A/N: Hey guys! I know it's been a really long time, but I promised once that I would NOT abandon this story, and I meant it. The good news, for those of you sweet enough to have stuck around between the long delay, is that updates will now come regularly until the story is complete – one or two chapters a week.

So here you go. And thanks again for waiting patiently. :)

Betad by Michelle Renker Rhodes.

Most characters belong to S. Meyer. Major story line belongs to J. Austen.

A&A Ch. 28 (P&P Ch. 48 - 51)

The next morning, the women were all anxious for word from Charlie, but he didn't call, and when Bella and Alice tried to call him, their calls went straight to voice mail. The family already knew that Charlie wasn't much for modern technology; his cell phone was probably stuffed somewhere deep in one of his pockets, vibrating away. Unfortunately, no word from him probably meant that he hadn't been able to locate Jessica and Mike yet.

Emmett, on the other hand, did call late in the morning saying that he hadn't been able to find anything as of now, but he had a couple of promising leads. He also promised his Aunt Renee that he'd try to get a hold of his Uncle Charlie and convince him to just go home and leave the search to him, seeing as how concerned she was that Charlie would get himself killed. Then Jake would take the house and with what the hell would she be left?

Later that afternoon, Sue Clearwater paid them a visit with the excuse of trying to cheer up Renee. Yet every topic she covered circled around the entire neighborhood's awareness of the Swan's misfortune, and how they'd all known all along what a good-for-nothing scoundrel Mike Newton really was.

Renee was left inconsolable by the time Sue departed.

"I knew it," she cried into her tissue, "I knew Mike was an asshole, and I tried to warn your father not to let him anywhere near any of you, but nooo," she proclaimed exaggeratedly. "No one ever listened to me just because he was so cute and sweet! But I never fell for it! I always knew that he couldn't' be trusted!"

Bella, though she knew the opposite of this to actually be true, remained silent, preferring to let her mother tire herself out with her tirade rather than point out facts to which the former would never own. Besides, she couldn't blame her mother for any of what had happened when she, thanks to Edward, had really known what Mike was like for some time now. If anyone was to blame, it was she, and now her cousin was off in Seattle somewhere with a man who would only use her until he grew bored of her, and she herself had lost the only man she'd ever really loved, because Edward wouldn't be able to associate with a family who would now forever be linked to Mike Newton in one form or another.

By the time Emmett called again that evening, Bella welcomed the distraction of his voice regardless of what news he had. The roller-coaster of emotions plaguing her was a torment. On one hand, her mother's constant tears and complaints had Bella on the verge of a mental breakdown of her own. On the other hand, when her mother was quiet, Bella's mind would drift off to thoughts of Edward…to the warmth of his mouth on hers…to the feel of his fingers pressed into her hips…to the heat of his gaze whenever he looked at her…

…to the guilt etched in his features when he'd left her in that hotel room, guilt because he knew he'd never seek her out again.

And she couldn't blame him. After everything that his sister Rosalie had been through at Mike's hands, Edward had to keep Mike Newton and any reminder of him as far away from her as possible.

"What's going on, Emmett?" Bella asked.

"I don't have much to tell you, Cuz," Emmett sighed. "Your dad and I have been in touch, but he's working with some cop buddies of his, while I'm with- uhm, I mean, while I'm just looking around in a couple of neighborhoods in which someone like Mike might hang out."

"So nothing yet?"

"No," Emmett confirmed apologetically. "I did tell your Dad that maybe it would be a good idea for him to go home, at least for a short while so that your mom could calm down a bit, but he's determined to stay here in Seattle."

"Yeah, I don't blame him for preferring to stay in Seattle," Bella muttered.

"Listen…Bella…I know you and Mike were pretty friendly for a while, and I was wondering…is there anything he ever said to you that might give you a clue-"

"Emmett, Mike and I were never that close."

