Sunrise, for the First Time

Disclaimer: I'm a bona-fide character-borrower, let none misinterpret my stealth for stealing! (I don't even know if that makes sense, but anyway, I'm not Stephenie Meyer and I don't own Twilight.)

Author's note: Thanks so much for all the reviews!! I had a lot of fun writing this. Also, there's one more chapter in the works, mostly fluff, but I think you'll like it. I may get it done pretty soon though, and render my nifty author's note useless, but we'll see.

Oh!! Actually, question -- what does "AU" mean on the summaries? I'm a dunce, I know… But it's driving me bonkers.

Huh, spellcheck didn't underline "bonkers", but it underlined "spellcheck". Neat.

Okay, enough rambling. Enjoy!

Chapter 9: Cris-Crossed

My head whirled the entire way back. I had to make a decision about how to handle this. There was no way we would get there in time to keep Edward from crossing the boundary line, even with Jasper pressing the accelerator to the floor, not even slowing down for turns. Alice had me locked in her marble embrace, prepared to keep me from harm, apparently not sure that even Jasper with his vampire reflexes could avoid a crash at this speed. At least, that's why I assumed she was holding me.

When we got to the boundary line, we had decided, I would take the car across it alone. (Alice and Jasper were not thrilled with this option, but they conceded when I nearly hyperventilated trying to convince them that I could not be responsible for all of the Cullens getting hurt.) I would go to Jake's house, mostly because that was my best hope for trying to find Edward; I was sure that was where he would be headed.

If I got there before they fought, I would try to talk to the pack. If that didn't work, I would threaten to kill myself if they hurt Edward.

If that didn't work, I would.

Alice looked at me sternly just then, apparently having gotten the gist of my decision. She opened her mouth to say something, but I set my jaw and looked at her, daring to tell me to keep going even if Edward died.

Her topaz eyes filled with pain as she once again told Jasper to hurry.

When we finally got back to Forks, my heart started racing. What if we were already too late? What if by the time I reached Jake's house, all the way on the other side of the town, Edward were already dead? I remember having once learned that the only way to kill a vampire was to rip it to pieces and burn the remains. Would I get to La Push and smell the smoke, and follow the scent to my love's funeral pyre?

I thought that if that happened, I would throw myself into it.

Jasper slowed the car only yards from the boundary line, letting the tires squeal on the asphalt. When the car stopped, Alice and Jasper jumped out. "Bella, if you need anything, we'll be here. Just yell. We'll hear you."

There was no way I would be so selfish as to endanger them, but I nodded and climbed into the driver's side of the car, pressing the gas immediately as I crossed the boundary line into La Push, not ready to face what I would find, but not willing to accept the alternative.

I squealed to a stop only inches from the end of the Blacks' driveway and jumped out of the car as soon as I put down the clutch, not bothering with the keys or closing the door. "JAKE!" I screamed, "JACOB! WHERE IS HE??" I wasn't even sure if he was there, but I didn't know where else to go. I searched the darkened house for any sign of movement, but there was none.

"Bells?" came a husky voice from behind me. I whirled around to see Jake emerging from the edge of the woods in only a pair of khaki shorts. I watched as his eyes took in my appearance. I must look like a madwoman. He seemed shocked, maybe a bit scared, but then his expression relaxed as he walked toward me. "Hey crazy lady, you're going to wake up the whole neighborhood. Where'd you get that car?"

I found my voice. "Edward! Where is Edward?"

Jake looked stunned. "How am I supposed to know?" He frowned, then added, "And even if I did, why would I tell you?"

"He hasn't been here?"

"Been here?" Jake looked at me as if I were crazy, putting a hand on my shoulder. The warmth from his hand reminded me of the image of the funeral pyre, and I shrank away as if he had burned me. "Bella, you're in La Push," he said.

Finally, my reason tore through my panic. "And you would know if anything had happened," I said, mostly to myself, "So he hasn't come here yet." I didn't dare hope he had changed his mind.

