Charlie rolled over in bed, the bright sunlight shining into his room and across his face. He was still tired; having worked so much overtime within the past week. But, he finally had a day off and he was determined to enjoy it while he had the chance.

He didn't remember much of the night before. Charlie had driven home with the window open, the cool air keeping him awake. He knew that Bella was aware that he'd be home late, but when he had to stay longer than he initially had told her, he didn't bother to call, knowing that she most likely had fallen asleep by then. When he finally got home at shortly after 11pm, he slipped his shoes off when he came in the house, bypassed the kitchen and went straight to bed. Usually he'd pop his head into Bella's room, but last night, he had been too tired and her door was already closed, a good indicator that he had come to realize meant that she was asleep. Charlie did feel bad though - he knew Bella had made him supper the night before and the delicious smells still lingered in the house when he had gotten home.

With a disgruntled sigh, he sat up, got dressed and shuffled out of his room and into the hallway. Charlie glanced at Bella's closed door, ran his hand through his hair before shrugging as he went into the bathroom. Even after he came out, her door was still closed. He smiled softly to himself. Charlie was glad that Bella was sleeping better than she had in months. He went downstairs and turned on the coffee maker in the kitchen before reaching up above the fridge to turn on the radio.

Charlie yawned, as he filled the machine with fresh grounds, the morning news report playing loudly from the radio.

Ten minutes later, he found himself sitting at the table by the window, newspaper in hand and fresh coffee in front of him. The bright morning sun was shining in, giving promise for a nice late spring day.

When the phone suddenly rang, he reached back over his shoulder and grabbed the receiver.

"Y'hello," he drawled.

"Charlie?" The way Billy spoke sounded like he was surprised to hear his voice.

"Yeah, Billy! How's it going old man?"

"Uh, fine, fine," Billy replied, uncertain. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Not at all. I got in late last night from work. Missing hikers and damn bear sightings have been keeping us busy. But I'm off today. I was thinking of heading to the river to get some fishing in. Care to join me?"

"I'll have to take a rain check this time. Actually, I was just wondering if you've, uh...if you've seen Jake around your place this morning."

"Can't say that I have. Why? Is he not at home?"

"Yeah, well I saw him earlier and I thought that maybe he and Bella may be out someplace together. I was just looking for him."

A smile pulled at Charlie's lips. No one was more thrilled with the fact that Bella and Jacob were together than him. He had already seen Jacob as a son of his, having him dating his daughter was like icing on the cake.

"Well, Bella's here."

"She is?" He asked, sounding pleased.

"Yeah, she's still in bed.

There was a commotion in the background before Billy shushed someone.

"Well, when she gets up, can you have her give me a call. It's about Jake."

"Sure thing," Charlie said slowly, hearing something within Billy's voice.

"Billy, you okay?"

"Yeah, never better, Chief," he quickly replied. "Bye Charlie."

"Bye," Charlie said just moments before he heard the phone disconnect.

Something didn't sit right with him. He turned and placed the phone back on the hook before going back to his newspaper. Every so often, he'd glance at the ceiling, waiting and listening for a sound to come from Bella's room. All he heard was silence.

Charlie looked at the clock on the wall - 9:55am.

With a sigh, he pushed out his chair and put his mug into the sink when something caught his eye - two pieces of paper tacked beside the phone. He hadn't seen them yesterday morning when he left for work. Seeing Bella's handwriting on the backside with his name scribbled onto it, he pulled them off the board.

Charlie sat back down as he read the one with his name.

He sighed deeply.

While he was glad that Bella was spending time with some friends for the next week, he wondered why she didn't just call him up at work to just let him know that. He had no clue who these friends were or even where exactly they were going. Charlie knew that he had told Bella to keep out of the woods and knowing she had stated they were going into the mountains didn't sit well with him either. Charlie was left with so many questions.

Charlie looked down at Jacob's name scratched on the second note. Knowing that it was most likely more mushy than he'd want to know, he couldn't help but wonder if she told Jacob more about where she was going and who she was going with than she had mentioned to him.

He opened the note and began to read.

With a start, Charlie jumped to his feet.

