The Twilight Twenty-Five
thetwilight25[dot]com

Prompt: Police Station
Pen Name: Mcgt
Pairing/Main Character(s): Bella
Rating: M

This will be a multi-chaptered story.

Photo prompts can be viewed here: thetwilight25[dot]com/round-six/prompts

A/N

Thanks to LittleRedScientist for helping beta this for me and Jenequilter for her prereader skills.

Chapter 3 –I'll Stand By You- Police Station Prompt

Kicking back, I was basking in the warm sunshine wishing that I had my favorite book to keep me company.

Poof – there it was.

My favorite detective novel I'd read over and over was perched in my lap available for my reading pleasure.

Ah, now this was the life.

I put my sunglasses on and began reading the book I'd basically already memorized. As much as I wanted to be absorbed back into the plot, I couldn't help but think about my current predicament. I had to wonder, what else was there? I was all by myself, nothing but the calming whoosh of the ocean to keep me company and the occasional Alistair pop-ins. Other than that, I was pretty much left to my own devices.

Why was I stuck here all alone, when every tale I'd ever heard about near death experiences had the light and the tunnel and the family and friends? Why was I stuck here on this isle? Perhaps as nice as it was, it was my own version of purgatory.

Was I doomed to sit on this beach and lament every stupid, boneheaded thing I managed to do during my lifetime? Is that what Alistair meant by my skewed perception of my life?

Where had I gone wrong?

Well, aside from my singular focus on my shop and my obvious poor judge of character, I wasn't exactly sure where I'd gone so far astray. Or how I'd managed to mess up my life so completely in only a matter of 28 years.

All for what? I doubted anyone other than my mom and dad really missed me. I hadn't spent any real time with my old friends in months, hell maybe even years. Other than Aro, I hadn't dated a man since Eric in college, and even that wasn't remotely healthy.

Perhaps dying really was the best thing that could have happened to me, right?

"You're really overthinking things." Alistair popped up beside me, putting up his hand to ward off the sun's glare.

"Really? Well if you would actually tell me why I'm sitting on this beach with no one but me, myself, and I, then perhaps I wouldn't have to."

"Are you ready for your next visitor? Have you rested enough?" he asked, completely ignoring my question. And for the first time since I met him, he looked genuinely concerned.

"Fine, fine. Who is it this time and what do they want now?" Sighing, I pulled my sunglasses down to look directly into Alistair's eyes. Hoping he's shed some kind of light on all of this.

"I'll see you in a bit. Enjoy your visit," he said, vanishing from sight.

I shook my head in wonder and could only wait impatiently for whatever was going to happen.

Abruptly my sandy expanse of beach morphed into the front of the Forks Police Department. It was another grey day, like the last vision I had only this time, the rain seemed to be holding off, at least temporarily.

There I was, about sixteen based on my clothes and hairstyle. My first car, a beater Chevy Nova parked in the visitors spot. I stood back, gazing at my gawky teenage-self walking into the place my dad worked for over twenty years. He'd gotten shot in the leg during a botched bank robbery and had been forced into desk duty for the remainder of his time on the force. I wasn't sure if this vision was before or after that had happened to him.

It looked like my mom must have forced me into bringing him his dinner since I was carrying a large grocery bag in one arm and a thermos in the other filled with what he always said was the best coffee in town.

Pulling the door open I followed myself into the building as I headed back towards my dad's desk.

The station wasn't very big so it wasn't hard to find.

There he was, standing up, a crutch under one arm while the other struggled to put away some folder in the top drawer of the cabinet.

I watched as my teen-self rushed over, setting down his dinner and grabbed the folder from dad reminding him that he was supposed to be resting the leg, not standing on it.

"I was just putting away the files that had stacked up when I was out. Not like anyone else in here's going to do it." He sounded so gruff and defeated. I knew his demotion to desk duty was like someone taking a sledge hammer to his self-confidence but this was just sad to watch.

"Dad come on, sit down. Mom made lasagna and coffee. Eat it while it's still hot and I'll file these for you, okay?"

He did as he was told, grumbling the entire time about how he wasn't an invalid and could do it by himself.

They both chatted contentedly back and forth joking about my dad's bum leg and how he's gotten out of mowing the lawn for the foreseeable future.

"Thanks a lot dad. If I chop off one of my toes in a freak mowing incident, I'm blaming you," my teen-self teased him, making him smile for the first time all night.

"I'll be back to mowing the yard and doing all the other things on your mom's honey-do-list as soon as I can. Trust me; these crutches make my pits sore."

Once I'd finished filing, I asked him if there was anything else he needed me to do.

"Don't you have anything better to do on a Friday night then spend it with your old man?"

I smiled broadly, leaning down to give him a big hug, whispering in his ear, "Nope, I figured you might like some company on your first night back."

Wrapping me up in his burly arms, he hugged me fiercely before vowing to kick my butt in gin rummy before the night was out.

On our third hand he finally asked, "Your mom put you up to this, right?"

He didn't want to believe that I actually wanted to hang out with him.

I observed myself place my winning cards down on the table replying, "Nope. Honest dad. I'm just glad you're okay."

And it was the truth. I remembered how terrified I was when the call came in that my dad had been shot. I vowed to spend more time with him because sometimes in life you just never knew.

They, well… me? No I? This vision thing was messing with my mind a little bit.

My dad and I continued playing when the phones were quiet and I helped clean up the back log of his typing and filing when he had to work.

As his shift wore down, they greeted Officer Grandby before taking their leave for the night.

Picking up his bag, I held the door for him as he hobbled out towards my old car. Before getting in he leaned onto the roof and said, "Thanks for hanging out with me tonight. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage spending every evening at the station, but you made the transition bearable." Dipping his head in embarrassment he thanked me and got in, pulling the crutches in after him.

I stood on the sidewalk watching as they drove off towards home. The first of many Friday nights I'd spend playing gin rummy with my dad.

"See, you have a big heart. You just need to remember to use it more often," Alistair chided, waving his arms and making the entire scene disappear.

"Now rest. I'm sure tomorrow will be a busy one."

There I stood. On my now darkened beach, a hammock swinging in the breeze between two trees just waiting for me to lie down and drift off to sleep.

With little else to do in the waning light I crawled in and allowed myself to drift off into darkness. Still completely confused as to what the hell was going on.

A/N

Thanks for reading. Please let me know if you're still with me on this story. I'd love to hear your thoughts and theories.

By the way, I posted a new Original Fiction short piece on my blog titled, Conquering Rapids – A little short story about what happens when a Divorcee meets her match on a four day rafting trip down the Royal Gorge. I love these characters a lot and am actually considering expanding the story to a full length original fiction story. Your feedback might help make up my mind.

You can check out my blog at http:/ mcgt2008(dot)blogspot(dot)com/