Jake, however, seemed to put the pieces together. "Come here?? The bloodsucker's coming here?! Across the boundary line?! After the agreement?!"

Panic returned. "No, Jake, I don't know anything, Alice just --"

But Jake wasn't listening. He ran into the woods without a word, and I stared after him, wondering what I had just done. Had I just sealed Edward's fate? I had to go back to the treaty line.

As I turned back toward the car, I heard a howl.

Jake reemerged and ran to me; before I could react, he held me back as he took the keys out of the ignition and shut the car door. "Bells, go inside with Billy."

"Like hell I will! Give me those keys, Jake; he isn't here, he hasn't done anything!"

"No, he did do something. If he was going to come here, then he's still in Forks, directly violating our ultimatum. It's too late."

I screamed in frustration, pounding my arms on Jake's chest as tears filled my eyes. "Jake, you can't do this! This isn't about Edward, this is about me!" As soon as I said it, the extent of the truth behind them hit me like a ton of bricks. I froze, and Jake put his arms around me.

"Jacob?" Billy called from the porch. Jake ignored him and put a hand on my head.

I wrenched myself from his grasp and stepped back, looking into his dark eyes. I saw sympathy there, and pity, but behind those hid a glow, a certain…. smugness.

He considered himself the victor.

"You did this on purpose," I said slowly as my breath caught in my throat. He continued to stare at me with his false sympathy. "You did. That day you came to my house, and you were standing on the porch. You had it planned."

Jake sighed. "I don't know what you're talking about, Bells." He looked around then, directing my gaze momentarily to the edge of the woods. Sam and a few other members of the pack had arrived, responding, I assumed, to Jake's howl.

I looked back at Jake. "You did. You were talking to each other, and you were the one that lunged first. Even if I hadn't gotten out of the car, you wouldn't have attacked him, because that wasn't the plan. You were baiting him."

Jake's breathing sped up, and I wondered how close to the truth I had gotten. "Bella," he said with authority, "The bloodsucker attacked me first. He had a motive; he wanted to keep you from me, and I suffered injury while he escaped with none. In the eyes of the treaty, that's all that matters."

"He didn't do anything until you hit me. You were the one that was angry; you were the one who was threatened by his presence. He never had anything to worry about, and he knew that." I shook my head. "Knows that," I corrected.

"Jacob," I heard Sam step forward behind me. "Is this true? You hit the girl?"

I widened my eyes. They didn't even know that? I turned around to face Sam and watched as his eyes settled upon my bruised cheek, now exposed from beneath the makeup that my tears had surely melted away. "I saw it. Edward wasn't going to fight, but Jake morphed and lost control, that's when --"

"She is trying to protect him. She didn't see the fight itself, so she's not a reliable witness." Jake sounded angry, almost desperate.

Sam nodded at this, and I felt my knees go weak. "It doesn't matter how it came about; Cullen broke the treaty, and he must suffer consequences. And Jacob, if he has, indeed, failed to heed our warning, all of the Cullens must suffer the same."

Jake nodded and walked toward the pack, who seemed to have come to a consensus about their decision.

Then, Billy spoke from the porch. I had forgotten he was there. "Sam, a word, please."

Sam halted and turned back around, his eyes curious but determined

"Sam, I think the girl is right: the Cullen boy is not the central issue here."

My heart skipped a beat as I gazed at Billy, pleading silently with him to take my side.

"I believe it is, if he broke the --"

"No, Sam. I know my son, and Jacob is capable and intelligent, and he is growing into a wonderful young man." Billy looked at Jacob significantly, and Jacob's posture stiffened under the proud eyes of his father.

I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around myself. Billy had not intended to save Edward; he wanted only to give his blessing.

"He is intelligent, but he is not, I'm afraid, a man yet," Billy looked back at Sam. "He is still a boy in many ways, a boy in love with a girl who cannot return his affections." He wheeled himself down to the driveway and stopped beside Jacob, grasping his hand momentarily and releasing it. "He is intelligent, and, in the face of such an unreachable goal, he has the capacity to develop a way to manipulate the reality of things so as to increase his chance of attaining his goal."