"What the fucking hell!?" He exclaimed aloud, before he quickly rushed to the stairs. He had to see this for himself. When Charlie reached Bella's door, he pushed it open, his shoulders dropping in disappointment when he found the bed empty.

Bella was gone.

Rushing back downstairs, he grabbed his wallet and keys from the counter. He slammed the door behind him before he climbed into his cruiser.

Charlie still couldn't believe Bella would do something as stupid as this. He stewed about it the entire drive to La Push, his heart faltering as he pulled up in front of the Black's home. As much as reading the letter had angered him, he knew that it would simply tear Jacob apart. Still, he had to let him know what was going on - he deserved to know.

"Charlie? Are you okay?" Billy asked the moment he opened the door. He could see the emotions flashing across his friends face.

"Is...uh..." Charlie began feeling the weight of the note in his hand. "Is Jake around?"

Billy shook his head.

"The kid is out with some friends. What's going on?"

"Something I wish wasn't happening."

Seeing the expression on Charlie's face, Billy invited him into the house, offering him a coffee as it was still morning.

"I was hoping you've got something stronger than caffeine," Charlie quipped, the sides of his mouth trying to form a smile, but failing miserably.

Concerned, Billy led him into the kitchen and had him sit down at the small table. Charlie pulled out the note from his back pocket and held it between his fingers before passing it to Billy.

Charlie sighed. "I really don't have words right now. I have no damn clue what Bella is thinking. This whole morning I thought that she was in her room, but she was already gone before I even woke up. Hell, she might have taken off before I got home last night."

Watching Charlie with worried eyes, Billy opened the folded note with his son's name scribbled on top and read it, his heart sinking with each word that he read. A righteous anger filled Billy as he sighed, controlling his own emotions for the sake of his friend. He looked over at Charlie, as the man leaned forward and rested his elbows against his knees. Billy couldn't imagine how Charlie was feeling. A part of Billy was glad that Charlie didn't know the truth about the Cullen's. Surely, knowing that your only daughter ran away with her ex-boyfriend wasn't as bad if you happened to know that he was also a vampire.

"The whole way here I was thinking that maybe it was something I did...or said that drove her back to him."

Billy reached over and put his hand on Charlie's shoulder.

"This was her decision and her's alone."

With that in mind, Billy decided that today was indeed the day to open up that bottle of whiskey that he had been storing under the cabinet in the kitchen. After everything Jacob had gone through with phasing, he considered opening it a few times. But with Jacob and Bella's growing relationship, he had hoped that one day it could have been used in a toast with Charlie, celebrating their children's engagement or the birth of their first grandchild. Unfortunately, it would be used to momentarily drink away their anguish and disappointment.

As they drank in silence, Billy could only think about Jacob and how he'd react.

It didn't take long for him to find out.

Charlie had left shortly before dinner, once he knew his blood alchohol had dropped to a sufficient level. While Billy was concerned with Charlie going home alone, he knew it would probably be best if no one was around when the time came to give Jacob the letter.

Billy sat on the porch as the sun fell and saw Jacob, along with Embry walking side by side out of the forest. The pair had just finished their patrol rotation around La Push. Jacob had a smile on his face, a large contrast to the young man that was in his kitchen that morning who begged him to call the Swan's to ensure that Bella was home. That weight had visibly lifted once Charlie had confirmed that Bella was in bed. It ached Billy to know that he was going to deliver devastating news to his son.

Jacob seemed to know that something was wrong when he spotted Billy sitting on the porch.

"Dad?"

Billy looked down at the note in his hand before glancing back up at Jacob. Both Embry and Jacob had paused, their noses inhaling deeply.

"There's a vampire here," Embry stated, a growl instinctively rising in his throat.

Billy shook his head. "It's probably this that you're smelling. Charlie brought it over earlier today for you."

"Charlie?"

Curiously, the pair moved closer before Billy held out the note towards Jacob. He paused, wincing at the vile smell that seemed to come from it. Jacob could see his name written on the front.

"It's from Bella," Billy added, his face downcast.

To have a note from Bella associated with the scent of vampires sent an involuntary tremor through Jacob.

Slowly, he reached out and took it from Billy. With a final curious glance at his father, he opened it, reading each word.