She couldn't help the edge in her voice, though she knew her cousin wasn't trying to be malicious or presumptuous. As much as she now hated Mike, she couldn't deny that once she'd actually been fond of him, and she hadn't concealed that fondness half as well as she'd concealed her feelings for Edward – especially from her own self.

"I didn't think so," Emmett breathed, "but I figured I'd ask. Listen, Bella-"

His voice suddenly changed; took on an urgent cautiousness that hadn't been there before.

"Uhm…I've got to go, Bella. I'll get back to you as soon as I can, okay?"

The line disconnected before she even had a chance to respond.

OOOOOOOOOO

Every hour that now passed at the Swan Residence was full of anxiety for whatever news would or would not be communicated. Every time the phone rang, either Alice or Bella would quickly jump to answer. Renee was too incoherent from her meds to actually take any calls, and Lauren was too busy watching TV.

When the phone rang yet again, the number on the Caller ID was neither Emmett's nor Charlie's, and for a fraction of a second, Bella let herself hope that perhaps…maybe…Edward…

But when the caller's name popped up on the screen, that millisecond of hope was soon extinguished.

"Bella? Hey, it's Jake."

Bella frowned. "Jake…how are you?"

"I'm calling to offer my condolences."

"Condolences?" Bella repeated. "For what? Who's died?"

"Well, no one's died, though that may have been better. I heard about your cousin, Jessica. Sue called Leah, and Leah told me and, well, I'm sorry."

Funny, but to Bella, he sounded anything but.

"Thank you so much for your concern," Bella responded through clenched teeth, making no attempt to curb the sarcasm dripping from her tongue. Unfortunately, Jake was either too stupid or too eager to pick up on it.

"Oh, I'm very concerned. As a close family friend, I sympathize greatly with you and your family. This must be horrible for you, to have all of Washington know the loose morals of someone with whom you grew up, someone you called a sister. I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better, but I'm sure that there's not."

"You're right about that much."

"And what's worse, as Leah and I have agreed, is that your parents have no one to blame but themselves for this, because they never bothered to rein in that child the way parents are supposed to do; though to give your parents the benefit of the doubt, she's not actually theirs and probably inherited her Jezebel tendencies from her birth parents. Either way, I feel so sorry for you, Bella, as do Leah, Senator De Volturi and her daughter, Jane. Everyone is completely aware of what's happened. And though Senator De Volturi believes that your cousin Jessica's wonton behavior is a reflection of every female in your household," – Jake now lowered his voice to a whisper – "I'm sure that's not actually the case. Though at this point, I can only thank providence for the way someone, who will remain nameless, summarily rejected a certain offer I made a few months ago. Otherwise, I would've been involved in your family's current shame, and that would not at all be helpful to my future political aspirations."

At that moment, Jake had no idea how lucky he was to be miles away instead of standing right before Bella.

"My final piece of advice to you then, Bella, would be to leave behind the State of Washington as quickly as possible and distance yourself from your trashy relations before they-"

Bella wondered how long it took Jake to realize that he was speaking to no one but a dial tone on the other line.

OOOOOOOOOO

By the time Emmett called again the following morning, Bella was going stir-crazy. Unfortunately, though Emmett seemed to have gathered some information about Mike, he hadn't been able to find him or Jessica yet.

Bella put him on speaker phone so that everyone in the house could hear.

"Mike has a reputation around this seedy area, that's for sure," Emmett said, a sneer in his voice. "He's borrowed money from some real sketchy characters - loan sharks and such, and a couple of guys want him for messing around with their sisters."

Alice's eyes widened in horror on hearing this. "God, he's even worse than we thought!"

Bella merely pursed her lips, because he was actually just as horrible as she'd expected.

"In any case, I've got a couple more leads, and I'll give you guys a call as soon as I find out anything."

"Emmett, where exactly is your Uncle?" Renee demanded. "Why isn't he with you?"

"Uhm…I'd just rather check these places out on my own, Aunt Renee. Like I said, there are some shady characters around here, and I'd rather Uncle Charlie keep checking things out with his cop friends. If anything comes up, I'll definitely give him a call."

