alerting and favourites, and most of all the reviews. They warm my heart. We hit exactly 70 after a few weeks and you all have the newcomers rbsschess and lgmrkm, in particular to thank, as they have reviewed EVERY CHAPTER! And won my heart too.

I'm sending a shout out to them as they are currently among my favourite readers. Check out their stories!

This chapter is alternately titled 'Beginnings and Endings' and 'How The Story Ends.'

See you at the bottom!

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Song rec: What's Left Of Me By Nick Lachey

and I Hate This Part By The Pussycat Dolls

CHAPTER NINE: WHAT'S LEFT

Watch my life, Pass me by, In the rear view mirror
Pictures frozen in time, Are becoming clearer
I don't wanna waste another day
Stuck in the shadow of my mistakes
Yeah...

Cause I want you, And I feel you,
Crawling underneath my skin
Like a hunger, Like a burning,
To find a place I've never been
Now I'm broken, And I'm faded,
I'm half the man I thought I would be:
But you can have what's left of me

I've been dying inside, Little by little,
No where to go, But going out of my mind
In endless circles,
Running from my self until,
You gave me a reason for standing still

-What's Left Of Me by Nick Lachey

~\\\~

Edward's POV

My happiness with Bella was obviously short lived. I must have been dreaming wide awake. But, that wasn't true. It did happen. It was just over now. I tried to revel in the moment, of being here- together with Bella, hands clasped, as one- before I couldn't any longer.

If I was lucky Bella would still have me. We could work it out. With all the obstacles, it was possible to overcome them. I'd be broken and a shell and Bella would surely be the same but we could make it. We had to. But, I couldn't allow myself to hope. If I did and it came to nothing, I'd become nothing.

Bella and I sat down on the couch with everyone. Bella seemed to sense my unease and squeezed my hand. She appeared outwardly calm but I didn't buy it. Either way, she didn't know. Yet.

No wonder she was relatively calm still.

No one noticed myself and Bella's new developments. But, then I realised we held hands and were quite lovey-dovey with each other all the time. Surely they could sense the difference of dynamics between Bella and I.

I suppose they were too worried and intrigued to give that much thought to it.

My musings were proven correct when after we were all settled, Alice started in.

"Well, obviously breakfast will wait." She grinned a little before her face became serious again and she continued. "Edward, what does Tanya want? Why is she here?"

Flashback to last night

There was no way that what she said could be true. No way. Absolutely no way. There had to be a mistake. Someone would have told me. By now, anyone would have. I had to have known if it were true. It was simply impossible. There had to be a mistake.

But there was one thing stopping my attempt at optimism: Tanya was not a liar.

"Erm. I'm sorry. Actually make that double sorry. I actually have to run right now. I need to talk to talk to her. Sorry about this but obviously I had no idea and need to-"

Tanya smiled fondly at me, "Sure Edward. Go."

I smiled appreciatively at her before running to the elevator. I waited impatiently for the elevator, meanwhile having far too much time on my hands to mull over what Tanya had said.

The 'ding' of the elevator interrupted my spiral into depression and I hopped on. With my anxiousness and thoughts, time rushed by and I soon slipped by the night-post undetected.

The watchman must have been on break. At least something was going my way.

I sprinted to the Volvo and panicked when I thought I left my keys back upstairs. Thank goodness, they were in my pants pocket.

I unlocked the doors and jumped in, closing the door quickly behind me.

I was about to start the engine when I realised I had nowhere to go.

Shit.

They were most likely still in Seattle. You're in Forks now, Edward. Remember?

Well this was just fucking dandy.

Wasting no time punching the steering wheel or anything moronic like that, I leaned forward in the driver's seat and grabbed my phone from my jeans' back pocket.

Was I ever glad, now, that I hadn't changed into my sleepwear. I would have probably left my phone and keys upstairs if I had.