Billy watched Jacob's face, the small muscular shifts in his expression as he forced himself from breaking down. But what started out as an agonizing sadness turned into an unquenchable anger. It was so thick and palpable, that Embry could sense it.

"Jake? What's wrong?"

He leaned over to read what was on the note when Jacob suddenly turned, throwing the note to the ground before he took off running, his body exploding before he even disappeared into the woods, his loud snarls being the only thing they could hear. Embry looked after him, confused as he picked up the note and read it.

"Holy shit," he mumbled before he began to read it softly under his breath.

'Dear Jake

I made a mistake. I don't love you like I thought I did. Edward has and always will have my heart. I'm running away with him.

Sincerely,

Bella'

Embry scoffed in disbelief, shoving the foul note into his pocket. He could completely understand Jacob's reaction. Embry had seen into Jacob's mind as it always seemed to focus onto Bella.

"Embry, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," Billy told Embry soberly. He nodded before running off into the woods after his friend.

He phased and he wasn't ready for the onslaught of loud thoughts that Jacob was projecting into the pack mind - visually disturbing images of himself ripping Edward apart that seemed to repeat over and over. Embry wasn't the only one shocked by the sudden violent thoughts.

'Whoa! Jake, I know we all hate leeches, but dude, you gotta chill out a bit!' Paul exclaimed, as he ran patrol around La Push with Jared.

'I can't even hear myself think!' Jared shouted in his mind.

Rather than explain, Embry simply recalled reading the same letter that had sent Jacob over the edge.

'Fuck,' was Jared's only response.

'No surprise there. Once a leech lover, always a leech lover,' suddenly flew through Paul's mind before he had a chance to censor his asshole thoughts for Jacob's benefit.

Taking offence, Jacob snarled and raced towards Paul's location. Within a matter of seconds, he collided with Paul's wolf, sending them both barreling into the side of a tree, cracking it and knocking it over onto the forest floor in a loud crash. Paul yelped, as his shoulder took most of the brunt of the impact.

'What the hell is your problem!? Can't you take a joke!?' Paul exclaimed with a growl, trying to get himself righted but failed miserably. He couldn't properly push himself up onto his feet as Jacob continued to snarl at him, his teeth bared and saliva dripping from his mouth as he prowled closer to him. The crazed look in Jacob's eyes actually frightened Paul. For a moment, he was certain that Jacob wasn't even behind the russet wolf's eyes.

Both Jared and Embry were concerned over their brother's irrational actions. While Embry raced to get Sam from Emily's place, Jared thought he'd try to stall Jacob as long as possible from killing Paul before Sam could get there.

'Jake! Stop it!' Jared shouted with a snarl as he quickly came to Paul's side, offering him support despite the shitty remark he made towards Bella. 'You know what a jackass Paul can be. He can't help it! As much as killing him would probably make you feel better right now, you'd regret it. He's your brother. We're family. When one of us hurts, we all do.'

Still, Jacob snarled with no semblance of human thought within his response. All they could see in his mind was anger; pure, raging anger.

'Our lives are already so fucked up! It's just shitty to know that she left you for a leech. I hate it as much as you do!' Paul shouted at him, still feeling the pain in his shoulder although he was finally standing. He was desperate for his thoughts to break through the barrier of strong emotions that Jacob had created in his mind.

No rational thought seemed to be present in Jacob's mind. While he seemed to be ignoring Jared's presence, Jacob's focus of his rage was directed towards Paul, to the point that his mind had reconstituted an image of Edward in Paul's place.

From seemingly out of nowhere, Sam raced out of the woods with Embry at his side, both on two legs. Jared looked over at the pair, not having even noticed that Embry had phased out since he had left to get Sam. Jacob's thoughts were so strong that it overpowered everything within the pack.

"Jacob! Stand down!" Sam shouted, allowing the Alpha timbre to flow out of him.

Jacob's wolf turned to him, the crazed look in his eyes still present. A low growl errupted from the back of his throat as he snarled towards Sam.

Sensing that they were in danger being in their human form and that Jacob seemed to still be beyond reason despite the Alpha order, Embry moved to phase but Sam put his arm out on his shoulder, ensuring that he didn't go anywhere. Sam simply stared at Jacob's eyes as he spoke to Embry beside him.

