A.N:

I won't give any excuses. I'll just say that I'm really sorry that this has taken so long.

This chapter's going to be a test, I think – if there's still any interest in this story, then I'll try my best to carry on with it. But if there's not, then… I probably won't.

So review if you want me to carry on. And I'm really sorry again.

Hope you enjoy.

"Your father's going to need surgery, I'm afraid. It's pretty routine, but like all surgeries, it has its risks…" On and on the doctor's voice droned, and I tuned it out, staring through the window into Charlie's room. He was surrounded by machines, and more tubes that I would've thought possible were sticking out from his arms. He was asleep, as he had been since I'd gotten here – and, according to Sue, had been since it had happened.

"Bella?" I snapped my gaze away to catch Sue's worried eyes, and saw with surprise that the doctor had disappeared. "Bella, why don't you go get some food or something? You look a little pale, and you've had a long day…"

"I'm fine." I tried to muster a smile, but I don't think I fooled her. I could barely even fool myself.

"But even so. You should eat something. I'll stay with your dad, he won't be on his own, I promise."

"You need a break as well, Sue." Nikki's voice, soft and concerned, came from my left, and though she wasn't talking to me, I could feel the weight of her gaze on me. "Look, I'll sit with him. You both need a break. Go to the cafeteria, for a walk, hell, go home if you need to. Just… do something. It's not healthy to stay here for so long."

After a few more weak protests, Sue agreed to go home and clean herself up, and I agreed, reluctantly, to go for a walk. I passed like a ghost through the corridors of the hospital – no-one so much as even spared me a glance. I ended up outside, and the light drizzle that had begun make me feel, for some odd reason, a little better.

I walked a little way away, towards the greenery that was, essentially, the back of the hospital, desperate for a little alone time. With my luck, however, I should've known that that just wouldn't be possible.

"Bella," a voice murmured from behind me, male and a little husky. I knew who stood behind me without having to turn – regardless of the fact that I hadn't seen him for a few years, I'd know Jake's voice anywhere.

"Jacob." I didn't move, and he came to stand in front of me, his dark eyes assessing me curiously. He was tall as ever, and I had to crane my neck to look him in the eye. If I hadn't have been paying attention, I wouldn't have noticed the sharpening of his gaze, and the following anger, but as it was, I did.

"You… You're with him again! Jesus, Bella, after what he did to you, are you really idiotic enough to go back to him? Do you really value yourself that - "

"Hey! Wait a damn fucking minute! Where do you get off calling me an idiot? I can do whatever the fuck I want! You don't order me around, you never have and you never will. So just back the hell off!" I saw surprise flicker in his eyes at my outburst, and it was only then that my mind started to register what he had actually said – my original reaction had only been to be annoyed by the way he was speaking to me. "Wait – I'm with who?"

"Edward," he hissed, as though the name alone burnt his tongue. I saw his hand shake, and I hoped it was in anger and not in I'm-going-to-go-psycho-and-turn-into-a-wolf-on-your-ass. As I so wasn't in the mood for that shit right now.

"What? No, I'm not. I haven't seen him since… Since that day."

"Don't lie to me. I can smell him on you. It's faint, a few days old, but… There's something there."

"Well, it's not him. I don't have any idea what you – oh."

"What?"

"Nothing." I said it too quickly, and he eyed me critically for a moment, as though he was going to argue more, but I stared him down. There was no way in hell that I was going to admit that while I wasn't involved with Edward anymore, I was back in contact with her sister.

The good kind of contact.

"…I don't believe you, you know that, right?"

"I know that. Doesn't change anything."

"And I'm sorry. About your dad. I hope everything works out ok."

"Yeah. That makes two of us." I turned my back to him once again, and I heard him sigh before he walked away. Well, that certainly hadn't been how I'd expected our meeting to go. I'd expected the yelling – just not the cause of it.

I stayed outside for a few more minutes before heading back inside to go and keep Nikki company, and found her outside of Charlie's room – where she did not look happy. Jake was stood to the side of her, and the two seemed to be locked in some sort of whispering-fight.

"For God's sake, if I wasn't supposed to be here, do you really think I would be? What are you, an idiot? Spend more time taking growth hormones than paying attention in class?"

