Breaking Tides

4 February 2010

Sum: What if Edward wasn't the first vampire Bella met?

Chapter 11

AN: Most of this chapter was written before this AN, but I needed to make a comment. If you are going to have the first three vampires exactly the way they are in the books, and then switch Rosalie and Bella around in history... please don't change their appearance, ability to block Edward missing in Bella's case, and have Emmett freak out about Rosalie's blood. Really... the whole reason Edward didn't love Rosalie was because she was shallow. Just changing the name Rosalie Hale to Isabella Hale doesn't cut it... because then you run into a whole skew of problems... ie, Edward can't hear Rosalie's thoughts then? WTF? I'm all for changing it up... but do it well... that's all I ask... think about the consequences before you jump into it and then blatantly ignore all the things that really matter in canon without addressing it well if that's going to happen.

Keeping her elbow a secret from Edward was near impossible as he watched her that night slip into bed. She would have scheduled a time to see Carlisle at the office and have him look over both her cheek and her elbow, but now that option might be taken from her, even if she did ask him not to think or say anything near Edward about it. Charlie had been oblivious to it, or at least so she thought but if he did see it, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

Bella had grabbed a few of her things and headed into the bathroom to change before coming back out and dropping them down onto the dresser before using her hand to lift back her blankets and slide in. Edward was there for her to smooth them out over her and slid into bed behind her, wrapping an arm around her and within minutes she was asleep as he hummed her lullaby. It was funny because she got away with it, she'd been using her right hand a lot more than normal. She was left handed naturally and yet somehow had been taught to write right-handed. It probably was part of the reason she was thrown off balance so much, constantly wondering which hand she was supposed to use in dominance, and which foot.

Then in the morning, she woke up exhausted, but knew Edward was there, watching her, so she rolled out of bed and excused herself for a moment. He really didn't need to worry about her, if he knew about this, he'd only worry more and insist on being with her for every step she took in case something else happened to her. Or sic his siblings on her, in either case, she wouldn't be allowed to go see Jacob, it would keep her at a distance that he was unhappy with. It was all very sweet and flattering actually, and while she didn't want to be separated from him either, she also wanted to go see her best friend.

She had ignored Edward the night before when he suggested Jake be allowed to do the perimeter, but not be allowed near her. Bella rolled her eyes this morning as she got dressed in the privacy of the bathroom, wincing but not making much noise as her elbow refused to budge when she lifted her shirt over her head. If he heard and asked, she'd just say it was her cheek, maybe he'd buy it. She hoped so. She had to drop in on Carlisle today, though getting Edward to leave her side long enough to do so might be a hassle. Maybe Bella should just call Jake and get him to drive her.. though he might think about it and then her whole process would be ruined.

Finally presentable, Bella turned towards the door, hoping she'd be able to find a way to weasel out of going to meet his family. Despite his reassurances, she knew the family wouldn't like her, why would they? She was a weak human, sub-par to the rest of her own kind, and that was before trying to even think of comparing it to theirs.

Cardozo might have thought her to be strong in her own unique way, even he thought she was weak enough to be dominated. The Cullens might not try to do so, but would they see that same strength? Was it even valuable outside a mad-man's plot?

Bella was still toiling over her own inadequacies when she entered her room. Edward's back was towards her as he stood at the window, looking out, perhaps even breathing in, the warm air. It wasn't quite sunny, but it had warmed up fractionally compared to the previous few days. It was a nice change, and as soon as she entered the room fully, he turned to her and helped her with her items. He was smiling as he took it, clearly pleased he'd be able to at least introduce her as his girlfriend to his family, if no one else. "What are you thinking about?" She asked almost coyly as she looked into slightly darkened golden eyes.

"How wonderful it is to be able to confirm us." He drew his thumb across her smarting cheekbone, it had swollen in size, despite the cold pressure of his hand throughout the night, and it looked like she'd been punched. She didn't feel it as much as she probably should, maybe it was the swelling, maybe it was the cold and Tylenol, or maybe it really wasn't that bad of an injury. She sure hoped it was the latter..

He never pressed her to say anything towards her feelings, other than admitting to him that she had some. She wanted to loop her arms around his neck and press close and whisper the same words he had sprung on her yesterday, back. She would always want to say them, for she felt that way, but with her arm and her unsure how he would respond to her actions, she held back slightly. This was all still new, she was still new to this dating thing. Bella wanted more than anything to be able to put it out there and know that they were together, but he was a vampire. "I was thinking along similar paths." She finally admitted and reached tentatively out with her good hand towards his face. He guided her hand to rest on his cheek and leaned into it. "Edward- I-"

"Bella! Are you up yet?" Charlie yelled from downstairs, seeming to instinctively know how to cut her off.

