I don't own Twilight. Huge thanks, as always, to my beta, lislar!


Chapter 7: The Cold November Rain

The drive to the Harris' family home was spent in terse silence. Renee white-knuckled the steering wheel while Bella stared at her lap, nervously twiddling her thumbs. Her stomach clenched painfully; several times she almost asked Renee to pull over, fearful that this evening's dinner was making its way back up her throat.

The house was silent and dark upon their arrival, the lighted walkway casting an eerie glow. To Bella, it looked like a lighted path straight into the fiery pits of Hell. Renee parked her car haphazardly, grabbing Bella's arm and tugging her along as she marched towards the door. Bella struggled to keep up, tripping over her own feet and invisible cracks within the pavement. Renee's hand was tight around her forearm; she was sure there would be a bruise there later.

When they reached the door, Renee rang the doorbell multiple times. After several moments with no answer, she began to repeatedly ring the bell as she furiously pounded on the door with a closed fist. A few lights flipped on and illuminated the darkness before Mr. Harris came to the door, clad in silk pajamas and an expensive pair of slippers. If the circumstances had been different, Bella might have laughed at his sleepwear choice. Instead, she dropped her head and stared at her shoes.

"It's nearly two o'clock in the morning. What is the meaning of this intrusion?" Mr. Harris bellowed. The family's butler, Laurent, quickly appeared behind Mr. Harris, but was just as suddenly dismissed.

"My daughter's knocked up, courtesy of your son," Renee blurted out. She was never one for tact and Bella was embarrassed by her insensitive outburst.

Mr. Harris sighed as he opened the door wide and stepped aside, motioning for them to enter. He led them through the entrance to a small library. Mrs. Harris came sauntering through another door, wearing ostentatious pink pajamas and looking positively off-put. Her hair was sleek and smooth, looking as if she'd just come from the salon and not the bedroom. Her feet were clad in feathered slippers with a kitten heel. Having only seen those shoes in movies, Bella once again fought the inappropriate urge to laugh.

"Marcus, darling, what is the meaning of all this noise?"

"Well, Jane, it seems that…ummm…Isabella here is pregnant."

"Oh, God. That's what they woke us up for? Just write her a check to cover the cost of the procedure," she replied, waving her hand in dismissal. She looked Bella over, her lip curled in obvious disgust. "Maybe a little extra for pain and suffering." Jane huffed and rolled her eyes as she sat down in a wingback chair.

Laurent suddenly appeared once more, balancing a tray of tea and snacks. He sat it on the table in front of Bella, pouring a cup and handing it to her.

"It'll help with the nausea," he whispered with a wink. Bella gave him a smile in return, thankful for his kindness.

Moments later, James stumbled into the doorway, squinting his eyes and scratching his head. He looked thoroughly confused. His t-shirt and shorts were wrinkled, his hair wild from sleep.

"Bella?" he asked. "What's going on?"

"Nothing that concerns you, darling," Jane answered with a sickening smile. "It seems that Bella here has gotten herself into a bit of a situation. She and her mother were hoping we might help sort it out. It's all taken care of. Now go on back to bed, dear."

"Situation? What kind of—"

"She's pregnant," Renee once again blurted out, cutting off James' questioning.

Bella wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. She stared into her cup, watching the ripples in the tea caused by her trembling hands. She could feel James' heated gaze, imagining his eyes were full of hate and fury. Bella couldn't look at him. She dropped her head even further, allowing her hair to fall around her face like a curtain.

"Bella?" he asked once more. Hearing the pleading in his voice, she couldn't stop herself from looking up. A single tear slipped from her eye and rolled down her cheek. James continued to stare at her, his eyes wide and full of confusion.

Unable to speak, Bella nodded her head back and forth. She crossed her arms over her torso, feeling as if her insides were splitting apart. Her chest felt heavy, like she was suffocating. Letting out a strangled gasp, Bella realized she'd forgotten to breathe. She dropped her head once more and closed her eyes, trying to wish away the world around her.

A warm hand on her knee pulled her back from the recesses of her mind. Without looking, she knew who it was, but she couldn't look at him. James pulled her arm away from her tiny waist, twining their fingers together. His other hand moved from her knee, reaching up to tenderly wipe away the tears that were cascading down her face.

"Bella," he whispered once more.

Finally, she opened her eyes. He was looking at her with such tenderness and love. She couldn't understand how he could cast her away so easily, not when he could still look at her like that.