"Fuck you! And get out of here, before - " I cleared my throat, loudly, and Jake whipped around, his anger not fading any when he laid eyes on me.

"And what, may I ask, is going on here?"

"Dickhead here thinks I should leave, because 'I'm not family'."

"Do you know her?"

"Obviously I know her, jackass. She's my best friend." I went to stand beside her, and felt her hand slide into my own. I saw Jake's eyes follow the motion, and he rose an eyebrow.

"You sure she's just a friend? 'Cause I've heard things."

"Wow, Jake. When did you turn into such a jackass?"

"Well you certainly wouldn't know, would you, seeing as I haven't heard from you in years," he practically spat the words at me, and I flinched when he came closer. "So hat, you only act like Charlie's daughter when he's dying? That the only time you can be bothered to show your face here?" My hands clenched into fists as I took a step closer to him. I saw a flicker of regret in his eyes, but he'd already said everything I wanted to hear. "Shit, Bella, I'm sorry. It's just… It's hard you being back here, and- "

"I hurt you, I get that. But that doesn't give you an excuse to act like this. Especially when you've found someone else." I turned away from him and tried to storm into my dad's room, but he caught my wrist in a vice-like grip. I felt Nikki tense behind me, but I held out a hand, telling her to back off.

"Can we talk? Please? I'm sorry I've been an ass. Please." I glanced up, seeing the regret in his eyes and sighed, nodding. He released my arm with a soft smile, and I remembered everything that he'd helped me out with when I'd lived here, everything that he'd done for me, regardless of the problems we'd ended up having.

"Stay here 'til I get back?" I asked Nikki, and she nodded, still shooting Jake death-glares every five seconds. "Come on, then." We walked back outside to where we'd spoken before in silence, and I leant against a nearby tree trunk as I waited for Jake to say whatever was on his mind – which, I could see, looked like it was in overdrive.

"How have you been?" He asked eventually, his voice quiet, and he avoided eye contact with me, instead choosing to stare at the floor.

"Fine. Good, even. I've got a good job, nice apartment, great friends… I'm good. How about you? You're engaged, right?"

"I am. She makes me crazy, but in a good way." He smiled, the first genuine one since I'd gotten here, lighting up his eyes in a way that I'd forgotten could happen. His smile was infectious, it always had been, and I couldn't help one coming across my face in response.

"I'm glad that you're happy. You deserve it."

"Why did you leave, Bella? Why did you leave without telling me?" He finally looked at me directly, and I saw the echoes of pain reflected in their depths, and I hated knowing that I had caused that, even if I knew now that it had been for the best.

"I never meant to hurt you, Jake. I hope you know that. But… There was never going to be anything between us. You know that. I was too broken after everything that happened. I needed to get away. Far, far away – so I did. And I knew that if I told you where I was, that if we still had contact, that… That you would think that there was a chance that we could be together. And I didn't want to give you false hope.

"I couldn't offer you what you deserve. I knew I would never be able to. SO I cut off all ties."

"And made your dad promise not to tell me where you went. Only that you were happy."

"I was happy. Getting away from here, all the memories… It was the best thing I ever did. And that I'll probably ever do."

"I'm glad I've gotten to see you again. You look well."

"Thanks. You do to." We stood awkwardly together, neither of us knowing what to say, until a voice, dripping derision, came from over Jacob's shoulder.

"And just what is going on here?" We both turned to see who was there, and I saw Jake grimace slightly before he smiled at the newcomer, and I realised with a start that it was Leah Clearwater, looking very different form the last time I'd seen her, with her brother Seth in tow.

"We were just catching up, Leah." She came to a stop when she reached Jake's side, sliding a possessive arm around his waist and glaring at me. I just glared right back – she'd always been moody, though she'd never looked at me like this before. And I wasn't going to take it.

"You wrecked him, you know. When you left. You complained and you moped about when Edward left you, but you did exactly the same to Jake." I fought the urge to flinch at her words, feeling like the wind had just been punched out of me. Could I really have been that cruel? Could I really have become like the lover that I knew wanted to remember?

