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A/N: Suggested Listening: Doesn't Remind Me by Audioslave.

Chapter Three: Backwards In The Fog

Bella POV

"Just tell me, Edward," I sighed. "I know that look. You're keeping something quiet. You think you're protecting me, but you're not."

I couldn't look at him anymore. The frustration was getting to me and I hated being mad at him, but I knew that one glance would crack my resolve. Not this time. I pulled loose threads from the bedding as I trained my eyes downwards, trying not to think about how Charlie had bought it for me, and I'd soon be saying goodbye to Charlie, or about how I wouldn't have to sleep any more anyway.

"You said Carlisle would have some theories for me by Tuesday, well it's now Wednesday, and you've been avoiding me."

"I assure you, Bella, I have not been avoiding you. I simply needed to be sure of the facts before I said something wrong and frightened you."

"Yeah well, it sure feels like it," I grumbled, feeling our age difference acutely.

It was childish, sure, but didn't I have a right to know what was happening to me? Edward's distance was adding to my anxiety, and I couldn't take my usual routes for comfort. Jake had all but cut me out since my collapse at training yesterday. He pleaded with me to tell him what was happening, again and again and hadn't bought it when I insisted that I was anaemic or was coming down with the 'flu. It was both frustrating and comforting to know that Jacob Black could see right into my head with one look at my face. It's a talent I was still grateful my fiancé didn't possess.

Edward was right about one thing, though. Whatever was going on with my black-outs, Jake was the common denominator. The last two had featured him in a starring role, and a part of me wondered if it was the messed-up situation between us that was bringing it on. Was my friendship with Jacob, or rather, my regret at the breakdown of that friendship, the cause of my vivid tours down memory lane? Worse still, was I somehow really changing our history? Honestly, I didn't know what was real anymore. Part of me theorised that I'd somehow messed up my memories with one-too-many bumps to the head. Maybe I was just recalling things incorrectly and the blackouts were my brain's way of rectifying it, but if that was the case, why did everything feel so... off after I came round? And why could I still recall the original sequence of events?

Yesterday, seeing Embry had brought me back to the time before Jake had phased, when he and Quil were convinced Embry had ditched them to become part of Sam's cult. I looked around the field, seeing the impact of Edward's and my relationship on the people in my life. They were all there to protect me, pledging their lives against an unmatched foe in the hopes that we'd scrape by unharmed. The Cullen's presence in Forks had kicked the dormant gene in those mere teenagers into action. If Jake or even Embry hadn't been in possession of that, who knows where their friendship would be right now; probably still distant and separated with no way of reconciling. Slipping back to that day, my heart throbbed painfully at the look of betrayal and sadness in Jake's eyes as he watched his friend with the others. How was he to know that Embry was protecting him? At least this time I was armed with the knowledge that could comfort Jake, even though I had no way of explaining how I knew. Vagueness was my crutch, so I simply told Jake that when it was time for him to learn the truth, I'd be there. The thing was, events after that had played out much the same way, save for a short encounter with Embry five days later in the Reservation store.

He had been standing at the counter, waiting to pay for quite a large batch of food when I wandered in, hoping to find something easy and filling to placate Jake's slowly increasing appetite. I'd left Jake back at his house, pretending to be interested in his math homework. I knew he was just humouring me until we could go out looking for the meadow.

Embry's eyes averted upon seeing me, and he cleared his throat roughly in an effort to bring Joy Ateara's attention back to the task in hand and not the phone conversation she was deeply embroiled in. I picked up a large bag of pasta and some chicken cutlets, taking my place in line behind him. He gave me his back and sighed deeply, the newly-defined muscles in his shoulders rippling beneath his skin. He was tall now. I barely came up to his shoulder blade.

I couldn't remember how I knew that Embry wasn't involved in anything bad, or even what it was that he was involved in at that moment, but something inside me wanted him to understand that I didn't think badly of him anymore. After seeing him when I was with Jake yesterday, I knew that everything would become clear soon – but the haze in my mind wouldn't allow me to recall why, or what his secret, or their secret was. Instinct told me the choice was out of Embry's hands.

"Hey, Embry," I said, quietly.

I remember being slightly surprised that he'd heard me over the excited chatter from behind the cash register. He stiffened, his head turning ever-so-slightly to the side for a beat. His shoulders slumped in defeat and he turned to face me, an expression of sorrow on his features that he soon trained into that patented half-smile.