"Don't move. Just wait."

With a huff, Jacob sat back on his haunches, his ears dropping.

Sam looked over at Jared and Paul, ordering them both to phase out. The pain in Paul's shoulder had nearly disappeared but he was sporting a large purple bruise.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked him. Paul rotated his shoulder, his eyes still on Jacob as he didn't trust that Sam's order had placated him enough to not attack.

"I'll live. But I don't know about him. His mind is everywhere. It's like he's been torn apart. I don't even recognize his mind."

Sam watched Jacob as the wolf whimpered, the crazed look in his eyes having disappeared and had turned to a heavy despair.

As though he couldn't keep himself together, the air around Jacob shimmered before the wolf was replaced with a young man, broken and sobbing on the forest floor. Jacob pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around himself.

Feeling the need to give Jacob some privacy, Sam had Jared and Paul go back on patrol and sent Embry home. But not wanting to leave a brother alone while going through something devastating, Sam sat on the fallen tree and simply watched over Jacob from a distance. It was a few minutes before Jacob's sobs began to subside.

"I just don't understand," he spoke weakly, wiping the tears from his eye. "She said that she loved me. I believed her when she told me that. I gave my heart to her. I gave her every part of me. What did I do wrong?"

Sam, not knowing if it Jacob was talking to himself or not, didn't answer. It wasn't until he saw Jacob look at him over his shoulder that he knew that it was directed towards him.

"You did nothing wrong," Sam replied softly to him.

Jacob growled slightly. "This whole phasing thing...it kept us apart...you, kept us apart."

"Jake, you know that it was for her safety. And a week or two shouldn't have changed her feelings for you."

Jacob snorted.

"She wouldn't have been able to love something like me anyways. She's probably better off."

Sam quickly stood up, his expression fierce.

"You can't believe that."

"Why not? I'm not the same Jacob she knew a few weeks ago. I'm a monster!"

"Deep down, you're still the same man."

Sam watched as Jacob ran his hands over his face and into his hair. When he caught sight of Jacob rubbing his chest and wincing, something hit him.

"Jake, are you certain that you didn't imprint?"

"You saw my memories. You would have known if I had."

"But, it's just that...your chest hurts, doesn't it?"

Jacob scoffed, dropping his hand from where it rubbed against his ribs. "I was just dumped, Sam. Everything hurts. It doesn't mean that I imprinted on Bella. I guess it's a good thing that I didn't. It would be just my luck to have an imprint in love with a bloodsucker."

Sam was about to speak when a sudden howl cut the air. Both he and Jacob knew what it meant; vampire on their land. A growl vibrated in Jacob's chest as he pushed himself up to stand. He made his way over to Sam and for the first time, the Alpha could see the redness in Jacob's eyes from his sobbing.

"That red headed leech must be back," Sam commented with a snarl, pulling off his shorts. "Let's get this bitch. You can take point."

Sam knew that it wouldn't end Jacob's pain, but he hoped that joining with his brothers to destroy a common enemy would give him some gratification and perhaps, in time his heart would heal.

Pubnico, Nova Scotia

Of all places Bella thought that she'd be brought to, she never thought she'd be brought to the most southern town in Nova Scotia Canada. It was a fishing village with a small population of french Acadians in the middle of nowhere. Their three day drive across the country to this town had pissed her off. Neither Edward or Alice would tell her where they were going, citing that they'd let her know when they arrived. Alice accused Bella of behaving childishly when she wasn't getting her way. Bella simply raised her middle finger at the pixie from where she sat in the back seat. Edward sighed, having seen the gesture in the rearview mirror and was frankly becoming more and more surprised by Bella's behaviour.

When they had finally arrived at the small white sided house along an inlet, Edward told them that he would head back to Forks to ensure that Victoria hadn't followed them. While he was gone, Alice tried to cheer Bella up, promising her that she give her her cell phone to call Charlie the next day. While Bella was anticipating hearing Charlie's voice to ensure that he was all right, what Bella wasn't expecting was Charlie's strong reaction to her phone call.

