July 23rd, 2001 – Forks, Washington

Isabella grunted as she landed on her back. The guard with her slammed into the ground, and the sickening crunch told her he wouldn't be an issue anymore. Isabella got to her feet, kicking him for good measure, and looked up as the portal closed above her. All she saw were clouds, and there was a distinct twinge in her neck. Isabella rolled it around and wiggled her fingers. She was afraid her magic would be useless in the new world, but something connected in her mind, and roots snaked out from the trees and wrapped around the guard. They dragged him into the woods, and she willed herself not to cry. She was alone in a random place without her family And that scared her more than she wanted to admit.

"Hello?"

Isabella twisted around and found a man standing behind her with a weird silver instrument pointed at her feet.

"You, uh, you just appeared in my backyard from a swirly-looking thing in the sky," he said.

Isabella blinked at him, then at the house several feet away, and she frowned. The man cocked his head curiously.

"Do you speak English?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"Okay then. What's your name? Do you know it?"

"Isabella."

"We're off to a good start. Do you know where you are? How you came here?"

Isabella shook her head no. Part of her was a little disoriented from the fall, but also from the fact that the man looked like her dead father. It was strange. Kieran told her once about the possibility of other worlds and realms, but it was fantasy talk. Isabella closed her eyes and swallowed the scream bubbling in her chest.

"Maybe we should talk inside," he said. Isabella opened her eyes, and the man pocketed whatever he had in his hand. "I'm no stranger to odd things in this town or the odd people that stay here, but this is way out of my element. So, if you're up for it, can you tell me something, so I can help you? Maybe an age or something because I have no idea what I'm doing here," he added.

Isabella gave him a look and exhaled tiredly.

"My name is Isabella Marie Mills-Swan," she said. "And I recently celebrated my eighteenth year."

"Hold on, did you say, Swan?"

"Yes, why?"

"My name is Charlie, Charlie Swan."

Isabella's heart lurched, and she said, "I believe this conversation should happen inside, sir."

The man stared at her for a beat before he jerked his head and walked toward the house. Isabella followed him, touching the ring under her dress.

Three Years Later

Bella yawned as the plane landed. She regretted taking such a long trip, but it was necessary. Her first two or so years with Charlie were an adventure, to say the least. Charlie had to teach her everything about the modern world. She didn't know how to use a phone, a computer, the shower, an oven, or pretty much everything in existence. But Bella was a fast learner, and within ten months, she had a handle on her new life. Charlie knew someone who could create documents for her without asking questions as Bella had no birth certificate or documentation that allowed her to work. Bella remained in the house until she had the go-ahead to get a part-time job at the grocery store.

But Bella grew restless with the routine, and Charlie picked up on it. She felt like she was failing her family by not making an effort to look for them and find her way back to them. And Charlie wasn't even close to being a science expert. Which led them to the point where they realized that there were things that Charlie couldn't teach her, and he pointed her in the right direction.

Bella celebrated her twenty-first birthday in Forks with a cupcake and a Mariners game. The next day, she was on a plane to London to stay with Professor Harrison Wells, an old friend of Charlie's that was currently on sabbatical from Oxford College. He specialized in exactly what Bella needed to find a way home, and she hoped he could make do with his desire to create a device that would send her through time and space. Or, at the very least, teach Bella the mechanics involving planes because she had no idea how they stayed in the air.

The trip was terrifying for the first half, but once she got used to the experience, Bella enjoyed the weightlessness. She wrote down notes in her book and sighed when she ran out of space. Thankfully, there was a store in Heathrow, and Bella used a little of the money Charlie gave her and purchased a new notebook. During that time, Bella had her first "culture shock." Forks, Washington was slow and steady, London was the opposite, and she retreated into her shell as she rode through the new city. Bella white-knuckled the cab door the entire ride. When she arrived at her location, Bella tripped in her haste to get out of the car and gulped in large amounts of air.

"I would ask if you enjoyed your trip, but you look like you could use a drink."

Bella glanced up at a well-dressed man, the one Charlie sent her to meet if the pictures told her anything, and she grimaced.

"Good afternoon, Professor Wells," she said. "I promise I am not as unrefined as I seem."

"Considering what Charlie told me, this is good for your first cab ride. And call me Harrison."

Bella nodded but regretted it immediately. The driver dropped Bella's duffel bag at her feet and held out his hand. She gave him a confused look, and the driver huffed.