"Oh God!" Renee whined. "If Mike is going to require an ass-kicking, please make sure you deliver it before you call your uncle," she pleaded. "He's no spring chicken anymore, and if he gets hurt and dies-"

"What will become of you?" Emmett finished for her in an exasperated tone. "Yes, Aunt Renee, I'll make sure of it."

Charlie himself finally did call later on that morning, and was also put on speakerphone.

"Dad, I feel so bad for all the trouble you're going through right now," said Bella at one point.

"Don't even mention it, Bella. I've got no one to blame but myself."

"Dad…don't be so hard on yourself. You're not solely to blame…"

"Not so hard on myself," he scoffed. "Bella, for once, let me indulge in my own guilt. It's not as if I do it very often, and if I know myself at all, the feeling will pass soon enough."

"Do you really think they're in Seattle?" Alice asked.

"Yes. They can hide pretty well here."

"And Jessica's always loved Seattle," Lauren added.

"That's wonderful," Charlie said dryly. "I'm sure Mike is showing her the time of her life." After a short pause, he said, "Bella, I suppose I should've listened to you a few months ago when you told me I should put the lock-down on Jessica and Lauren."

"I don't need a lock-down!" Lauren cried defiantly. "When I find myself a boyfriend, I'm going to behave better than Jess has!"

"You, a boyfriend!" Charlie howled. "I'm not trusting you with a boyfriend until you're twenty-one or out of this house, whichever comes first. No McDonald's employees will ever cross my threshold again! There will be no more parties or dances unless one of your older cousin's goes with you! And you are not stepping foot out of the house unless it's to go to school or church!"

Lauren, who took all of Charlie's words seriously, began to bawl her eyes out.

"Now, now," Charlie said, "Don't make yourself sick or anything. If you're a good girl, we'll review these rules again in a few years."

OOOOOOOOOO

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day came and went with little celebration at the Swan household. Bella sat quietly by the Christmas tree on Christmas night, thinking of how different the holiday had actually transpired compared to what she'd imagined just a few days ago in New York. She'd pictured herself with Alice and Emmett in front of the great tree at Rockefeller Center, ringing in the holiday. And just a few short days ago, she'd imagined that maybe, just maybe, Edward and Rosalie would join them…and maybe he'd give her a kiss under that tree similar to the kiss he'd given her outside of his restaurant…

Then she went to bed, tired and lonely, and refused to let herself dream.

The day after Christmas, Charlie finally called with good news – or as good as could be expected at this point.

"They've been found."

Bella let go of the breath she had been holding for days now.

"How? Where?"

"Apparently they were holed up in some crappy motel over in White Center."

"You mean they're still together?" Alice asked.

"No, I don't think so. Emmett found them. Right now, they're on their way to the nearest precinct. I'm on my way to meet them now."

Bella was surprised that Emmett hadn't called upon finding them with the news himself.

"Are you going to press charges against him?" Bella asked.

"That's the plan."

"Do you think Jessica will go along with that?"

"From what I've gathered from Emmett, Jessica is ready to press charges and come home."

At this news, Renee let out a screech that would've been more appropriate had they been discussing the President of the United States coming to visit their house rather than their knocked up sixteen year-old niece agreeing to come home without a fight.

Bella rolled her eyes as her father continued.

"Emmett had already called the police, and they picked up Mike for child endangerment. Jessica is coming home and keeping the baby, and from what Emmett tells me, she's agreed to continue school and get an afternoon job to help support the child."

For a few seconds, Bella could do nothing but blink in shock.

"Is it possible? Could it be that the pregnancy has given Jessica some common sense?"

"She's not as stupid as we thought her to be!" Alice exclaimed happily.

"She is as stupid as we thought her to be," Charlie countered. "I can only imagine what Emmett had to do to get her to agree. And knowing him, he's probably offered to help her support the baby too. I don't even know how to repay him at this point."