"What's up, Bella?" he said, before a slight frown creased his brow. "Did you hurt yourself?"

How the hell did he know that?

"Uh, it's just a little bump," I said, pressing my fingers into the stitches on my scalp gingerly. "Jake finished the bikes so we brought 'em out for a test run."

"Wow, already?" he said with genuine interest. "Last time I saw 'em, they were barely bike-shaped," he grinned, and I noticed again how his face had lost the soft edges of boyhood. Embry was a man now, but this wasn't your normal growth-spurt. Once again I dismissed the rumours of drugs – Embry wasn't mixed up in something bad. I just knew it.

"Well, yeah, but that was well over a week ago," I reminded, instantly regretting it as his face fell. My voice was softer then. "Jake misses you, you know."

He looked away again and nodded slightly. "I miss him, too. Can you tell him that? And Quil?" he said hopefully, looking once again like the nervous kid I'd met last month. Suddenly, his head jerked towards the door and his posture stiffened once again, and his face regained the now all-too-familiar hardness. "Actually, no. Don't do that. Just tell them I'm sorry things aren't different."

He moved to walk towards the exit when I called after him. I could see the approaching figure of who I'd later find out was Jared Cameron through the glass door. "Nobody's mad at you, Em, so there's no need to apologise. I'm sure they'll understand when they find out. You're all too close to stay split up for long."

He froze at the doorway, his shoulders rising and falling with laboured breaths, but he didn't say a word before he opened the door and left.

Things were different between Embry and I after that day. He'd always just been an acquaintance, a friend-of-a-friend that I hung out with in groups and shared a joke or two with - when I was in the mood to joke, that is – but since the time I talked to him at the store, there was a quiet understanding between the two of us. Even when he was stuck in rank with Sam, and Jake was shooting them daggers with his eyes, Embry always had a soft smile for me or a quiet greeting.

The day I smacked Paul in the face, thinking all my instincts about Sam's 'gang' being a force for good were wrong, Embry had been the one to take me to Emily's house and to introduce me to her while Sam and Jared diffused the situation between Jake and the hot-headed Paul. He even hugged me tightly, whispering 'you were right, Bella' in a private moment before the rest of the pack descended to destroy the perfect kitchen. I found out later that Embry's mother didn't know his secret. In the same week he'd lost his two best friends and had been fighting constantly with his sole parent and my words had been the one source of comfort for him. It was easy to see why he was grateful, and I tried not to get too embarrassed when he mockingly challenged Jake for his status as my best friend.

"I may not beat you out of Beta, but I think Bella's sure to get sick of listening to your Simpsons impressions and washing motor oil out of her hair."

The thing was, I could now remember two scenarios, the first one being where I hadn't seen Embry again until after Jake phased. Jake had been too worked up by Embry's absence to study and eat before we went hiking for the meadow, and we'd just left straight after I arrived at his house. I'd never gone to the store, never talked to Embry and never offered him comfort. The second scenario was where Jake had been mollified by my words as we watched Sam's gang cliff-dive, so he was able to have dinner and start on his homework before we went out hiking for the evening. Everything had changed from here. I was unsettled and confused, and was genuinely wondering if I was going crazy; I only knew which scenario was real because of Embry's concern for me yesterday. I couldn't see a simple acquaintance getting any closer to vampires in his wolf-form than was necessary without landing a few fatal bites, but other than that, each memory was as real as the other. It was starting to make me queasy, and I decided to keep my musings to myself until after Edward presented me with his own theories.

He sighed again, looking towards the window where the sun was beginning to set. "Alice was the biggest clue," he said, as if starting in the middle of a story. He turned to look at me again, and I forgot myself and met his gaze. "She's finding it increasingly difficult to be around you."

I was confused, but too interested in what the hell he was talking about to interrupt.

"She says that when she's with the rest of us – apart from the wolves, of course – she gets flickers, glimpses of our timelines. Things that will happen in the immediate or distant future. It's not usually something which infringes upon her concentration much, but you-" he sighed again. It seemed like he was afraid of insulting me. I was just afraid.

"'But I', what?" I asked, getting impatient with the half-sentences. For someone as eloquent as Edward, this was definitely throwing up a red flag.

