All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer
Dollybigmomma beta's for me as you will see, because her touch is magic.
Chapter 2 - Name that Dream
BELLA
I decided to change fishing tactics, after I found some more food.
I listened for the whacking of his axe and heard the soft snore of the baby on my back. He was getting heavy, but I knew his dad had the more physical task today, so I would bear the weight. I gathered more moss as I explored, packing the large duffle bag ten more times tightly with moss. It was finally starting to look like a bed. I hoped he appreciated the work I'd done. I found a lime tree and what I thought were avocados. They would be perfect if I ever caught a fish. There was also what I thought might be a mango tree, and I collected three coconuts. I was not sure if we could open them, but I thought if he was up to it, this guy could give it a try.
I headed back to the fresh water, washed the mud from my hands, and recast the lure. This time, I had put a worm I'd dug up on the hook. I sat forward, resting my head on my knees, so the baby could nap. I hoped he was okay back there.
Waiting for a fish to bite wasn't the most mind-stimulating of exercises, and it gave my mind time to wander. I couldn't help but think about all those people who had died on the plane and the others who had made it off with us, but died as well. Out of all those people, I had to question why it had been me that had survived. Surely there had been someone else who had more to offer the world than I did who could have been spared. I couldn't help but feel guilty and sad at that thought.
I must have dozed off, but then I felt a tug on my line. I startled and started pulling it in. I wasn't versed enough to know what kind of fish I'd caught, but it looked like a catfish with its funny whiskers. I couldn't help but cheer with excitement when I saw the size of it. It wasn't huge, but it would be enough for the three of us. My shouting woke the baby, startling the poor little guy and scaring him.
I tried to shush him, but it was difficult to do with him on my back. I heard something moving through the bushes fast towards us. I was worried at first, but then I saw the mess of bronze hair, and worried eyes landed on my face.
"Are you alright?" he asked quickly.
"I caught a fish!" I answered
He shook his head. "That's great; just don't go screaming next time you do it. You scared me half to death, thinking something caught you for dinner," he snapped.
He took the fussy baby off my back, and he settled down quickly in his father's arms.
I found this kind of fish's skin peeled off with some effort, which was really gross, but kind of good since I only had a small sharp rock to cut it with.
The man had rolled a stump into our camp, not far from the corner of the room with all the shelves I'd put up. It looked like he had buried the old roots and then beat the top of the stump until it was somewhat flat for me to work on.
I was about to reach for the pot to cook the fish, when he stopped me. "Just set it on the suitcase frame to roast over the fire, so we can keep our water pot clean."
I nodded in agreement. He was right. I didn't want my water to taste any fishier than it had to. He passed me a couple of sticks. "Here, use these to poke through it and move it around."
I went back to work on the fish. He took the baby with him to work on the coconuts. I noticed he'd taken the sippy cup with him as well. When he returned, the sippy was full of a cloudy liquid that the baby was sucking on unsurely.
He brought the broken coconut pieces to me. They were not nearly as straight as in in all the movies I had seen. They were jagged and uneven, but it seemed they would work for us. I took them from him and used my sharp rock to loosen the coconut meat and piled it into one shell, then scraped some fish into his coconut dish. I squeezed some more lime over it and grabbed what I thought was an avocado. "I'm pretty sure this is an avocado. If it is, it'll taste good with this fish, and it's mushy enough to feed the baby."
I scraped at the skin and was relieved to find a familiar inside. I washed my rock off and cut the food up, giving him an extra-large portion, saving all the seeds to replant.
His eyes lit up, excited. "This looks good."
"Thanks. I just hope we don't get sick of it."
He smiled and nodded. "Alice planned for that, too. It'll just take time. She wanted me to finish the house, before I started the garden and the field. She thinks there are mountain goats around here that'll come to the clearing, once I'm done cleaning it of the broken trees and plant the alfalfa. Then she wanted me to make a bow and arrow to keep the birds away from the seed. We need to plant the corn, beans and squash together. Apparently, Native Americans used to plant corn then climbing beans that would grow up the corn stalks, and then squash with its spiny plants to keep animals away. I say let them come, once I've got my bow working. We could use the food."
I was shocked to hear he was planning to plant a crop.
I looked at him scared. "How long will we be here? Don't you think they're looking for us?"
He frowned. "Of course they are. It'll just take a while before Alice can convince anyone to come into the Triangle. I read ahead a little. There's lots of edible stuff on the islands in these parts. We just have to find it. There are also chickens around. We might be able to domesticate them."
"Chickens?"
He nodded. "Yup, wild chickens. They used to be all over the islands, but animals were brought in that killed them off." He looked back at the island mountain looming over us. "She said that didn't happen here. People were always superstitious about the Triangle and avoided it. That's probably why this place isn't mapped out," he sighed.
He took another drink of our water and then went to lie on the bed. "This is nice. What do you have in here?"
"Some sort of dry moss, but don't worry, I beat the bugs out of it," I added.
He looked at me, chuckling and shaking his head, before he lay back, closing his eyes.
The baby finished up his coconut milk, and I changed his diaper. He didn't want to settle down too much, and I hoped the two bananas I had left would be enough for his breakfast.
"We need you to pick more bananas tomorrow," I spoke softly, not sure if he was awake.
He hummed an answer in the affirmative, and the baby seemed to settle a little at the sound.
"I'll wash out the coconut shells and gather some more food tomorrow, while you work on whatever it is you're doing."
"Okay," he said lightly.
I pulled out a sheet and wrapped the baby up in it, settling him in the middle of the bed. I looked at the handsome man lying silently next to me. He didn't seem to talk much, unless it was about Alice. It was then I realized that he thought his dead wife was going to save us. My brow furrowed as I looked down at him. Maybe he'd hit his head in the crash. It would explain why he didn't know his son's age.
I decided it was time we talked. We had been on this island two days now, and he'd never even asked my name.
"What's your name?"
One eye opened, and he looked me up and down, before he closed it again. He lay silent for a while, and I wondered if he was just going to ignore me.
Then he finally spoke, "Edward, yours?"
"Bella," I said relieved. "What's your son's name?" His face screwed up, displeased. "Can you remember it? Did you hit your head?" I finally asked, worried about him. I moved my hand to his hair, gently feeling for lumps.
His eyes popped open when I touched him, and he glared at me. I jumped back and pulled the baby tightly to my chest, protecting him from his angry gaze.
"His name is Ben," he snapped and closed his eyes again, rolling onto his side, so his back was to me.
Ben settled down, and I gently patted his back, until he finally fell asleep.
I woke alone the next morning. The baby carrier was gone, so I assumed he'd taken the baby with him.
I saw a fresh bunch of bananas, so I ate two for breakfast and drank down some cooled water. I grabbed the duffle bag and the pot, so I could refill it at the creek. I tossed another log on the fire to keep it going. I wasn't sure how he'd started it, but I was guessing it hadn't been easy.
When I came back with the water pot, he was looking at his letter, and then he stood up, looking at his walls and the trees. He put his hand up in the air, and I wondered what he was doing. I stood silently watching him, until he started working again. He put two tall posts at one end and two much shorter ones at the other end.
"Sloped roof?" I asked.
He turned and looked at me, as if he was trying to figure me out, but then turned his back to me again, before answering, "Yes."
"Want me to take Ben with me while you work?"
He regarded me again and then looked back up the path. He moved to take the baby off of himself, while I refilled the sippy cup. The baby took it happily, sucking down the water greedily.
Edward looked at the baby sadly for a moment and then handed me the duffle bag. He had put the fishing stuff in it. I guess he didn't plan on getting any birds today.
A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!