"Bella, you get your ass home right now!"

"Dad, I can't. I'm with friends and we're..."

"Enough with the lying! It's bad enough that you hurt Jacob with your letter, but you lied to me."

Bella was beyond confused. How would he had known that she had lied to him about what was really going on? For a moment, Bella wondered in Edward had gone home and had explained to Charlie what was happening. But what really had her worried was his comment about her hurting Jacob.

"Jacob?"

"Yeah, Billy tells me that the guy is really upset about how you dumped him like that and I don't blame him. I mean, I thought you and Jake had something going on. To just tell him in a letter that you don't care about him anymore...that's like...Bella, that's heartless."

"-wait! What are you talking about? I didn't dump him!"

"Well, it certainly sounded like it...you, leaving Forks with Edward Cullen the moment that he shows his face. I thought you'd know better than that after what you had gone through when he left."

Bella paused, the wheels turning in her head as she tried to figure out what Charlie was talking about. She ran her hands through her hair as she glanced over at Alice, who simply sat on the couch, leafing through a magazine. There was no doubt in Bella's mind that Alice could hear the conversation she was having with her father and she was surprised that the vampire wasn't the least bit shocked to hear Charlie's accusation.

"Dad, I have to go."

"Bella, don't you dare hang up on me."

"I'm sorry, but I really have to go."

"Bella..."

She hung up before Charlie had the chance to say another word. Bella's eyes squared at Alice, who continued to ignore the indignant glare that was being shot her way. To get her attention, Bella tossed Alice's cell phone onto the open page of her magazine. Alice feigned being startled by the gesture and shook her head at Bella.

"You could have just passed it to me," she said irritably, leaning slightly to put her cell phone back in her back pocket.

Bella was livid.

"What the hell did you do?!"

Alice sighed, closing the magazine before she turned to Bella, knowing exactly what had gotten her riled up.

"Bella, I had to ensure that Jacob had a reason to stay in La Push and not follow you. Making it sound like you went back to Edward was the only way."

"The only way!?" She shrieked, angry tears in her eyes. "He thinks that I dumped him..that I don't care! What were you thinking!?"

"Bella, he can't know the truth. You'd be putting him in danger."

Bella ran her hands through her hair.

"You've been trying to get me away from Jacob. Was this all a ruse to get me to leave!? Is Victoria even out there coming for me, or is that a lie as well!?"

"I'm sorry about the note, but everything we've done for you is for your own safety. Victoria is a threat right now and until she's caught, you're in danger. I think you need..."

"-NO! Stop telling me what I should do and what you think I need. Right now, I need you to leave!"

"You don't mean that, Bella."

"Like hell I don't! Get the fuck out!"

Alice sighed bitterly and stood up.

"Fine," she stated. "But I should have you know that this is Edward's property and you have no right to kick me out. But, I'm finding that I need to hunt and I'll have to travel a distance to a decent hunting area. I'll leave you to calm down. I'll be nearby to make sure you're safe."

Bella watched as Alice quickly left the house, leaving her alone with her thoughts. The only sound was the cries of gulls flying over the beach. Feeling deflated, Bella sat down on the couch and sobbed.

It was nearly a week before Edward returned, with new ID for Bella as his wife and news that Victoria had left the Forks area after having no luck in finding her. He seemed pleased with himself that the plan was working. Although his idea never included Victoria in the mix, but it seemed to work to their benefit. There was no need to alert the rest of the family, now that Victoria wasn't near Forks.

The morning he walked into the small white sided house, he was met with a sound that he wasn't expecting. He paused, listening.

"Bella?"

He heard her retch again.

Edward walked past the kitchen, and it appeared that Bella had been in the midst of making bacon and eggs for breakfast. Quickly switching off the burner, he headed to the bathroom to find Bella on her knees in front of the toilet, throwing up. Quickly, he reached over her in the cramped bathroom and grabbed a glass of water from the tap. He passed it into her free hand and pulled her hair back from her face just as she threw up again. Blindly, Bella reached up and flushed the toilet before taking a sip of water and swooshed her mouth out before spitting into the toilet again.

"You're ill," Edward commented as Bella sat back against the bathroom wall.