No, I realised. Jake and I had been different from Edward and I. We'd never been in love, I'd never promised him the world, said that we could be together forever. No, I wasn't a monster like Edward Cullen had turned out to be.

"It was nice talked to you, Jake," I managed to say, stiffly and through clenched teeth, as I passed by him and Lean (who I swear growled at me – I mean really, who does that?), before walking back into the hospital doors, only relaxing when I reached my dad's room and saw Nikki sitting inside, looking a little out of place sat on the chair next to the bed.

"You can go back to mine and get some sleep, if you want," I murmured as she stood up and I took her place, taking hold of my dad's hand gently, trying not to disturb any of the tubes sliding into his veins.

"I came back with you so you wouldn't be alone, Bella," she replied, perching on the edge of the other seat in the room, which was further back against the wall. "I'd be doing a bit of a shitty job if I left after less than two hours."

I conceded, and we just sat there for a little while, both in silence, me wondering how this had happened, how I'd ended up back here in the place I'd vowed to never return, and tried not to remember the times that I'd spent in this hospital myself, and the reason why I'd ended up here.

Which, coincidentally, was the reason why I had left in the first place.

The doctor came back into the room at the same time as Sue, and he told us that my dad's surgery had been moved up, and that they needed to prepared him for it already.

"You said there were risks, before. Could you go through them again?"

"Every surgery has its risks. The main one, obviously, being death." He paused, letting it sink in, and I felt Nikki's hand on my shoulder, which somehow gave me the strength to nod, and to not dwell on that too much. "But that's nowhere near certain. I've done this procedure before, and I will do everything I can to make sure your father lives."

"And if he doesn't have the surgery…"

"Then he will die. For definite." I nodded again, still feeling numb, and watched the nurses swarm around him whilst Sue, Jake, Leah, Seth, Nikki and I all watched from outside. As they wheeled him to the operating theatre I squeezed his hand before letting him go, trying to fight back tears and failing – miserably.

We'd been warned that it would take a few hours before they'd be finished, so Leah and Jake headed off to get some rest, while Seth stayed with his mom, and Nikki and I headed back to mine briefly to change our clothes.

"Are you ok?" She asked as I drove, and I shot her look that clearly gave her the answer. "Ok, yeah, wrong question. I just mean…"

"No, I know what you mean. I guess. I… I don't know, to be honest. But it's useless worrying until he's out of surgery, because we're not going to know anything until then." I pulled up outside the house and rested my head briefly against the steering wheel, its coolness soothing me, just slightly. "I should have visited. I should have seen him more. I should - "

"Hey, hey, listen to me, Bella, okay? You did what you had to do to survive. Not being here, made you better. You can't regret doing what was right for you. You can't ask 'what it', and you definitely can't do this to yourself. Whatever happens – Charlie wouldn't want you to do that."

"But I…"

"Don't. Not until you know. Promise me." I glanced up, seeing the worry in her eyes for me, and I nodded, biting my lip.

"Okay. I promise. And thank you."

"For what?"

"For coming back with me. For being here. After I was such a bad friend to you. I don't deserve that."

"You didn't do anything wrong," she murmured, so quietly that I barely heard her. "And what's done is done. Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

x-x-x

It wasn't until five hours later that the surgeon finally emerged from the operating room and approached our little cluster in the waiting area. Nikki and I had been there for almost three hours, Jake and Leah almost two, and I'd been fighting the urge to fall asleep, my head resting on Nikki's shoulder.

There was no expression on his face when he came to stand before us, and Sue and I both rose hastily, together.

"Everything went smoothly," he said, face breaking into a smile, and he laughed when Sue barrelled forward and hugged him. "There were no complications, and he should be awake soon. He's going to have to stay here for about a week while we monitor him, but we're hopeful that he'll make a full recovery. Would you like to see him?"

He still didn't look good, with all of the tubes and stuff, but he did look a little better than the last time I'd seen him. We decided to wait for him to wake before any of us left, so we crowded anxiously around the bed, ignoring the nurse's warning that we could be waiting for a while.

It was only a little less than twenty minutes later when his eyes fluttered, though, and when he finally opened his eyes he looked surprised to see us all there.