"It's all right, love. I will be here to pick you up around eight. Jasper and I were planning to head out for a hunt this beautiful morning. Alice says you can't change your mind, the rest of us won't let you." Edward grinned before pressing a kiss to her hand. "But if you are against it, I might be able to persuade her differently."

"No, it's all right. Will it only be you and Jasper?" She asked offhandedly.

"Yes, some of the others went last night." He pulled her close as Charlie was yelling for her again, she never did respond to him the first time. Edward kissed her cheek then disappeared, her still standing in the exact same position she'd been in while in his arms.

Bella trampled downstairs and said some placating words to her father about going out for a little while. She headed straight to the hospital, glad Edward had given her the excuse she'd never dreamt up, glad for once of his vampire needs.

Carlisle glanced at the list waiting for him and an eyebrow rose and he looked out to the patients waiting, only a handful were there, as it was the busiest time of the week for him. "Bella? Is everything all right? Should I call Edward back?"

He asked as they walked to his office. "No, no, it's nothing like that, I'm actually a little embarrassed to tell him."

"Please, have a seat." Carlisle directed her towards a chair and sat at the edge of his desk near her, but always a comfortable distance away. He was aware of the human aversion, even with his charming manner, and even more so with her previous encounters with Vampires and not trusting them. "Also please know that you are always welcome to come see me right away, you don't have to wait out there. I'm more than happy to accommodate you in my office for any needs you may have. Now what seems to be the matter? This nasty bruise? Yes, Edward did grumble something out of the sort when I saw him this morning, when he came to pick up Jasper. I didn't quite catch it all, what exactly transpired?"

Bella sank into the chair, so he did know something of the matter. "Well, you can't breath or think word of this anywhere near Edward, but I fibbed a little."

"Someone did this to you?" Carlisle was to his feet and leaning over her, but he was frowning, as it probably wasn't consistent with a normal fist wound.

"No, no! Please, let me explain. Edward already knows that I, er, fell and bruised my cheek when I was with Jacob. He's probably angry that Jacob didn't stop me from falling, but it wasn't his fault!" Bella sighed. "What I neglected to mention to Edward, because he was already mad enough about this silly little bruise, was that I jammed my elbow on something as well."

Carlisle looked in Bella's eyes a long moment, trying to discern if there were any lies in her story and he sighed. "What aren't you telling me?"

"I didn't fall?" She asked weakly and Carlisle's eyebrow lifted again, and a quick flash of his eyes confirmed that he was checking again any reports of abuse. "I was cliff jumping and the water slammed me against a couple of rocks." Bella winced as Carlisle just stared at her. "I didn't want to tell Edward because he already thinks the wolves are dangerous."

"Well they certainly shouldn't be letting you do things like that, especially with how brittle you seem to be." Carlisle didn't say more on the matter as he went to taking care of her cheek.

"You won't tell him, will you? I don't want you to have to set Jacob's nose as well."

Carlisle's lips twitched at that. "No, he won't hear of it from me. Though it would be interesting to see you try to get me anywhere near Jacob. He would probably have a fit. I really wish you had come to see me last night. There is a slight infection setting in." He disinfected it and placed a nearly invisible bandage over the two stitches he ended up putting in. It had been hard to see the need before he cleared away the blood caked on her cheek and even then they were less for stopping unnecessary blood flow and more for superficial matters, so she'd have less of a scar. "Though it might be hard to hide it if this arm is broken."

His cold gentle hands worked smoothly and fluidly, it didn't hurt as he bend her arm and then tried to straighten it out. "What's the news doc, is it broken?" Bella tried to put on her best voice impression, and failed, but it still cracked a smile out of Carlisle.

"Not broken, but you did damage some of the ligaments in the back. Taken plenty of aspirin, wear long sleeves, ice it and go from a mixture of keeping it still to moving it, and over again and it should be better in a few days. Nothing irreversible this time."

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen."

"Please, call me Carlisle." He rested a hand on her shoulder and then turned her towards the door. "On the house, of course. But you should go, Edward is calling me and he shouldn't hear you even breathing if you don't want him to suspect anything."

Bella smiled and thanked him again, before getting back into her red truck. Unsure what the conversation could possibly be about.

