Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I do however own a vintage VMI sweatshirt. Complete with grass stains. I know, I'm soooo lucky.

Beta'd by: fuzzyltlwingedthing.

Chapter Two: In the beginning…..

Bella POV

October 1999, Lexington and Staunton, Virginia.

"Emmett Aaron McCarty—I've told you to stop trying to set me up with people," I screamed into my dorm room phone.

"He's a nice guy Bells," my brother replied.

"He's your roommate," I replied.

"So?" Emmett muttered into the phone.

"So, I'm not going out with your roommate." I was twirling my hair absentmindedly around my fingers, lying on the couch in my room.

"He just needs a date for the Navy Ball; you don't have to do anything but escort him. You'll have fun. And Rosie and I will be there too."

"Uh huh, for how long?" I knew from prior experience that Emmett and Rose didn't stay long at those functions. The last time I got roped into going to one they left to have sex in the bathroom and I was stuck with some computer science dork that smelled like onions. It was not my idea of fun.

"We'll stay the whole night. I promise," I heard Emmett say into the phone.

And that's how I ended up here, two weeks later, sitting next to one of the hottest men I've ever seen in my entire life. His name was Edward. My brother had met him over the summer at a training session for other Navy cadets. His roommate had decided to not come back to the Institute, or the 'I' as I liked to call it, it was really Virginia Military Institute, where my brother was a sophomore.

"So Isabella," the Navy Commander that was sitting across from Edward and I had been talking non-stop, going from person to person around the small table. "What are you majoring in?"

"Biochemistry. With minors in Physics and Math."

"Wow. That's a lot of science. What are your plans after your graduate?"

"I'm going to be a Thoracic surgeon," I said unwaveringly.

"That's a lot of school," he replied. "Have you thought about teaching?"

"No, that thought never crossed my mind," I plowed my fork into a large piece of steak and shoved it into my mouth. I didn't want to continue this conversation. This guy had been insulting everyone's dates all night.

"You should look into it, surgery is a hard field for women," he shoved a piece of steak into his mouth and started to chew. I hoped that he was done.

"Bella's smart. I'm sure she'll be a great surgeon," my dashingly handsome, incredibly smart date said. We had gotten to know each other over the past two weeks. I'd given Emmett permission to give Edward my phone number and we'd been chatting daily for the past two weeks. Last weekend, we'd spent the day together, going to the park, having coffee, and talking in my dorm room. He was a fascinating guy, and unlike other boys I had dated, Edward was able to hold my attention and carry on a conversation. And he talked about more than VMI football, which in itself was a refreshing change of pace.

There wasn't much conversation after Edward successfully shut the Commander up. I guess he didn't have much more to say. We spent the rest of the evening dancing and talking with my brother, Emmett, his date and longtime girlfriend, Rosalie, and Emmett and Edwards other roommate, Jasper. He ironically had independently met my roommate, Alice, at a VMI mixer and had invited her at the last minute. He was lucky she had a ball gown. Edward was lucky that I had one too.

I was eighteen years old. My long, chestnut brown hair fell almost to my ass, the loose waves laid gently against my bare back. I loved that silver gown. It was ball-length, just stopping at the floor; there was a small train that flared out in the back. It was silver and clung just right to every part of my body. The white gloves that all the dates were required to wear almost blended in with my pale skin. My sapphire earrings and necklace set that my father had bought me for my fifteenth birthday hung from my ears and neck. Emmett hated my dress. He also hated the fact that his baby sister might just be getting laid tonight. He was in complete and utter denial that I'd ever kissed a boy, much less was no longer a virgin. If only he knew.

"It's almost time to go," I heard Edward whisper in my ear. We were dancing slowly, swaying to a song by Mariah Carey, his hands were dangerously close to my ass, but I didn't mind.

"Watch your hands, Cullen!" I heard my brother whisper-yell a few feet away.