I dialled the familiar number and waited with baited breath for her to pick up. Carlisle was probably at the hospital doing a shift, so she was my only hope at the moment.

"Edward, it's so-" Esme sang before I cut her off.

"Mom. Where are you?"

Please tell me not in Seattle. Please not Seattle. Please, please, please. Please. Please. Pl-

"I'm not in Seattle if you need to see me. Edward, you're scaring me! What's going on? You sound distressed," Esme was beginning to panic.

Thank God for Esme's interior design business from home, or else it would be a long commute. Too long.

"Relax. I'm not in any trouble. It's fine."

Before she could sigh in relief or interject, I continued, "But I'm not fine. And please hear me out. I need you to tell me exactly where you are. No questions right now. I need to see you. Now."

Thankfully she could sense this wasn't a time to argue and she complied, telling me the information I needed.

"Alright, Edward. But you will explain. You can't call and say 'don't worry', it makes me worried. I'm actually in town at the moment. I was going to surprise you guys and pop in tomorrow. I'm working on re-designing Mrs Weber's kitchen in Port Angeles. I'm staying in Forks though so we could spend the day together tomorrow. Why?"

"Okay, whereabouts are you at the moment? I need to see you now."

"I'm at the Forks Drive-In Motel just on the edge of town. It's on your left before the freeway. Room seven."

I started up my car and began backing out before heading off to her accommodation.

"Edward? Are you still there?" Esme interrupted my thoughts.

"Sorry. I must have zoned out while concentrating on my driving. I'll be there in ten."

"Edward. At least tell me the basis of your concern."

Taking a deep breath, I bulldozed on, "Tanya Denali. She's here. I mean, she came to see me. She told me... she told me that... well, she told me some things. So, that brought me here."

Silence.

I continued.

"We need to talk."

Present Time

I stared at each of the curious faces in the room evenly before beginning to speak.

"Tanya was in town and figured she'd stop by. I suppose I had better explain to everyone besides Al and Jas how we know them first."

The murmured agreements came from everyone. Everyone except Bella. I still couldn't look her in the eyes after I remembered what could tear us apart, literally. Perhaps she had the same intuitive sense of foreboding as I and didn't want to find out.

I owed it to her and to everyone else to explain, I knew. But it didn't curb my apprehension any.

"Carlisle and Esme have been friends for a long time with the Denali's. They live in New York. They're actually our godparents. Actually that could cause legal issues now, come to think of it." I trailed off, lost in my thoughts before realising my surroundings.

"Anyway, a year before Alice and I were born, Dad was at a medical conference at NYU for the weekend and met Eleazer there. He's a doctor at Lenox Hill. He's actually Chief of Staff, but he was a resident at the time. Carlisle and Eleazar hit it off immediately and kept in touch. When Carmen, Eleazar's wife, was pregnant with their first daughter Irina, they immediately wanted Carlisle and Esme as the godparents. They didn't have many true friends as Manhattan, especially the medical scene, is crawling with high society and acquaintances. It's rare to find true friends there. Esme and Carlisle obviously agreed and we were born after Tanya. Kate was the youngest, two years younger than us. Carmen grew tired of their hometown and that's why they moved out of the big city to here for a break a few years ago. They left shortly before Bella returned."

By now, our new friends knew Bella's story and her family's breakdown, so that was one less thing to explain. Normally, I'd be relieved for this seemingly inconsequential detail but now I was wishing we weren't as immediately close as we were because now I had less time and words to stall with.

Before I could continue Rose asked a question, "Wait, Edward. I'm a little confused. You and Tanya do have history, right?"

Ugh. Of course someone would ask that.

Bella and I's parents always secretly wanted us together. They thought we were perfect for each other. Their sly words and little nudges into that direction ended abruptly when Bella and I didn't speak for that long amount of time, during her parent's separation and divorce. Renee and Charlie's marriage and separation only lasted so long because they tried to stick it out for Bella's sake but in the end it was impossible.