I looked at Jacob then, his jaw set and his eyes full of hurt as he watched his father betray him. He said nothing, however, and would not meet my gaze.

"This," continued Billy, "Is not a fight between vampire and werewolf. This is a fight between two men who are in love with the same girl."

My eyes filled with tears as I heard Billy repeat the words of Carlisle, and Jake turned abruptly and ran into the woods, dropping the keys to the car by my side. No one moved to follow him, but Sam's eyes flickered in his direction for a moment, then he muttered to Quil to see where he went. Quil disappeared into the thicket, and Sam redirected his gaze to Billy, seeming lost in contemplation.

"I am still hesitant to allow this breach, even taking into account the more ….basic aspects involved," Sam said quietly, obviously not wishing to undermine Billy's authority. "The vampire did, after all, technically attack first."

"Sam, you of all people should understand Edward's actions. You know precisely how it feels to see one's love attacked by a werewolf, and exactly how much self-control it takes not to destroy the cause of her pain."

The image of Emily's face fluttered into my mind. Sam winced and closed his eyes as the rest of the pack became utterly still. After a moment, he nodded and looked at Billy, then at me. "You may tell them that we consider the treaty still intact. However, let them know that if they perform any harmful act against another again, no matter what the circumstances, we cannot be lenient."

I nodded, recognizing this as my cue to leave, and stooped to pick up the car keys. Before I left, I bent to embrace Billy, a foreign and awkward event for both of us, but a necessary one nonetheless.

I wrenched the car into gear and headed back to Forks, hoping that whatever had prevented Edward from coming this direction would keep him there until I could reach the boundary line. The Corvette cut through the air like a bullet as I left La Push and the Quileute tribe behind me, knowing that portion of my life was not over, but that it would never mean as much to me as where I was going or the person I hoped was waiting for me there.

----------------------------------------------------

I approached the boundary line and saw three figures emerge from the brush beside it; recognizing the effortlessness with which they moved and the way the moon reflected off their marble skin, I slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car.

Before I even knew who had come to greet me, Edward scooped me into his arms and buried his face in my hair, whispering my name.

I started sobbing then, relief and exhaustion overwhelming my senses, as Edward kissed my forehead. I had imagined him dead so many times during the last few hours that I wasn't able yet to believe the nightmare over. "Where were you? Where were you, why would you leave without telling me?"

"I waited for you, love; I went to your house and I waited. I was never going to leave you, not for a moment."

I continued to cry, confusion now heightening my emotion, when I felt an overwhelming relaxation overcome my anxiety as a hand was placed on my shoulder

"Thank you, Jasper," Edward said quietly, and I shivered as his cool breath caressed my cheek.

"Let's get her somewhere warm, Edward," Alice suggested, and I felt Edward nod before he put me into the passenger side of the car. He joined me not a moment later and we rode in silence toward the Cullen house, Edward holding my hand to his lips as I kept my eyes locked on his beautiful face.

---------------------------------------

"So Charlie finally got back from wherever he was, and when he returned without you I listened to his thoughts. I saw you leaving and saying you were going to find me, and I saw Black there, so I knew he had told you what happened."

I nodded, trying to piece the information together. We were sitting in the Cullens' living room, Edward to my left with his arm around me, and Alice to my right with Jasper at her feet. Emmett and Rosalie sat opposite to us as Carlisle watched from the doorway. Esme was in the kitchen, having insisted upon cooking for me if I wouldn't sleep.

I had, of course, told them immediately that the Quileutes had retracted their ultimatum and explained the circumstances behind it. Carlisle had been the only one to remain unsurprised, and I wondered if the similarity between his and Billy's words were due to something more than coincidence.

Edward had then provided an explanation to Alice's failing vision, at least when it came to where he was going: he never decided to leave, hoping to speak to me first and offer to take me with him. He had gone to my house, and when he found it empty, he had assumed that Charlie and I had left to go out somewhere.