"My tip. Didn't just drive 'cross the city for nothin', lady," he said.

"Tip?" she repeated. "Why should I tip you for doing your job?"

Harrison coughed and quickly passed the driver a piece of colorful paper and sent him on his way. The driver shot Bella a dirty look before he left, and Bella, for what felt like the millionth time in a matter of months, found herself wishing Kieran were with her. Her sister had the best ability to adapt to new situations.

"What did I say wrong?" she sighed, pulling out her book.

"Tipping is considered a common courtesy in many places. Not all, but some," he explained.

Bella wrote that down and pocketed her book.

"Thank you. I have to write things down so that I can remember."

"Not a problem. Let's get a drink in you, and you can fill in the parts of the story Charlie left out."

Bella picked up her bag and followed Harrison into his home. Bella, not for the first time, compared it to where she grew up and found it lacking. Then again, not many people had the pleasure of saying they were raised in a castle. Harrison led her to his study and gestured for her to sit down.

"Charlie gave me very little details, saying you weren't from here and needed a bit of help, but he was exceptionally vague about the entire thing. If it weren't for the fact I trusted that man with my life, you wouldn't be here. So, if I'm to help you, I need to know where to begin." Harrison handed her a glass full of amber-colored liquid. "I believe my first question should be regarding your name?" he asked.

"My birth mother named me Isabella," she said. "But my family calls me Iz or Bella."

"Which do you prefer?"

"Either one."

Harrison nodded and sat down in the chair in front of her.

"And what is your story?" he asked, gesturing for her to sit as well.

Bella waved him off, preferring to stand, and she said, "It depends on how open-minded you are."

"You'll find that I am open to all possibilities this world has to offer, as long as there's proof."

Bella tasted her drink, enjoying the burn that followed, and she said, "My name is Isabella Marie Mills-Swan, and I was born in a different realm. When I explained where I was from to Charlie, he told me the Enchanted Forest was nothing but a fairytale. I told him that while it was fake to him, to me, it was home. I was separated from my family, and I was tossed into an unstable portal. I am blessed that I was able to survive it. But the last thing I saw before I landed in this realm was my mother. And I miss her. I have been here for nearly eighteen months, and I find that as much as I have come to love this realm, I miss my home."

Harrison eyed her with an unreadable expression and stapled his fingers under his chin.

"Prove it," he said.

Bella pointed to the dying plant in the corner of the room, and the plant came back to life. She did the same to the rest of his plants, and Harrison hummed under his breath. He picked up his drink and smiled.

"I believe you and I are going to have a wonderful time together," he said.

And he wasn't wrong.

For a little over three years, Bella met Harrison's closest friends and learned what she could from them. Iris, an African Studies Professor, and her wife, Kate, a former track star turned culinary chef (who gladly helped Bella in the kitchen), were the first people that she met. But Bella would be remiss if she didn't admit that Iris was her favorite person to talk to. The professor answered every one of Bella's questions without judgment and was happy to discuss different topics as long as Bella needed. Kate, however, reminded Bella of Ruby. Her personality made cooking an adventure rather than a chore, and Bella thought the woman's crass humor was a breath of fresh air.

Harrison sent pictures of every new dish Bella created to Charlie. For some reason, the one dish she couldn't get right was lasagna. Something was missing when she tasted it, and she gave up after a few tries.

The next set of Harrison's friends that Bella met was Oliver and Felicity. Felicity was a computer science major turned science teacher. Kids were her passion, but computers would always be her first love. She taught Bella the ins and outs of a computer to the point Bella could take one apart and put it back together again in minutes. It was also her downfall. YouTube had already been an addiction in Forks, but once she knew how the algorithm worked, Bella was screwed. Harrison had to threaten to take her laptop when he found her wide awake at four a.m. looking at restoration videos.

Oliver, a millionaire bad boy turned CEO introduced Bella to the other side of life. The one that she avoided whenever the King had his feasts or visits from other dignitaries. Oliver took her to charity events, five-star restaurants, and Christmas parties where the cheapest gift could've sent someone to college with tuition left to spare. It was strange being around so much money, and Oliver taught her that many of the wealthy men and women she interacted with were unhappy in their lives. His goal was to show her how empty his life would be without Felicity, and it was important for her to surround herself with the people who loved her.

Not money.