"James, I told you this was taken care of. Go back to bed. Now." Jane stated through gritted teeth.

James closed his eyes and inhaled a shaky breath. It had been so hard for him to leave Bella before, but knowing that she was carrying his child, he didn't know if he could continue this lie—continue to let her believe that he didn't love her, that he didn't want her. Giving Bella's hand a small squeeze, he turned to face his mother.

He expected to see angry red eyes, full of vengeance and wrath, but Jane looked eerily calm. In the dim lighting of the library, her irises were dark as coals, matching the shade of her blacked heart.

"This changes everything," James said as he squared his shoulders, wanting to be strong for Bella.

"It changes nothing," Jane replied. "This whole thing can be taken care of in a matter of minutes with a trip to the doctor's office."

"But—"

"But nothing. It's your choice, James. The rules are the same."

The rules might have been the same, but for a completely different game. James wanted to do the right thing, to stand by Bella…but he just couldn't do it. He'd foolishly thought that the news of a baby—his baby—would make his mother change her mind, make her see that he was meant to be with Bella. Jane, of course, only saw this as a minor distraction, a small bump in the road. She could care less about how he felt, whether or not he wanted to be a part of his child's life.

In their relationship, he'd always viewed Bella as weak, needing his protection from the wolf at the door. When his mother started messing with her life, however, she'd just dealt with the problems as they came along, never complaining and never questioning. When his mother started messing with his life—his money and his car—he couldn't take it. He turned tail and ran like the coward he was.

Now, he was going to do it again, only this time there was even more at stake. He hoped Bella had enough left in her to make it through this. He wanted to say something to her, to make her understand, but he didn't think he could handle seeing the disappointment and hurt in her big brown eyes.

"Goodnight, Mother," he choked out before exiting the room.

A stunned silence settled within the confines of the extravagant room. Bella sat there wondering how James could rush to her side one moment and abandon her in the next. Before she really had to time to process what had just happened and the ramifications of James' departure, she heard Mr. Harris loudly clear his throat. He had moved to sit behind a desk, pulling a checkbook and fountain pen from the drawer.

"How much?" he asked, looking at Bella as he awaited an answer.

"How much for what?" Bella replied, looking to her mother in confusion.

"Well, for the abortion and whatever—"

"Abortion? I'm not having an abortion."

"Oh, dear God," Jane lamented. "Laurent, fetch me a martini. All of this nonsense is going to give me a headache."

Everyone else was sitting there in silence, staring at Bella. She felt meek and alone, wishing that James or even Laurent was still in the room. She moved her hand to her stomach, ready to fight to protect the tiny life growing inside of her. She squared her shoulders and sat up straight, looking Mrs. Harris right in the eye.

"I'm keeping my baby."

~ O ~

Moments later, Bella was shuffled into the kitchen with Laurent for more tea and crackers. Renee was still in the library with Mr. and Mrs. Harris, trying to work out some sort of agreement. Bella was annoyed to be kept from the discussion, as if all of this wasn't happening to her.

Laurent sat with Bella, gingerly patting her on the back and hoping his presence would at least calm some of her anxiety. He'd never had the pleasure to meet the girl before, but he'd seen her at the end of summer party. One look at her and he immediately knew she was nothing more than a sweet young girl. Now, seeing her here like this, he felt compelled to protect her.

He'd noticed a change in James from the time he'd started seeing Bella. It was easy for Laurent to see that James was in love with her. He'd hoped this girl would be the wake-up call James needed to break away from the life his parent's wanted for him. James wasn't perfect, but he was a decent young man and deserved to be able to live his life as he pleased.

Without even being told, Laurent had known when James and Bella had broken-up. His change in demeanor was evident to everyone around. It was also evident that Mrs. Harris had gotten exactly what she wanted. Laurent wasn't exactly sure what happened, but he'd heard rumblings within the house staff. None of the rumors were particularly pleasant, which led Laurent to believe they were probably true. Mrs. Harris was the most cold-hearted woman he'd ever come in contact with.

Though Mrs. Harris would likely fire them all if she heard the things said of her, the house staff still loved a juicy bit of gossip. The maids were particularly sneaky and always had the most information. Siobhan, an Irish immigrant, had overhead Mrs. Harris speaking to a private investigator. The man had been hired to find out all he could about Isabella and her family. When he basically could find nothing of interest in her past, Jane was livid. Her screams echoed throughout the first floor of the home.

