A/N: Bella left shortly after Jacob turned into a werewolf, but before she ran into Laurent in the field. Laurent never leaves Denali in this story.

Chapter One

Five (or Sixty) Years Ago

Edward came back to Forks, Washington exactly one year after breaking up with Bella and breaking his own heart. Initially Edward hadn't planned on bothering Charlie. He figured that the police chief wouldn't be very happy with him and would thus be less likely to help him get back on his daughter's good side. That plan went out the window when Edward realized that Bella was no where to be found.

Her scent lingered around the house, barely there and she never showed up.

He waited hours, days, weeks, but she never appeared. More scared then he cared to admit, he called Carlisle for help. He didn't really want to bother his family, but with Bella missing all of the things he'd initially planned on went missing too. Even though Edward only called Carlisle the whole family showed up, even Rosalie. They all in turn tried to smell her out, but as the days passed her scent began vanishing even from Charlie's house.

Alice was looking all over the future for her, but couldn't see anything.

It was like she had just disappeared entirely which would only happen if she had died. Edward refused to even entertain that idea, mostly because it would kill him and partially because Charlie didn't seem upset enough. If his daughter had died, surely Alice would have seen it and Charlie would have been devastated. But neither of those things was true.

So with Carlisle and Jasper by his side, he went and asked Charlie about Bella.

Charlie fidgeting on the couch, obviously uncomfortable sitting a room with three vampires. Even though Edward knew Charlie had no idea what they were, he was uncomfortable nonetheless. Jasper made Charlie far more willing to divulge what had actually happened, but unfortunately he didn't really know.

"Bella came home from Port Angeles one day," Charlie had said. "She was with a man named James." Edward could see him in Charlie's mind. He was tall, regal looking with messy black hair and an expensive red velvet coat. His hazel eyes were expressionless, like he already knew everything and was bored with all of it. He held his head high, his back ram rod straight and any time he smiled, it never reached his eyes.

"He said he had job for Bella abroad. He said the job was in some country in Europe. I can't really remember everything he said. Bella was packing while he was talking to me, I knew she was going to go and that there was nothing I could do to stop her. She was eighteen, there was nothing I could do. She dropped out of school and left the next day."

Edward was wrong. Charlie was devastated, it was just easier for him to ignore it by not thinking about Bella. Edward just wished that he could stop thinking about her too. All sorts of horrible ideas bombarded his mind. Was she dead and Charlie didn't know about it? Was she hiding because she never wanted to see him again? Had she been kidnapped and hurt by this James?

But not one of those scenarios explained why Alice couldn't see her.

It was almost as if she had disappeared from the world entirely. Which was in fact, exactly what she had done. Edward just didn't know that yet. The truth of the matter is simply this: the Dien don't live within the same dimension of reality that the rest of them did. It wasn't that Alice couldn't see Bella's future, just that Bella didn't want her to, and so she didn't. If Bella reached out with her mind, relaxed her natural mental shield and let Alice take a glimpse at her future, Alice would see plenty of things she never would have thought Bella was capable of. And that was precisely why Bella didn't do that.

"Edward," Carlisle called, breaking Edward's concentration. He had been trying to break through Charlie's shield and see anything the police chief might have missed when Bella left or possibly forgot to mention or anything, anything at all he might have lied about. But there was nothing.

She called sometimes, visited with no regularity. Sometimes she came twice a month, sometimes once a week, but she always left so quickly. And in these tiny blurry memories, Edward noticed something horrifying. Bella was aging. Rapidly aging. She went from looking eighteen when she left to looking somewhere around twenty five when she came back seven months later.

Edward. This time the call was mental. Carlisle was worried. Bella was gone and no body, not even Charlie, knew where she went. Alice is still looking for her. We can't give up hope.

They were staying at their old house in Forks. Only Alice had packed before coming back and even she hadn't brought much. None of them thought this would happen.

Carlisle was being patient, as usual, trusting that Alice would come up with something that would ease everyone's worries. Esme was trying to be patient, but was far too worried about Bella and Edward to do much else. Rosalie was irritated at Bella, which really shouldn't have surprised Edward. She always made everything about herself.

If she had stayed here like Edward told her to, none of this would have happened. I could be shopping right now or fixing up my car or…

Edward tuned her out. Bella rarely did anything he told her to. It was one of the things he loved most about her. He never really knew what she was going to do. At one time he found that exhilarating, right now he found it horrifying.

A sense of calm flowed through him and he latched onto Jasper's thoughts. He was focusing on Alice, whose mind was a whorl wind of visions- none of them making much sense or having to do with the issue at hand. Jasper was worried because Alice was worried. She had a rather large Bella shaped blind spot and neither of them liked it. Well, Edward didn't either, but he tried to keep his irritation to himself. Alice was doing the best she could. Only it wasn't good enough.

The only thing that Alice knew for certain was that Bella never would become a vampire… Ever. That vision was gone along with all other visions of his sweet smelling mortal.

Emmett surprised Edward most. If the situation had been different, Edward would have pocked fun at him. Usually Emmett never let anything get to him, but Bella's vanishing act seemed to shake him to the core. He was upset and he really didn't like that. The melancholy that hung over the whole house was hardly dampened by Jasper's gift. Emmett's thoughts revolved around every memory he had of Bella and how much Edward had changed after they left Forks. He was mostly worried about how this would affect Edward. As far as he was concerned Bella was a big girl. She could take care of herself.