In another act of kindness, Oliver knew how much Bella hated dresses, wearing them only if she had to, so he took her to a store and got her fitted for various suits. He paid for them, saying the price was less than what he spent on dinners during the week. It was jarring seeing the receipt. But after Oliver and Felicity, Bella met the worst people she would ever encounter. Caitlin, a nutritionist, and Sam, Kate's former track mate turned fitness instructor, were psychopaths. They were trying to kill her. She was sure of it. Bella regretted every second spent with them. Regardless of the overall improvement in her health, she never wanted to see Sam or Caitlin again. She gained about ten pounds of muscle in the process but lost all respect for Harrison and his friends.

Who the hell woke up at dawn to run for fun?

But it didn't end with them. Bella cursed Charlie every chance she could for sending her to what was meant to be a form of torture. Sam and Caitlin were puppies compared to Andrea, and Bella had never felt so dirty. Why did Harrison have a friend who owned an escort service and a BDSM club? Why did Andrea spend an insane amount of time teaching Bella the ins and outs of sexual pleasure? Bella was never coerced into anything, but she knew more about the sexual preferences of London's elite than she wanted. Bella could've lived several lifetimes without seeing Oliver's CFO pretending to be a dog for two hours.

It was informational overload, so Harrison took pity on her and introduced her to his godson, Winn. He wasn't a professor or teacher but rather a pop culture expert. He invited Bella to his flat for a weekend of chaos and junk food. Harrison only agreed because the odds of them doing anything other than geek out over Star Wars were too low for his concern. One of Winn's pop culture introductions was comic books. He felt it was important for Bella to know every superhero in creation. She didn't mind. Some of them were cool and others were pretty lame, but Bella found she was partial to the villains. The only hero she had a soft spot for was Supergirl. There was something about the Kryptonian that stuck with her.

Winn listened to her talk about her home late at night over cups of hot chocolate, and he guessed that was why Bella related so much to her. They were both aliens in a foreign world and forced to either stand out or integrate. Kara Zor-El chose to do the opposite, and Bella wondered if the Girl of Steel felt cynical of humanity. Kara owed them nothing. She didn't have to become a superhero, but she did, and some hated her for it. It took Iris to remind Bella that all humans weren't bad for her to stop the spiral she was heading down. And she hoped that if Supergirl was real, far away in another realm, she had people who reminded her of the good in humanity.

Her time in England had to end at some point, she knew that, but that didn't mean she was okay with it. On her last day in London, Bella had dinner with everyone, and it ended with the worst possible thing.

"Gift time!" Andrea shouted.

Whoops and cheers rang out around the table, and Bella groaned.

"Guys, come on. This is unnecessary," she said.

"It's your last night here, hush," Sam scolded.

"Accept our love, Bella Babe!" Kate teased.

Bella stuck out her tongue in response, and Winn carried in her gifts.

"I believe Harrison should go first," Iris said.

"Naturally. Here you go, Iz," Winn said.

Bella accepted the book wrapped in twine, and she removed it carefully. She laughed at the title.

"War of Worlds, first edition," he said. "I felt it was appropriate."

"Yes, of course. I love it, thank you."

"My turn!" Iris said, grabbing her bag from Winn and giving it to Bella.

Bella took it and pulled out a faded Arsenal hoodie. Harrison booed, and Iris flipped him off.

"Ignore him. That's my favorite hoodie, and I wanted you to have it."

"What? No, Iris, I can't –

"You can, and you will. No discussions."

"Just agree, Bella Babe. The wife can be quite persistent," Kate said, holding up her drink.

Bella huffed but held the hoodie to her chest. On and on it went after that. Oliver and Felicity got her a new laptop and a twenty-thousand-pound 'donation.' Bella did the calculations in her head. That would be more than enough to help her get settled for several months until she found a better job. Caitlin and Sam pooled their money together to get Bella mythology books from different cultures plus a stress ball. Bella glared at Sam, who winked and told her to keep it close. Andrea didn't get her anything tangible, but she did tell Bella if she needed a job reference to give her a call. Bella didn't say it out loud, but she didn't want any kind of reference that came from Andrea.

It was probably born from blackmail.

Lastly, Winn handed Bella a couple of Supergirl comics from his stash.

"You are the only person on this Earth who might appreciate this more than me," he said.

"Thank you," she said, her voice cracking. "To all of you. Who knew Charlie knew so many interesting people?"

"Give him our love when you get back, okay?" Kate said. "We miss him."