It was no secret from the very beginning that Mrs. Harris despised Isabella Swan, not because of what she was, but because of what she wasn't. Jane had her eyes set on a girl for James and that girl was nothing like Bella. The girl was tall and blonde, from a wealthy political family. Jane didn't care whether James liked her or not; she looked at it all as a simple business merger. The joining of their families would give Mr. Harris just the extra bump he needed to secure his political future. Jane had visions of the White House and she would not be denied in her quest to attain that dream.

Bella continued to sip on her tea and nibble on the salty crackers Laurent had provided her. Her mind raced through different scenarios and she wondered how she was going to do this all alone. James had left her once more, obviously wanting nothing to do with her or their child. Realizing that he really didn't love her anymore brought more pain to Bella's heart, but the most heart-wrenching detail of all was that he didn't love their baby either.

~ O ~

Soon enough, Renee reappeared and summoned Bella to follow her to their car. She gave no explanation of the events within the library and Bella was too scared to ask about what had happened in her absence. As they walked down the pathway toward the car, Bella heard someone behind her, calling out her name.

"Bella! Wait!" James yelled as he emerged from the far side of the house. Bella turned to face him, unsure of what his sudden reappearance meant.

"Bella, I'm sorry. If I could change things, I would, but my parents… If I go against them, they'll take away my trust fund and—"

"—and money is more important than me," she finished for him, a hint of venom in her voice.

"No, but without that money and their support, I won't be able to go to college or anything."

"So we both caused this, yet I'm the only one to suffer the consequences."

"Bella, I know you don't understand, but it's better this way," he said as he reached out to take her hand.

"Just don't," she whispered as she pulled away from him. She walked silently to her mother's car, leaving James standing alone on the sidewalk. Bella held her tears at bay until the car had pulled from the Harris' driveway, racing through the dark city streets.

Was that all it really came down to—money? Bella had often wondered what it would be like to be rich, to be able to buy whatever she wanted and takes trips on a whim. She'd always imagined it to be a glamorous life, full of happiness and fun. But seeing what that lifestyle actually meant and what it did to those within its path, she realized that she wanted no part of it.

Bella wasn't sure what situation the coming months would bring, but she knew things couldn't get much worse. Still trying to process the events of the evening, she was shocked by the words that left Renee's mouth.

"Well, I think that went pretty well."

~ O~

The next few days passed in relative silence. Renee was in and out of the apartment, bustling about in a seemingly pleasant mood. There had still been no discussion about what occurred behind closed doors at the Harris' house. Renee didn't seem eager to talk and Bella wasn't sure if she was ready to hear it. She had held out hope that James might attempt to contact her, but she hadn't even received so much as a text.

Bella spent her days in her room, lounging in bed. She tried to read, but spent most of her time sleeping or just staring at the walls. She didn't even care about the days of school she was missing. There was so much information running through her head and she found it impossible to concentrate.

She forced herself to eat. Though the smell of food made her nauseous and it was hard to swallow with the huge lump in her throat, she knew she needed the nutrients—if not for herself, then for her baby. Most things didn't' want to stay down, but she found that if she started her morning with ginger ale and saltine crackers, she could at least hold down chicken broth later in the day.

Bella cried almost nonstop those first few days, but her tear ducts eventually dried up. Her eyes remained swollen and puffy. She stayed in sweats and old t-shirts, not even having the energy to take a shower. Her hair became greasy and limp. She refused to look in the mirror, but she was sure her appearance was frightful.

~O~

Almost a week after that fateful night, Bella was awoken to the sounds of beating and banging within her closet. She opened her eyes to see Renee haphazardly pulling clothes from their hangers and shoving them into an open suitcase on the floor.

"Renee, what are you doing?"

"Good, you're awake. Get up and get a shower. You have to be at the airport in a couple of hours."

Bella sat up in the bed, staring at her mother. As usual, Renee had plotted out some elaborate scheme and left her completely in the dark. Sensing Bella's frustration, Renee sat down on the edge of the bed, deciding to give her daughter at least some sort of an explanation.

"Look, I'm sending you to Forks to live with your father. I've already spoken to Charlie and he's agreed to take you in. You can have the baby there and finish high school. If you stay here and have the baby, someone could find out, and that would cause problems for the Harris family.