"Ignore him, "I said, reaching my hands up higher to Edwards's neck and pushing his head towards mine. I kissed him quickly, knowing that much more than a quick peck could get him in trouble, excessive PDA in uniform was frowned upon.

"I plan on it," he said, the song ends and we make it back to our table to collect our things.

"Be careful with her," I heard Emmett say to Edward, "and remember, she has a curfew."

"I do not," I replied, punching him playfully in the arm.

"Bye Bells," Emmett scooped me into his arms and kissed my head. I loved my brother so much.

"Bye Bella," I heard Rose say, also giving me a hug. We didn't initially like each other, but over the two years she had dated my brother, I'd grown to love her like the sister that I never had.

"Brunch tomorrow?" I heard Emmett say, wiggling his eye brows at me.

"Yeah," I replied. "I'll call you," he grabbed my hand and headed to my car. We were staying in the Holiday Day Inn down the street. We were both tired, but I was excited about what the next couple of hours held.

Present Day

Richmond, VA

The shrill ringing of my cell phone woke me up. I was dreaming about the first time Edward and I had sex. It had been three weeks since he walked out of my apartment and I missed him terribly. I hadn't heard from him since, and it hurt. It hurt more than I thought it would. More than it usually did. I wiped the sleep out of my eye and grabbed my phone, noting quickly that it was my personal cell and not my work cell.

"Edward," I said, grabbing the phone without looking at the caller ID.

"No," I recognized the slow, Texas drawl immediately.

"Hey Jazz," I wiped at my eyes again and then peered at the clock.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Are you going to let me in, or do I have to stand out here on the stoop, looking like a stalker."

"Why are you here?" I was confused as to why Jasper was at my home at 8am on a Saturday.

"It's the 3rd," he replied.

"Uh huh," I said, still confused as to why he was here.

"Babysitting, remember? Anniversary? Am I ringing any bells yet, Bells?"

"Oh shit," I replied, standing up and then immediately sitting back down. My head hurt. And then I remembered how much I had drank the night before, completely forgetting that I had volunteered to babysit my 'niece', Annaliese. She wasn't really my niece, but since Alice was my best friend, and Jasper was Edward's best friend, their daughter was practically ours. We'd spent a lot of time over the years with Annaliese, for one reason or another and I couldn't get enough of the little girl. She was the closest thing to a daughter that I would ever have. "Give me a minute."

I looked down at myself and realized I needed clothes first. I found a pair of yoga pants and threw them on, followed by a clean t-shirt, threw my shoulder length hair into a pony tail and ran to the door.

"Hey," I said, pulling the door open and welcoming my niece and her father in.

"Aunt Bella," Annaliese said, running to hug me. Her loud, ear-drum piercing voice was just too loud in the morning and I unconsciously placed my hands over my ears.

"Are you sure about this Bella?" I heard Jasper ask. He looked past my shoulder and I'm sure he saw my trash can, overflowing with bottles of alcohol.

"We'll be fine," I said, grabbing the overnight bag from Jasper's hand.

"We can postpone, maybe to next weekend?" I saw Jasper shuffle on his feet, I couldn't have them cancel their Anniversary trip. They were trying to get pregnant again and they needed this time to themselves.

"No, it's not a big deal," I replied. "We'll have fun, won't we Annaliese?" I asked, looking towards my niece.

"We always do Aunt Bella," she replied.

Jasper looked between the two of us, shook his head and bent down.

"I love you baby," he kissed Annaliese and stood up. "We have our cells; call us if you need us. We're only going to Virginia Beach," he patted his pants pocket, like he was making sure he actually did have his cell, and then hugged me whispering "he'll call soon," in my ear so only he and I could hear.

"Where's Uncle Edward?" She asked me as soon as he was gone. She always asks me, because usually I always know. But this time I didn't have an answer. I had no clue where he was. And neither did anyone else, except Esme, and she didn't know exactly where he was, just that he was gone.