Edward kissed me again, unsolicited but nonetheless more than welcome. I wondered vaguely if his family might be uncomfortable watching him embrace me so intimately every few minutes, but I also thought they probably understood. "So," he continued, "I followed your scent here, but I could smell the wolf's scent the entire way, too; I lost your trail but I could still smell his. I thought he had taken you to La Push, so I decided to go find you." He winced slightly and looked down at me. "I knew it wasn't the best option, but you had been gone so long that I was afraid that the wolf was keeping you against your will, or worse," he added quietly. I put my hand on his chest.

"I heard him roaming around outside," interjected Emmett, piping up for his part in the story, "And told him where you had really gone. He was going to go after you, but I convinced him that you'd just end up chasing each other halfway around the world until you both ended up back here."

"And," said Alice cheerily from beside me -- I had noticed the improvement in her mood since we had gotten back, but I had attributed it to things seeming to have resolved themselves -- "I know why my visions weren't working!" She tousled Jasper's hair beneath her before she looked at me, "Jazz figured it out, because as soon as you drove into La Push, I couldn't see you anymore; your future just disappeared! And I was about to tear down the forest because I was so frustrated but then Jasper --"

"I realized that she only described people's futures as "disappearing" when they had decided to go across the treaty line, and add that to the fact that she didn't know the wolves were going to come to our house --"

"So it's the wolves I can't see; I don't know why, but it's not me, it's them!" Alice finished jubilantly.

Jasper smiled up at her and patted her knee. "When we realized that, Alice tried to see Edward again, and she saw he was waiting at the house."

"So they showed up here without you," Edward continued, "And let's just say it's a testament to my faith in Alice that I didn't go running after you. I left immediately but Alice and Jasper followed to make sure I didn't cross the treaty line." He kissed me again, caressing my face before he pulled away. "One of the longest half-hours I've ever had to endure. I thought my heart had started beating again when I saw you get out of that car." Edward gazed at me, then rearranged his features into a shocked expression, "Speaking of which, dear love, exactly how fast were you going before you squealed to a halt?"

I rolled my eyes. "No faster than you go any normal day, and I was in a bit of a hurry."

"See? Now you understand. It's simply that I'm always in a hurry."

"But why? You're immortal!" I pointed out.

Edward only chuckled, and I smiled at him as his deep golden eyes bore into mine, barely noticing when the room started to clear. Alice, however, before making her exit, addressed me, even though she was looking at Edward. "You know, even while I thought my ability was faltering, a lot of my visions remained as clear as day."

Edward looked annoyed, but I was curious. "Which ones?" I asked.

Alice laughed and stood up. "Just something that your boyfriend there is going to have to accept sooner or later, after he realizes he's wrong about our nature."

I looked at Edward, confused, as he glared at Alice. She giggled and left the room.

"What was that about?" Edward looked down at me, clearly still annoyed at Alice, but allowed his lips to turn up into my favorite half-smile.

"Nothing you need worry about, love."

I furrowed my brow, determined to solve the puzzle, but Edward put his finger into the crease in my forehead. "Enough frowning for one day, I think," he said, then sniffed the air, a slight grimace lining the corners of his mouth, "Hmm, I believe Esme has prepared dinner for you -- or, I suppose, breakfast."

"Breakfast?" I asked before I looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh, my God, it's 4 a.m.! Charlie is going to --" I broke off, suddenly remembering my argument with Charlie. I groaned as a pang of guilt hit me. My poor father.

"Worry about it later, love," Edward whispered, lifting me up and spinning me around in a circle before setting me on my feet. I wavered, dizzy, and he chuckled. "Eat some food and get some sleep. Charlie is a reasonable man; he'll forgive you."

"Maybe, but not without locking me in my room and putting steel bars on my windows."

Edward clucked, "I certainly hope it doesn't come to that. I'd hate to ruin a perfectly good set of steel bars."

I laughed as we joined Esme in the kitchen.