"James doesn't want anything to do with this situation, so we all thought this was for the best. They've already spoken to a lawyer and once you have the baby, someone will come to Forks to complete the paperwork. James will sign over his rights to the baby."

"And what if that's not what I want?"

"Bella, I have no desire to take care of some screaming, needy baby. Charlie won't mind. James' family has money, power, and influence here. I'm sure that if you don't abide by their wishes, they'd have no problem taking your baby from you. Is that what you want?"

Bella could only shake her head. Though it had only been a week since she realized she was pregnant, she already loved her baby. She would do whatever she had to do in order to protect it, especially from James and his Stepford family.

~ O ~

Late that night, as Bella's plane touched down in Seattle, she was almost too exhausted to be nervous. She'd only brought one suitcase with her. The rest of her stuff would arrive later that week. Most of her clothes weren't appropriate for the cold and wet of Forks anyway. Plus, she was sure none of them would fit in a couple of months as her stomach would grow to epic proportions.

As Bella exited her gate, she immediately saw Charlie standing off to the side with a Native American woman. The woman had russet-colored skin and long black hair. Bella immediately noticed the woman's close proximity to Charlie, her hand resting in the crook of his elbow. Bella pondered what this woman's relationship was with her father, wondering if Charlie had a girlfriend he'd failed to mention.

She felt like such a disappointment. This was not the reunion she expected to have with her father. He must have felt the same, shamed by his prodigal daughter, returning home pregnant and alone. This definitely wasn't the first impression she wanted to give this unknown woman either.

Charlie soon spotted Bella, their identical brown eyes meeting. She expected to see disappointment in his eyes. She'd imagined him giving her a grim, half-hearted smile, but what she saw on his face was genuine happiness. Without stopping to think, she ran into her father's waiting arms.

As Charlie held her close, tears leaked from Bella's eyes. His embrace was comforting and warm. Bella smiled as she pulled away, noticing the wet spot from on her tears that stained the dark fabric of his police officer's uniform. Looking at the woman standing beside of Charlie, Bella noticed there were tears in her eyes as well. Before she had a chance to doubt herself, Bella turned and hugged her too.

Moments later, Bella was properly introduced to Sue. Her first instinct had been correct; this woman was Charlie's girlfriend. After enduring all of Renee's boyfriends throughout the years, Bella thought she would be annoyed, but instead felt genuine happiness for her father. He was a good man and deserved someone to love him and have that love returned.

The long ride back to Forks was relatively quiet and Bella was thankful that Charlie had driven Sue's car and not the cruiser. She sat in the back, envious of the love and devotion so evident between Charlie and Sue, their hands clasped tightly together and resting on the center console. It was the kind of love she someday hoped to find for herself, though the prospects now looked even more bleak.

Bella soon drifted off to sleep, waking just in time to see the "Welcome to Forks" sign on the edge of the city limits. Moments later, they were pulling into the driveway of Charlie's little house.

Charlie escorted Bella up the stairs, to the bedroom that she would now call her own. He'd purchased new furniture, items more appropriate for a teenage girl. There was a new bed, a desk, a dresser, and a set of matching bookcases. Sue had also contributed to the space, picking out the purple bedding that covered the bed. She'd hung Chinese lanterns from the ceiling and placed some art prints on the wall. Bella knew that once the rest of her belongings arrived, she'd feel right at home in the space.

Exhausted from both the pregnancy and a long day spent traveling, Bella collapsed onto her new bed once she was alone. She didn't even take the time to wash her face or brush her teeth. She barely managed to pull off her shoes and jeans, crawling under the covers in only her t-shirt and underwear.

~ O ~

A/N: Finally, she makes it to Forks! And I think we all know who lives there. :)

Jane's martini request was brought to you courtesy of m81170. And, once again, huge thanks to lislar for being a super awesome beta.

Reviewers get a teaser and I'm also trying to remember to send a different one to The Fictionators each week. I also send out random bits of info on twitter. Ms_ambrosia10, if anyone wants to follow. And don't forget to check out http://twificpics(dot)com.

Some Momella/Dadward recs for this week :

Fire & Ice by Ancora Imparo 83 – Bella and Edward are both surgeons. He has a giant stick up his ass and she has a teenage daughter.

Such Great Heights by SydneyAlice – Bella is the nanny to Edward's son, Riley. And just wait until you meet Edward's soon-to-be ex-wife.

Relative Wind by Mac214 – A May/December romance and a Dilfward with an unexpected twist.