When the Denali's moved to Forks, planning to stay only for a year or so, to regroup from the bustle of city life, Esme tried her hand at matchmaking again. She still thought Bella and I were made for each other but listened to my protests. It had hurt to think about Bella at the time and Esme backed off. She didn't particularly like Tanya and I together but settled for it. We were pushed into a relationship when all we felt for each other was friendship. We played it off for our parents to appease them but never even kissed. She was still my only serious relationship though. I'd never actually committed, only went on the dates Alice insisted on. The deal with Tanya worked because it got Alice to back off of hooking me up with girls at school in the wake of my funk after Bella. Tanya was just a good person helping me out. Alice wasn't sold on me and Tanya together, I think she secretly prayed Bella would actually be her sister by law one day, but settled for it. Tanya and I still kept in regular contact but I hadn't seen her since the Denali's left town.

Before I could answer Rose, Alice jumped in, shocking me.

"They were in a relationship but never saw each other that way. Mom, Dad and Carmen and Eleazar pushed them into it." I never knew Alice had noticed. I probably shouldn't have doubted her though. She'd castrate me if she knew.

Alice had always had this sixth sense. She couldn't predict the future or anything like that but had this uncanny knack for knowing who would end up together and the basic outline of what would happen. She'd once predicted Bella and I would die blissfully happy together, old and wrinkly, and still in all-consuming love together.

Ironic that she was getting her wish of me and Bella waking up, along with Esme and Carlisle, only to have it happen before having fate unfairly snatch it away. Woe is to be ruled by the stars.

"I probably never helped." My head snapped up. "Edward, don't look at me like that!"

I didn't realise I had made a face until Alice reprimanded me. Yep, she was unhappy that I had doubted her super senses.

"Okay. Whatever Alice. So, where were we! As I was saying, they were in Forks for a break from their life. Carlisle had gotten Eleazar a job at the hospital and all was fine and dandy. Right before sophomore year started, Eleazar was contacted by Lenox Hill. Their previous Chief of Staff was retiring and they wanted Eleazar back to fill in the role. It was too good a promotion to be passed up and they packed up and returned to NY. Eleazar and Carmen are like second parents to Alice and me so what came yesterday was a punch in the gut."

"Edward..? What are you talking about?" Alice was starting to look worried and rightly so.

"Tanya wasn't here to win me back or something or to cause trouble. She was here for Eleazar."

Bella spoke up for the first time, "What's wrong with Eleazar?"

And ding ding ding ding.. She hit the nail on the head with the hammer and asked the million dollar unspoken question.

Her wary 'what's wrong with Eleazar' really translated to the unspoken but detriment 'how does it affect all of us', in a most unselfish manner though.

I whispered my reply.

"Eleazar's sick."

Everyone stilled in shocked, horrified silence before it being broken by Alice's sobs. She and everyone else could tell it was miserable by my heartbroken tone.

I didn't think to explain that he'd be alright. It didn't cross my mind.

She stuttered and wailed for an indiscernible amount of time. I was tempted to join in and wallow with her but I'd grieved last night. When she managed to calm down a little and was only sniffling quietly, I continued.

I explained what Esme had told me last night or really the early morning of today before I came home and crashed in bed for the night, before waking up beside Bella.

I told everyone how after experiencing the typical symptoms of headaches, double vision and difficulty walking, Eleazar's muscles had given out and he'd collapsed. He was doing a shift at the time and a passing resident had called ER to help him. They'd ran a series of tests before finding that he had a brain tumor. They operated almost immediately after running more tests and consulting the surgeons. It was a successful operation, thank god, but he needs to be kept a close eye on. Afterwards he underwent chemotherapy to be safe and now he was being medicated and ordered to bed rest. There were certain to be after effects.

As bad as the news was it wasn't the bomb, Tan had dropped. Though they were interrelated.