Bella promised she would, and the dinner continued in full force.

When Bella stepped out of the airport, Charlie waved her over to the cruiser, and she pushed her sunglasses away from her eyes.

"Old man, you look good."

"Is that an accent?"

Bella waved him off and said, "It'll fade."

"Sure. I'm not that old, by the way."

"Time works differently on every Earth, Charlie, but you are most definitely older than me."

"And to think I missed you."

"I missed you too."

Charlie put her duffel bag in the back of the cruiser. She got in the passenger seat and yawned, the jetlag starting to catch up with her, and she rested her head on the window.

"How was your trip?" he asked.

"It didn't feel like three years, but it was fun and informative. I know more about this Earth than my last one. I even got a chance to meet Adele, so that was cool."

"Oliver?"

"Yes. He took me to a charity event where she was singing. To be honest, I was drunk."

"I thought you didn't get drunk."

"Rich people liquor works faster. And I'm used to quantity, not quality."

"Your liquor has to be crying out for help."

"Possibly. I've been drinking since I was thirteen."

"Are you kidding?"

"Nope. Back home, if you could hold a cup, you could hold a pint."

"Every time we talk about your past life, you always mention something new."

"Most of it comes in waves," she admitted. "I know the important things, but there are memories I can't grasp without giving myself a headache."

"I'm sorry."

"No, I didn't say that to make you feel guilty. I'm just saying not everything's in my head, and I don't know if that's because of the portal or because of something else."

"At least you remember your family," he says softly.

"I do. A lot more than I want to sometimes."

"Does it bother you to be around me?"

"It used to. You have my Dad's features, but you're different."

Charlie nodded and let the conversation drop.

"How do you know Harrison and the others? I got the impression there's a story there."

Charlie sighed and turned onto the highway toward downtown Forks.

"Before my parents got sick, I was at the University of Washington and majoring in criminal justice. I was also an athlete. Kate, Sam, and I ran track together. Harrison, Caitlin, Iris, and Felicity lived on campus with us. Oliver was the rich kid with a private apartment or whatever, and Andrea was his roommate. Somehow we all ended up in the same philosophy elective when our professor asked us to write a one-page paper on who we were. It sounded easy, but it was a tough assignment. One night, I was in the library with Kate and Sam, and we ran into Caitlin and Iris. We decided to work on the assignment together, so Sam texted Felicity, who messaged Harrison, who was with Oliver and Andrea, and it became a group thing. We left with our papers nearly finished.

"But by the end of the semester, we fell into this routine. We did things together without thinking about it, and we became best friends. But, um, I had to leave when my parents stopped responding to treatment. Cancer is strange enough when it happens to one person, but both of them? I was a wreck and confused and lost. I was afraid that the others would forget about me, but they didn't. They drove to Forks every weekend to spend time with me or help with my parents. And when my parents passed, Harrison switched to online courses and moved in to keep me company the rest of the year. I knew I didn't want to go back to college. I lost my love for it, so I decided to become a cop. They supported me in that, and when I graduated from the academy, the group drove out and threw me this huge congratulations party."

Charlie smiled, but it was sad, and Bella placed a hand on his shoulder in support.

"Senior year, Kate's at the Olympic trials when her knee gives out mid-run. Her running career's over just like that. She starts cooking as stress relief, and Iris moves in to help out. They'd always had a will they, won't they type love, so it was no surprise to anyone when they got together. When Iris graduated, they moved to New York after Kate got accepted into the Institute of Culinary Education. And then Sam, after a shitty one-night stand after a graduation party, got pregnant and vanished for a little while. Oliver's Dad suddenly died and left him the company, forcing him to take over in his place. Felicity got into a car accident that paralyzed her from the waist down, and she found her calling in teaching. She and Oliver got married in Vegas and have been going strong since. Caitlin sort of fell off the map until she surfaced with Sam as a fitness guru. Sam never mentioned what happened to her child, and Caitlin hinted that the father made an ultimatum that Sam couldn't refuse. I did a little research and found out that she'd slept with a high-profile tech legacy who wanted an heir, not the complications of a baby Mama. I figured Sam was pushed out of the picture."

"That explains so much," Bella sighed. "She always wanted to run through this park next to a playground, and we would sit on a bench watching the children for a few minutes. Sam would start crying, and then Caitlin would drag us both back to the house."