She had just closed her door when a pale hand was opening it again and pulling her out. It wasn't roughly and she looked up in surprise to see Carlisle. "What's the matter?" Bella asked breathlessly as Carlisle pulled her to his side.

"The vampires that Alice saw made a detour into town. We think it best if you stay somewhere populated."

"Charlie-" Bella looked scared for her father, which was reasonable under the circumstances.

"Is fine, he's at the station."

Bella frowned slightly as they walked back in. "Why did Edward call you, and not Alice?"

Carlisle sighed. "Because Alice is calling Emmet after she called Edward and the likelihood of getting him off the phone as easily as Edward was pretty slim. Don't worry, I just told Edward I saw you drive by earlier and that I would retrieve you. Now you have an excuse for being here."

"What do they want in town?"

Carlisle didn't answer for a long moment as he guided her into the ER and placed her near a mass of other people, probably half of Forks was in the room. Then he lowered himself to her level and looked deeply into her eyes. "They're curious about us and this town. They've never seen so many vampires in one area. They want to know why."

Bella bit her lip, wondering. "What happens when they find out?"

"I hope it doesn't get to that." Carlisle swallowed. "I think it best if you call your reckless friend, have him come here for you. Edward would never forgive me if you were caught in the crosshairs if it comes to that."

"But-" Bella knew the laws, had been told them specifically, and she once thought of provoking Cardoza into breaking them. "They wouldn't want a fight in a public space like this, the Volturi-"

Carlisle nodded, he didn't think it would escalate to a fight, but if they came into town, they might catch wind of Bella and her unusual bodyguards. "They might think it nothing to slaughter a town this small. It depends on the vampire, and their nature."

He was the only vampire that Bella met since coming to Forks who was able to put a fear into Bella that she thought she had been able to submerge. It was worse than Cardoza, at least he only picked off his prey when he wasn't experimenting, but to just kill an entire town because of one insignificant human was too much for Bella to handle. Bella nodded, she'd do whatever she could to help protect these people who had foolishly taken her in, when she could have brought yet another vampire to their doorstep.

It was with tense shoulders that Jacob came into the waiting room, but not seeing Carlisle around, he relaxed slightly and slipped his hand in hers before pulling her out of the hospital. Edward might have a fit with all the time she spent in his presence, especially after only being hurt the day before, and then she was off to an area he couldn't go again. Jacob lead her to his car and closed the door before slipping into his side. Then they were off, slower than if any of the Cullens were driving, but still fast enough to get onto his land before too long.

She enjoyed her time with Jacob, who realizing that Bella was more injured than she let on, chose to do something a bit more low-key. They sat on his couch and watched movies until her phone beeped at her with a text message from Alice. Some of the other wolves were outside Jacob's house, and some were patrolling the reservation. Bella had never felt so protected in her life, not even at her house, as some still had to be on the reservation in case a vampire wandered that way. Jacob snagged her phone before she could read the message. With a quick glance at it, he pocketed the phone and resumed the movie.

He caught her staring at him a few seconds later. "What?" He asked, knowing full well what she wanted.

"What did it say?" She asked, she knew better than to try and wrestle the phone back from him, she'd loose hands down, especially when he was aware that she wanted it.

"Nothing much, just that they left." He responded.

She shifted slightly and the ice pack that she had on top of the pillow slid and encountered Jacob's flesh.

"Hey, that's cold!" He complained, she had been using him as an arm rest, but since it was cold and probably would have melted the moment it touched him, they put a pillow in between. As it was from that slight contact, the ice had already turned into water. "Oops." He chuckled when she looked closely for any signs that it was still usable. "Probably best, you don't want to ice it for too long."

Bella sighed and leaned against his shoulder again. "Can I at least respond with an estimate on what time I'll be back so they don't worry."

"Nope." Jacob laughed when she groaned and buried her face into his shoulder.

"If you get a broken bone, it's not my fault." She warned and his response was to only tug her closer and turn the volume up on the movie.

A few minutes later and her hand was inching towards his side, intent on retrieving the phone, or at least long enough to text Alice back, to reassure her that she was still alive, and then drop it again, before Jacob was any the wiser. She had just brushed her fingers against it when Jacob toppled her onto the ground. She thought he was playing. "Sorry! I won't do it again!" She laughed as he hovered over her, his hands by her head and she realized quickly that it wasn't a game as he vibrated as if he was holding back. "What's wrong?"