"I don't know baby," I replied. "Hungry?" I asked, opening my refrigerator and then realizing it was empty. Guess we're going out to eat, I thought to myself.

"Where you wanna go eat?" I slipped my Crocs on and found my VMI sweatshirt, I sniffed it a second, Edward's scent was long, long gone, but I had a hope, for a minutes that it'd still be there.

"Friendly's," was her reply. It was always her reply. It was her and Edward's favorite place, and somewhere I always took her, especially when he was in town.

While I drove, Annaliese talked incessantly about school starting. She was so happy to be going back as a first grader. She thought she was such a big girl, now that she wasn't a Kindergartener, and she had the option of wearing either a yellow or white shirt with her uniform, and not just yellow. She asked me rapid fire questions, some of which I was able to answer, and some I couldn't or just wouldn't. It was then I'd change the topic and it worked for a while, until…..

"Are you every going to have babies, Aunt Bella? You'd be a good Mommy."

"Probably not, baby." I replied.

"Why?" she asked.

"It's hard to explain," I replied again, pulling into the Friendly's parking lot.

"I'm smart, I bet I'll understand," she replied.

"I don't think it's fair to have a baby when Uncle Edward is never home. A baby should know it's Daddy. Like you know your Daddy."

"But Uncle Edward is a hero," I heard Annaliese say. It broke my heart listening to her, because it was true, Edward was a hero. A true, American hero. If he was in the Army he could've been GI Joe.

"He is, but he's never home. What do you want to eat baby?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"I think you should have a baby, I really want a cousin," she said, picking up her menu.

We don't talk about Edward for the rest of the meal. After breakfast we head to the mall and then to the movie theatre. By the end of the day, she's so tired that she falls right to sleep and I'm able to relax with a glass of wine and my latest fan fiction stories. I call Alice and Jasper to let them know that their only child is safe and secure and they thank me again for watching her.

Again I try to call Edward. My eyes catch the silver framed portrait from our very first Navy Ball, the same Navy Ball I'd dreamt of the night before. Me in my long silver dress, my hair cascading down my back, Edward holding me close to his side, wearing his VMI dress uniform, a gray top with white pants and shiny Corfram shoes. He was so handsome. We were so young.

Again I leave a message.

Eventually, his voicemail box is going to fill up and I'll no longer be able to leave him messages.

This is the longest that he's ever gone without some form of communication. I usually get something, a letter, an email, if I'm lucky a text. Always something.

This time, nothing.

He's really mad at me.

I wish I could say the Eminem song is right, but I don't enjoy this hurt that I'm feeling. I don't enjoy the lie that I'm living or the feelings I'm feeling.

I want my Edward back.

At about 5pm the next day I give Annaliese a hug as she leaves to go home with her parents. We had a great weekend, it would've been better if it was spent with Edward, like originally planned, but again, his career, his first love, came first. As usual.

As much as I missed him, as much as I loved him, I had it. It had been twelve years since we met. Twelve years of love and hate. Twelve years of broken promises and broken plans.

He had promised me everything. And gave me nothing.

He promised he would fulfill his requirements, five years of active duty military service, and then get out.

He was going on year ten. I promised him I'd marry him the day after he got out of the military.

He gave me a ring. A beautiful emerald cut, platinum set, two carat ring.

I gave it back the day he told me he extended his contract another year.

I kicked him out of our apartment the day he told me he was on the short list for Commander.

I cried on him the day my mother died, and invited him back to my bed.

I kicked him out the next morning.

The sex was always great.

The morning after wasn't.

After I graduated from medical school, and became a doctor, he proposed again. He gave me back the same ring. I was ok with that. It was after all, a beautiful ring.

The day he told me he signed on for four more years, I gave him his ring back and took my key off his key ring.

He came to me the day his father died. I stood by his side as his father was lowered into the ground. I held his hand and comforted him. I told him I loved him.

And we were back together. For a while.

Until that day.

The day that changed our lives, my life, Rose's life, and Emmett's life forever.