After Tanya told me of Eleazar's condition, which neither Alice or I had been notified about and reassured me that he was now fine, she then enthusiastically detailed how excited she was that we'd be spending so much time together again.

Confused, I asked her what she meant. She realised that obviously I had no idea of the news and was very graceful in letting me run out on her to talk to Esme.

Esme further explained that Carmen was beside herself and an absolute mess. Following his diagnosis months ago everything was chaos and the Denali family were dealing with the immediate and didn't think to contact anyone outside of family. Though as close as ever, the Cullen's and Denali's had lost contact and they hadn't thought to call us. A week ago Esme received a call from a worried and distraught Carmen. Carmen didn't know whether the tumor would come back and whether Eleazar would ever fully be himself again. She needed all the support she could get.

Esme and Carlisle immediately began making plans but were unsure how to tell us. They probably would have left it til the minute had Tanya not been passing through and cared to visit.

"Esme and Carlisle want to be there for the Denali family. Carlisle's a great doctor and an even better friend while Esme is too loving and trusting for her own good. Carlisle has pull at Seattle and while similar to taking a leave of absence for a year, he's transferring to Lenox Hill for a year with his job still waiting in Seattle when he gets back. They're moving to New York. A woman from Lenox Hill who is exchanging positions with Carlisle, will replace him at Seattle while he's gone. Lenox Hill have wanted to snatch Carlisle and his perfect transcripts up for years. They hope he'll consider staying once he's there."

"Both Esme and Carlisle want to be there for the Denali's and Carlisle will help with rehabilitating Eleazar back into everyday life in his free time. It's a great opportunity career wise too. Even for Esme, she can pick up a few high profile jobs for her interior design business while up there. They think New York might be a nice change too. Seattle's so much different. Tanya told me last night then I met with Mom. She confirmed. Esme didn't know how to tell us." I spoke in particular to Alice towards the end.

Alice immediately started screaming that Carlisle and Esme couldn't leave us. I let her rant until she calmed down. I looked around my makeshift family, at concerned and sad eyes.

Looking into Bella's haunted eyes, I realised she must have knew. I had been naive to hope for a miracle. It was all in vain. It wouldn't be fair to ask that of Bella. I took a deep breath with a heavy heart before I spoke the words that would end the story and hope of Bella and I together, whilst sealing my fate.

"They're not leaving us. They want us to go to New York with them."

~\\\~

"The world slows down, but my heart beats fast right now. I know this is the part. Where the end starts."
-I Hate This Part by The Pussycat Dolls

A/N: This was supposed to be a lot shorter of a chapter than it is, as are the remaining ones but Edward ran away from me. Alot of this chapter were his thoughts and recounting but it's necessary for the story. Most of FP has been like that actually.

Anyway, there is quite exciting news. I have several new, fabulous banners made for me and the links are on my profile. Thanks again to FrozenSoldier, kstewfangirl and annamorphos for sharing with me their lovely talent and as a result my small band of lovely followers too.

I've made a Twitter account just for fanfiction purposes. Come on over and play. Follow me younganndmature You can ask me questions and we can chat about FP or anything else. The link is also on my profile. I'll also give regular updates there on the progress of chapters etc.

I read and reply to each and every review and PM and love to hear from you and how you're liking the story. Especially now that we're nearing the end I definitely want to hear from you.

Was the big revelation in this chapter a disappointment? Are you happy that I've gone un-cliche style and made Tanya just a nice gal? What are your thoughts and ideas on what'll happen next?

Review and let me know. This time, we're looking to hit 90 reviews before I update. It's not much at all. If everyone of you guys reading it take a minute out even to say 'good' or 'bad' or just send me an emotion ':)' or ':(', it'll suffice. In fact, we'd more than exceed 100 reviews. I have a fair few of readers that never review which is very disappointing. Two seconds won't kill you.

That's it. Next chapter in a few weeks, maximum a month. I'm in the middle of schooling, remember? RL sucks. Don't hate on me.

Reviews=updates