"Is there a party that no-one told me about?" His voice was croaky, but he managed a smile as he glanced around the room, saying a few words quietly to Sue before he seemed to really notice me for the first time. "Bella? Is that you?"

"Yup. You had us worried for a while there, you know."

"I must have done to drag you here all the way from London."

"Why don't we give you guys some time to catch up?" Said Nikki, loudly, and after some protesting, she finally managed to herd everyone out apart from Sue, who I didn't mind staying. I gave my friend a grateful smile and she winked before she shut the door behind her.

"So, what happened to me, then? I don't remember. And you can catch me u with all that you've been doing since we last spoke, Bells."

I completely lost track of time while I was talking to my Dad, and noticed with surprise that over and hour and a half had passed when I glanced at the clock above the door. Seeing my surprise, Charlie also glanced over.

"Is that really the time? How long has it been since the both of you slept? You should go and get some rest. I promise to still be here when you get back." Sue refused to leave his side, but the nurses said they'd bring a bed in her for, but there wasn't enough room for the both of us (and I really didn't want to spend the night in a hospital room), so with a quick kiss on his forehead I left, picking Nikki up from the waiting room as I went.

"So, he's okay, then?"

"For now, yeah, Or at least, I think so."

"That's good."

"Yeah, it is."

"Look, I have to tell you something, and you might not like it."

"What? What's up?" She'd taken hold f my arm but was avoiding eye contact with me.

"I'm really sorry, but my boss rang before, and he said he needed me back as soon as possible. That there'd be consequences if I wasn't in soon."

"So you need to go."

"I am sorry."

"It's alright. When are you heading back?"

"There's a flight back tomorrow morning." Her tone was apologetic, but I still groaned. I was going to stay for a few more days at least, and being on my own in this place certainly wasn't what I wanted. But she'd been selfless in coming out here with me, and I didn't want to get her fired from her job, especially one she liked so much.

"It's fine, Nikki, honestly. Do you want me to drive you to the airport?"

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all."

x-x-x

Five days later, my dad had improved massively. He was still in the hospital, but he was up and about now, walking fine, and it seemed like he really was going to make a full recovery. I'd taken Nikki to the airport, and though it had been terribly lonely without her, I'd managed fine.

I spent most of my days at the hospital, spending some much-needed time with Charlie, and I'd also bonded with Sue a little, too. I saw Jake occasionally, but it was usually awkward, and wasn't something that I ever looked forward to. The easy friendship we'd once maintained was gone – most probably forever.

The nights were always the worst, especially sleeping the same house that he'd used to watch me sleep at. I sometimes woke in the night, in a cold sweat, having dreamt that he'd been standing there, at the foot of my bed, and then I would always go and check the lock on the window, before falling back into a fitful sleep.

I'd booked a flight for the next day, so when I left the hospital that night it was with a little sadness – not that I was leaving Forks (that I could hardly wait for), but with the knowledge that I wouldn't be seeing my dad again for a while. I did miss him, even if our relationship was somewhat awkward, but he promised that he and Sue would come and visit soon.

When I got back, the house was dark, and I headed straight for the kitchen, hunting for something to eat. When the oven was on, I flicked the tv on and let myself relax a little bit – relieved that I wouldn't have to spend much more time in this haunted (at least, it was for me), house.

The doorbell sounded, then, and I froze, wondering who would be calling so late. It was after eight, and the only person that I'd expect would be Jacob – and he always rang first.

My heart started to race when the doorbell sounded again, followed by a persistent knocking on the door. I crept to the window and tried to pull the curtains back inconspicuously, but all I could make out was a dark shape in the faded light.

Deciding to man up I crept closer out the door, and jumped when the bell came once more, and I flicked the light on in the hall, letting whoever it was that I was coming. Taking a breath I steeled myself and wrenched the door open.

And promptly froze with shock.

I recognized them immediately – unchanged, just like Alice, even after all this time – and felt my jaw drop and my eyes widen in astonishment. Of all the possibilities, this was one that I would have never considered in a million years.

"Hello, Bella. Can I please come in?"

Rosalie Hale was outside my door.