Edward growled. Something was going on and it wasn't good. If his Bella needed help-- well, she was out of luck. There was no way he could get to her, to keep her safe. Bella couldn't walk across a flat surface without finding something to trip on. Sure she could take care of herself, but he didn't trust her not to trip in front of a bus.

"I can take care of myself, Emmett," Edward snapped. "It's Bella you should be worrying about." Rosalie sighed, dramatically and rolled her eyes.

Emmett just shook his head. "You fell apart when we left, Edward. We were all hoping that Bella would be able to put you back together, but she's gone."

"What I don't understand," Esme whispered, "is why Charlie didn't insist on knowing exactly where she was going."

"We've got to be missing something," Jasper said. "Some vital clue that will explain everything."

I'm missing something, Alice thought. I'm so sorry, Edward.

Edward shook his head. It wasn't Alice's fault, though he'd really like to blame her. If he hadn't been so stupid about their relationship, so stupid to think that leaving her was the only way to protect her. Rosalie was wrong, none of this would have happened if he hadn't been so damn stupid!

He'd just have to look. He would look forever if he had to.

---5 (or 60) years later---

Edward looked up at Charlie Swan's house bitterly. A strange smell lingered around the house. It smelled something like Bella, but not quite right. Charlie's mind was wrapped around his new wife, Sue. He was happy, content and some of that had to do with Bella. She had come to visit recently and told Charlie something that made him very happy. But Charlie's mind was too out of focus for him to tell what exactly she had said.

It had been five years, much too long for Edward to confront him. Charlie would be too concerned with Edward's perpetually young face to accurately answer any of his questions. Sue's mind was much clearer, she had been out when Bella came to visit and Charlie was very tight lipped about it. Sue thought it was odd, but Charlie had always had an odd relationship with his daughter.

Edward desperately wanted to throw caution to the wind, barge through the door and demand information. That was probably why both Emmett and Jasper insisted on coming with him. But that didn't really matter. If Charlie was happy that meant that Bella was happy. And he could live with that.

He had to. It was the only thing that kept him sane.

Emmett twitched with impatience. Jasper was irritated and it was putting both Edward and Emmett on edge. He wasn't irritated with Edward exactly, but Edward's presence wasn't exactly helpful. Alice spent a few hours a day searching the future for any glimpse of Bella, and when she failed (which she always did) she was sad no matter how much joy Jasper directed at her. Edward knew that Alice didn't do this just for him but for herself too. Jasper knew that, but it didn't stop him from being irritated.

Emmett grumbled. "What's going on in there, Edward?" he asked.

"Charlie got remarried. Bella visited a few days ago and told him some good news but I can't tell what. He didn't tell Sue what Bella told him, but he's thrilled about it."

"If she told Charlie she probably told Renee too," Jasper said.

"And you can read Renee's mind perfectly," Emmett said.

"You're probably right," Edward muttered. Emmett pulled out his cell phone.

"I'll call Carlisle, have him get us some tickets to Jacksonville."

Before Emmett could finish dialing Edward's phone rang. It was Carlisle. "Come home, quickly. Alice is having a vision. A vision of Bella and the man she left with."

Edward took off like a bat out of hell, with Emmett and Jasper close on his heals. It took under a minute and the three of them flew through the door and up into the living room. Alice was hunched over on the couch with her fingers massaging her temples. Jasper sat down next to her and Edward focused on her mind.

The man, James, was sitting behind a desk in a large office. Behind the desk was shelve after shelve of leather bound books. He was writing something with a quill pen, mumbling in language that was completely unintelligible. The door opened and Bella walked in. Edward gasped at the vision of his mate. Bella's belly was heavy, rounded and it was obvious she was pregnant. She sat down in front of James' desk. He kept writing for a few minutes before looking up. He smiled warmly, got up and went to her side. He kissed her cheek, kneeing down beside her.

"Sweet Bella," he said. "You don't have to explain anything."

"Of course I do, James. You've taken care of me for so long. It's the least I can do," she said. His smile finally reached his eyes, it seemed as though this man truly care for Bella and only wanted what was best for her. "I need you to know that I didn't do this on purpose."

"Of course not," James said. "You never liked Jon, I can't imagine you'd use him to get out of doing your job."

"I made a promise to you, James. I'd never do anything to purposely get out of doing my job. No matter how much I didn't like it."

"That doesn't matter anymore. I'd never have you going out taking care of my dirty work now." He got up and went back to the chair behind his desk. "Or ever again if you so choose." He sat down with a sigh and looked fondly at Bella. "But I can guarantee you that I will be sure to ask. You're the best there is."

"Thank you, James. I'd never want you to regret choosing me."

"Before you go, I'd like to tell you why I did choose you."

"I must admit I've always been curious."

"I'd been looking for years. Not just in America, but all over your world. For just the right person. A broken person, a damaged person. If Edward hadn't left, I'd have never picked you. You see, Bella, when he left the only thing you had to live for was your body's desire not to die. Your misery meant that every time you go on a mission for me, I know that you will succeed, because if anything goes wrong you'd choose the mission over your own life. That's why you don't have to work for after you have your baby. You'll have something to live for and your work ethic would suffer."

Bella was quiet for a long time. And then, surprisingly, she smiled. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Being emperor means that you have to make choices that unpopular and unfriendly because it's what's best for the majority of the population. If my being damaged was the reason you picked me, then for the first time I can honestly say, I'm glad Edward broke up with me." Bella wrapped her arms around her inflated belly. "Because if he hadn't I wouldn't have this beautiful life growing inside of me."