"Your future is a blur. It isn't blank, like the wolves are, but it's like everything is changing at once. Once something gets established, it changes again – and it's not even down to your decisions. We think it's connected to the black-outs. Carlisle's tests only reinforced the suspicion."

"What did he find?" I asked, berating my voice for faltering. I needed to know this, and I didn't need him protecting me. I laid my hand on his colder one, fighting for his attention. Maybe I could dazzle him, too? He looked at me a long moment before squeezing his eyes shut. He covered my hand with his own and gritted his teeth.

"Venom. In your blood. Mere traces of it, but it's there."

I was speechless and it felt like my insides were itching, like I had an uncleanliness that no amount of bathing could fix.

"James?" I croaked, moving to stand and pace the room while fighting the urge to strip my clothes off and roll around on the carpeting. My skin was crawling. I looked out the window, noting that no wolf was on patrol while Edward was here. Would they want to hunt me down now, too? Would I soon become a newborn?

I ignored the flash of fear and disgust that ran through me at the thought of turning into a vampire. This is what I wanted, my destiny, right? It's not meant to feel this wrong. I levelled my breathing as Edward ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes, most likely. Or it could be mine – from when I-"

He still couldn't admit to drinking from me. "Saved my life?" I said, enunciating the words. How could he feel guilty for this? I obliquely realised the itching subsided at the thought of Edward's venom being the poison in my veins. That was better. Edward made everything better.

"Yes. That," he said, cringing again. " Anyway, we think that your blackouts – the memories, and how you say you feel like things are changing... maybe you're right."

"Right about what? Changing things?" I sat down on the edge of the bed again. "How could that be possible? I mean... I figured it was just messed up memories. My brain's rewired itself." I twirled a forefinger into my temple and raised an eyebrow.

"If that were the case, the rest of us wouldn't notice anything, but Bella... every time you come round, there's this sense of..." his mouth twisted sharply, "...unease. It's like forgetting something important. If it was just your mind, why would any of us feel that?"

I didn't have an answer for him. He continued on quietly.

"We think that the venom... it's been allowed time to awaken something in you. You're well aware that some of my kind have special abilities, right?" he said. I nodded dumbly, almost afraid of where he was going with this. "I think this is yours. Most people don't live through a vampire bite, Bella. Maybe the venom has given you your abilities without the ultimate price."

I frowned contemplatively. "The ability to what, remember?" I joked. This really wasn't funny. I inwardly blamed Jake for using humour to diffuse tension. Edward shook his head.

"The ability to step into your memories. The ability to change them into something else, and ultimately, change the past."

"Like what, time manipulation?" I said disbelievingly. I knew by the look on his face, he wasn't lying.

"Precisely."

Reeling, I turned away from him again and studied my hands. Could it be true? Was I finally not useless in the war to save my life? Maybe I could warn Edward and Jacob about Victoria? Maybe I could tell Edward that she was coming for me before he left me? No – that would sacrifice my friendship with Jake.

He's better off without you.

That thought was nothing new with me these days, but I sighed. I was still too selfish to deprive my short human life of Jacob Black.

"Don't even think about it, Bella," he said, cutting into my thoughts. I whirled round to see the stern look he was giving me. "Love, I know that right now you're thinking of how to use this as an advantage, but I beg you – don't do it. You don't know what you could change by doing this. We're talking about a form of time travel here. Opening windows to past events. You could end up getting hurt."

I avoided his gaze sheepishly until his phone started to ring, the shrill tone cutting through the air and breaking my concentration just as I felt the now-familiar throbbing regret that came before a black-out. The conversation as short and clipped and his eyes were grave when he hung up the phone.

"It was Alice. They'll be here in two days."

A/N: Phew. You have no idea how much fact-checking goes into this. I'm used to doing post-series stories which exclude Breaking Fail and have the luxury of making up my own timelines, but this. Wow. Hope the pacing is okay for you, and everything to do with Bella's power is a little clearer.

She's already changing things and she hasn't even realised, and has made a certain shy wolf fall for her as a result of that day in the Res store.

I'm trying to get rid of Edward, believe me. I hate writing him unless he's a good friend of Bella's, and I hate writing her when she's with him. We need to make her a wolf girl ASAP.

Let me know what you think!