"Yeah, she doesn't talk about it, but I know she wanted to be part of her child's life."

"She would have been an incredible mother."

"No doubt," Charlie said, laughing. "Best mother in the world."

"What about the others? How did Andrea end up in –

"Sex work? We have no idea. Harrison was the last to leave after a once-in-a-lifetime offer to attend Oxford, and I admit I cried when he got on the plane. Things just worked out in their favor, but my demons kept me in Forks longer than I anticipated."

"Charlie…"

"It's all right, I promise." Charlie glanced at her and smiled. "Plus, had I been anywhere else, I wouldn't have met you. Small miracles, I guess," he said.

Bella, possibly due to exhaustion or a combination of things, burst into tears. Charlie panicked for a second until she touched his hand on the wheel. He relaxed, and Bella cried the entire ride home.

"I swear you brought England back with you," Charlie called out from her room.

"Books are a necessity!" Bella shouted, coming up the stairs.

"They better damn well be after the back pain you've put me through."

"What are you talking about?" Bella stopped just before she entered her room. Four new shelves took over the wall, and she exclaimed, "Holy fuck, you built me bookshelves?"

"I did. I knew you would come back with more than you left," he said.

Bella wrapped Charlie in a hug and whispered, "Thank you."

"Get off me before I tase you."

Bella laughed and let him go.

"This is so amazing! I can have a library of my own."

"You didn't have one in your fancy castle?"

"Those books were old," she said. "Kieran loved the knowledge, but I hated all the crap in there."

"Huh. So you are a secret nerd."

"I never said I wasn't."

"Sure. I'm going to order pizza because I forgot to go grocery shopping."

"How you survived so long without me is a mystery."

"Whatever. What do you want?"

"Meat special, please."

"Didn't Sam and Caitlin put you on some kind of caveman diet?"

"Today's my cheat day."

"Liar."

"Just order the damn pizza."

Bella flopped on the couch and stretched out with a plate topped with pizza.

"So? What's the gossip? What have I missed?" Bella asked.

Charlie propped his legs on the coffee table and said, "Some doctor and his family showed up around a month after you left. The town loves them, but Harry said the folks in La Push hate them."

"They hate everyone."

"A fair point," Charlie snorted.

"Did he say why?"

"They're Cold Ones, over a hundred at the least."

"Oh, so the vampire thing was real?"

"I wouldn't have told you if I didn't think it wasn't. When Billy told me those legends, I almost put him in a white room. Then you crashed into my backyard, and I figured he probably wasn't far off."

"Billy is a pain, and so is his son."

"You have to get over what happened."

"He propositioned me with a truck," she argued. "I almost snapped his neck."

"Please refrain from making those kinds of threats in my presence."

"You've heard worse," she scoffed. "Anyway, what's the doctor's name?"

"Carlisle Cullen. He and his wife, Esme, have seven kids in total. But their two oldest are in Vermont for school."

"Seven?"

"Adopted."

"Oh. Who are the ones here?"

"Edward, Jasper, and Alice." Charlie took another sip of beer and added, "Yorkie said his kid, Eric, went to school with them and that they were pretty shut off from everyone else."

"Sounds like my kind of people."

"Did you forget they're vampires?"

"My cousin was a werewolf," she countered. "A real one, not those puppies down at La Push."

"Touché."

Bella began eating her pizza when Charlie asked what her favorite thing to cook was.

"Pretty sure it was Beef Wellington," she said, swallowing her food. "I liked the challenge."

"That is the most obnoxious thing you have ever said."

"It's easier to make over lasagna."

"That doesn't make sense."

"You can barely cook in the first place!"

"Don't get mad at me because you suck at making pasta."

"Oh, fuck you."

Charlie snickered and tapped his beer bottle against her forehead.

"Since the conversation came up, Carlisle is hosting a dinner the week after next. He invited me, and you're coming with me."

"Will there be an actual dinner? Or are we the dinner?"

"I wager we bring a pie or something. Or maybe a bottle of wine to thin our blood a bit for dessert?"

"Nah, I wouldn't taste good with wine. Maybe a good scotch."

"Who drinks scotch? You sound like some fifty-year-old man."

"God, and to think I came back early to spend time with you. Turn on the game, old man."

Charlie nudged her and reached for the remote. He switched to the game, and they settled back into their old rhythm. Bella smiled to herself as Charlie shouted at the screen. England was great, but it was good to be home.