Jacob pulled himself together enough to order her to stay put and then he booked it out of the house, the door slamming shut. Half a breath later, and she saw his hulking form press against the window, wanting to get back in.

Bella rose to her feet and opened the door for him, unsure if his large frame would fit through the small space. He managed it and he prodded her with his muzzle to the corner and then he sat in front of her, in a defensive position. "Is something wrong? Are they near?" Bella ran her fingers through his fur, this was the second time she'd seen him in wolf form. He seemed to relax slightly and then he laid down at her feet and knocked her off of them with his head. She fell into him and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He walked over to the couch and picked up her phone with his mouth and then angled his head towards her so she could snatch it from him and then he was trying to squeeze back through the door, this time with another person to consider.

Then once they were through, he broke into a run. She buried her head into his fur as he went, he was almost as fast as Edward. When he slid to a halt, she braved a look around and saw her house just beyond the forest line and saw Edward's silver Volvo in the driveway. She squinted but she didn't see his form in the driver's seat and assumed he was inside. She attempted to slid off of Jacob's back so he could go change back when too cold hands went to her waist and lifted her off of the wolf. She squeak in surprise but Jacob didn't do much but sit down to aid the cold-one in his task. Then once she was off, he pressed his muzzle against her face and then he was off again.

Bella looked up into Emmett's amused face and she frowned slightly at him. "Sorry that our meetings haven't always been under the best circumstances." He threw her over his back and walked to the side of her house. An easy jump later and they were in her room. He took a deep breath in through his nose and then he too relaxed and set her down on the bed. "This isn't exactly how I planned on meeting you again, especially today, but beggars can't be choosers." Emmett dropped a hand on her shoulder.

Bella smiled up at him a little unsure. "How is everything, Emmett?"

He sank down onto the bed next to her and she felt her body go upwards with his added weight and fell towards him. But he only gathered her into a hug. "Oh don't be so shy! First you scream at me, and now you're quiet? I'm not going to hurt you."

Bella nodded, still thinking and tried to placate him. "I'm sorry about that. I wasn't expecting to see a vampire at the school. Especially one as big as you in the first few minutes through the door."

"I suspect it ruined the vibe." Emmett agreed with a sigh. "Edward will be back soon, he's just finishing up with the wolves. The stench of that one is all over you."

Bella pulled her hair towards her face to see if she could smell it, but she couldn't. "Sorry." She mumbled, but Emmett should have suspected it, having pulled her off the wolf's back himself.

Emmett laughed. "I don't care, I'm not the one that has to smell you every time you come back from seeing him."

If Emmett hadn't been there, then perhaps she may never have found out what happened while she was at Jacob's. The wolves spent a lot of time around her house, but mostly in the woods, and only Jacob ventured inside, as she spent most of her time down there with them if she was doing anything other than spend time with Jacob. Jacob was her best friend, the rest were pale comparisons, though still friends with her. Only Edward came over until tonight and it was only a few times that she was aware of.

"So what is the deal? Why did Jacob suddenly react like that and change?"

"We followed the vampires, but had to stop as they disappeared into the Reservation. I'm not sure why Jacob changed, he was watching you at his house, I thought. Which is pretty deep into their lands isn't it?"

Bella frowned faintly, wondering if maybe the wolves howled and he was jumping the gun or something. She was pretty sure they couldn't hear each other in human form. "Yeah. It's not near woods or water, comparatively."

Emmett nodded and then he titled his head. "Perhaps I should let you go. Edward is pretty possessive of you." He tapped her gently on the nose and then stood up just as Edward was sliding in through the window. Emmett nodded towards Edward and then chucked a grin back at Bella. "See you tonight." Then Emmett was gone and Bella was in Edward's hands, and he was holding her close.

"Is everything all right?" She asked breathlessly, wondering if this was too much, but when he moved back slightly, she saw how gold his eyes were and she'd never seen them quite like that.

He pulled her head against his chest and held her there. His chest moved as he took breaths in and released them, acting somewhat human. "I was with Alice. She was unable to see you until you were out of his presence. Which wasn't until a few minutes ago. I was worried that when they disappeared into Q-land that they knew where to find you, that they'd made the connection."

"Have they? Are they a danger to me?"

"I don't think so, I only caught a glimpse of one of their minds, the slowest one, a man by the name of Laurent. He didn't seem to care about you, they were only curious about so many of us being in one area, so close to humans." Edward shrugged. "But they went onto the reservation and you hadn't responded to Alice's text and it worried us that maybe something happened to you and we wouldn't have known it. So I went to talk to the wolves that were near the border. I heard through their minds, Jacob's thoughts about how Emmett was taking over, and then his thoughts disappeared and Alice could suddenly see you again."