She nodded and took another sip of water.

"That bacon that I found in the freezer must have been bad."

He smiled weakly and apologized, assuring her that he'd get her some fresh food. She stared at him, her sick eyes weak and tired.

"It's been a week," she stated hotly, before taking another sip of water upon feeling that nausea come back. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Looking for Victoria. It seems that she has moved on from Forks."

More than a week had already passed since Bella had left home; much longer than she had originally anticipated. Bella looked at him with hope in her eyes.

"I can go back?"

With a sigh, Edward shook his head. "Not until we catch her. If you head home now, she'll just come back to Forks. Alice has joined in the search and the others are doing their best too."

Bella closed her eyes and lowered her head along the edge of the toilet, a sense of dread washed over her before she threw up again. It was becoming clear to her that she was going to be in Nova Scotia longer than she ever thought.

Edward reached over her shoulder and held her hair back before reaching to flush the toilet for her. He watched as she sighed, her head still resting along the toilet seat.

"I do have some good news," he said with a smirk, reaching onto the floor where he had left a large envelope. He passed it to her. "Your new ID has arrived."

"My new ID?"

Edward smiled sheepishly, watching as she opened the envelope.

"Isabella Mason?"

Bella stared up at Edward. "You can't be serious? I'm your wife?"

"Only according to these documents. And you were born in Halifax. It will make things less complicated if you ever wanted to get a drivers license out here or any government ID."

Bella snorted and put the envelope on the floor.

"I shouldn't be surprised. You and Alice seem to be good at creating false documents. Tell me, did you have a hand in the letter to Jacob?"

Edward paused, and looked down. "I apologize for that. I had read her mind, so yeah, I knew about the contents of it. But it was for his safety; to keep him in Forks."

As much as she was angry with Edward for having a part in Alice's note to Jacob, Bella was feeling so horrible that she couldn't didn't have the energy to argue with him any longer. Edward helped her to her bed, promising that he'd take care of her.

As the days passed, Bella seemed to not be getting any better. To his surprise, she'd be able to keep down food at certain times and then suddenly, she was vomiting in the toilet once again. It wasn't until a week had passed that Edward suggested that he contact Carlisle. When Bella refused, he opted to take her to the walk-in clinic in nearby Yarmouth if she wasn't feeling any better within the next day. Edward was genuinely concerned for her. He had never seen Bella looking so pale.

That night, Bella finally figured it out what was wrong with her as she suddenly realized how much time had passed since she had left Forks. Bella had been on birth control and had always taken it religiously, except for the morning after she had been sick over a month ago and a few days while she was so focused on Jacob's sudden joining of Sam's gang. And then, in her haste to leave home, she had left it behind. Bella figured her body was just trying to regulate itself from the lack of birth control and that explained the delay in her period. That was, until she considered her nausea that seemed to come out of nowhere and didn't seem to be letting up anytime soon.

"This can't be happening," she mumbled anxiously, her hand resting on her lower stomach. "Not now."

Edward looked over her, hearing her cryptic words. His eyes followed her hand as she held it over her stomach. His face twisted from confusion to agony.

"Oh Bella," he sighed. "Please, tell me you didn't...you didn't have...sex with Jacob Black."

Bella glared at Edward as he spoke the words with such disgust.

"Who I have sex with is not any of your damn business!" She exclaimed at him, surprised by his reaction to discovering that she had moved on and had begun a physical relationship with someone else. He knew that she was in love with Jacob.

Edward winced in disappointment. "Well, that dog certainly left his mark in you. I don't know why I didn't hear it before. You're pregnant with his child."

A/N

Thank you for all the reviews! I appreciate them all and enjoy reading them!

Some readers were asking when the time jump was going to happen. While I was able to PM those who didn't answer anonymously, for those who I was unable to answer, it'll be happening in the next chapter. A lot is going to happen within that chapter...

Also, I can understand the frustration with Bella going along with Edward and Alice, but what other choice did she have? They had her pinned into a corner and Bella isn't yet aware of the wolves, otherwise, I'm sure she would have thought otherwise. And yes, she isn't pleased with the circumstances and how they are manipulating things around her. We'll see more of that in the next chapter.