"Sorry." Bella whispered. "Jacob was just messing around with keeping the phone out of reach after Alice said it was ok to come back. I told him that you would worry, but he seemed to relish the idea of you trying to break the treaty just to find me, when it would have been obvious to anyone else that in his hands I was safe."

Edward growled lightly in his throat. "Leave it to the mutt to try to stir up more problems. If I had broken the treaty, it wouldn't have been an entertaining matter." Then Edward's hands were on her face, pulling her into a kiss and pulled away just as quickly with a disgusted look. "You smell like him, even your face."

"I buried my head into his neck." Bella mumbled, not feeling comfortable being told she smelt all the time. Especially being told she smelt like other people.

Edward shook his head gently and then pressed the back of his hand to her cheek. "How are you feeling?" His hand rested there a few moments before he found her injured arm and slid the sleeve up to see the damage for himself. There was a nasty bruise there, worse than the one on her face. He held his hand against the injury, hoping it would help.

"How did-?" Bella frowned as she thought maybe Carlisle slipped.

"He is an excellent secret keeper, he just stores those thoughts away until he is sure that I am not in the area if he has enough time to put them there. No, I saw it through Alice." When Bella started to grumble about the pixie, Edward pulled her into his arms and held her. "She was worried about you, she'd seen you go to Carlisle and called me before she saw the results of your visit. Then as she was on the phone with me she saw that you were fine and were going to head home." Edward laughed dryly. "Seems every time I am away from your presence, she's calling me with bad news."

Bella looked into his eyes for a long moment before resting her head against his chest. She didn't need to say anything, he was probably right. She was a magnet for danger, and these vampires weren't the first ones she'd called to her, far from it. He held her for several heart beats before he groaned. Her head popped up, worried that he'd outstayed his welcome at such a close proximity. She wasn't far off the mark with that assessment, but that's not why he groaned. "What? What is it?"

"Could you please tell me what you're thinking? It's so hard not being able to hear your thoughts."

Bella paused for a second before speaking and knew she had to rearrange her thoughts quickly or else he would think she was stalling him. "I was thinking about all the vampires in my life." She put her head back against his cool chest as his fingers rested gently over her elbow, her cheek got reprieve as well, though it was only a secondary function to why she wanted to be so close to him.

"Are you rethinking your position about me?" Edward asked quietly and was relieved when she shook her head, she could feel him relaxing slightly. "If you were, I would understand, I would leave you alone. Though I would ask you to permit me to at least stand guard outside your premises."

She smiled against his chest at the words he used and wrapped her arms around him. "If I had it my way, you'd be here from now to eternity."

Edward chuckled and rested his cheek against her hair, able to breath in somewhat normally as Jacob's smell still masked hers somewhat. "You might reconsider taking a shower tonight, at least until the family gets used to your scent."

Bella let out a small laugh of her own. "I suppose it might help, as long as it doesn't make them angry."

"It won't and it'll wear off eventually. Perhaps I might find use of Jacob afterall." Edward smirked and she caught the motion from the corner of her eye.

"Did anyone get hurt?" Bella asked and Edward had no warning that's where her thoughts had taken her down and he sighed heavily. She lifted her head and pulled away. "Someone did?" Her eyes were wide and disbelieving. "You wasted so much energy protecting me, but another human got hurt in the process of these vampires?"

"First of all, it wasn't wasted, to me you are more important than anyone else in the world and secondly we can't protect everyone. If we had confronted them there would have been bloodshed across the entire town. As it is, no one from this town got hurt, but once they left Forks, I cannot guarantee that they did not find another city to find their meal in. Alice is still tracking them, and all she's told me is that they haven't decided to come back. Now come on, it's time I presented myself to your father the correct way." Edward dropped a quick kiss to the top of her head and then disappeared out the window. A few minutes later, only enough time for her to rearrange her appearance, the doorbell rang and glancing out the window she saw his silver volvo.

Then her father's voice was calling to her from downstairs, that she had a guest. She braced herself and opened her door to tackle this next hurdle.

EAN: Yes, I know, I left you hanging, yet again, before the big dinner scene at the Cullens... sorry about that, that's not intentional. However, what is intentional is getting you an update! It's been forever, and I was more concerned about that then wrapping up a meet and greet scene... haha... More to come, soon, I hope.