Bella felt a sudden wave of guilt at that possibility because she didn't doubt that for a second. If anyone had to help Jessica support the baby, it was Bella, for not having warned her of Mike's true character in the first place.

"Don't worry, Dad," Bella said sadly. "I'll help you figure something out."

As soon as they'd hung up, Renee's spirits did a total one-eighty as she flew up the stairs.

"Oh, I have to go get Jessica's bedroom ready for when she gets home!" she exclaimed excitedly. "We're going to have to go shopping for a crib, a bassinette, and those cute little bibs that say 'Grandma's little angel!' Though I'm sure I'm way too young to be called 'Grandma.' Maybe I should have the baby call me Renee, like those sophisticated Grandmothers do. Oh My God, Jessica's going to be a mom! I'm so excited! Wait until I see Sue again and rub it in her face that my Jessica will be such a beautiful, young mom, while her Leah's eggs grow old and rotten with each passing day! Ha!"

Alice and Bella simply watched their mother ascend the staircase, shaking their heads in her wake.

"So she's pressing charges and coming home," Bella murmured. "And to think that for this we're supposed to be grateful. And now this poor baby, what kind of life will it have? Oh Jess."

"I comfort myself by thinking that she wouldn't be keeping this baby if there wasn't at least one unselfish bone in her body," Alice said. "And though I'm sure Emmett probably had to move heaven and hell to get her to agree to press charges against Mike and come home, he's a med student with his own bills and only a part-time job himself. He can't possibly be thinking of offering her too much financial help."

"If Emmett is going to help her support this baby financially, then that's already more than what the child's own father would've ever done for it because as we now know, Mike doesn't have a penny to his name, nor any ambition to ever change that. What Emmett has already done for Jessica is far more than she deserves."

"For the baby's sake, we have to try to forgive Jessica's stupidity," Alice proposed, "and forget her recent actions."

"The way she handled this was so selfish," replied Bella, "that I'm afraid that none of us will soon forget it - except perhaps for her."

OOOOOOOOOO

It was very late in the evening when Charlie finally arrived back home to Forks, with his nephew Emmett, and wayward niece Jessica in tow.

Renee rushed happily to Jessica's side.

"Oh, Jess, Honey, I'm so happy for you!" she cried. "Look at you, you're already glowing! Now go to bed and get some rest! Tomorrow we'll go shopping for baby clothes! And I saw a beautiful crib the other day at-"

"There will be no shopping for baby clothes or cribs!" Charlie bellowed so loudly that Renee gasped in shock, her eyes wide on her husband.

"But we can take advantage of the after-Christmas sales!"

"I said NO!" Charlie yelled. "First of all, what Jessica has done is nothing to celebrate, and second, when the time does come to buy necessities for the child, it will come from money JESSICA has saved."

"But Jessica has no money!" Renee whined.

"Oh, I'm going to have plenty of money soon!" Jessica volunteered excitedly.

"What?" asked everyone.

So Charlie gave them all the details of what had transpired that day.

"We've pressed charges against Mike and will have to appear in court in a couple of weeks, but my buddies in Seattle are pretty sure that the charges will stick. He can't afford bail, and no one will lend him the money, so he's not going anywhere until the trial," Charlie grinned. "As for Jessica…" he scowled her way.

Jessica simply grinned and with a quick glance in Emmett's direction and a clearing of her throat, took over the story from her uncle.

"As soon as we got to the precinct, before Uncle Charlie showed up, the cops there were kind enough to hand me an application for this foundation." She waved the application in the air. "It's called The Rose Foundation for Exploited Young Women. See, if you're a teenager that got pregnant by a sex offender, like I did, and you decide to keep the baby, what they do is they actually give you money to stay in school! Can you believe that? And if I get an after-school job and keep my grade point average above a 'C', they give me even more money! They'll actually help me support the baby all the way up to its tenth birthday as long as I go to college too, which they'll also help pay for! It's like I hit the lottery for pregnant girls!"

"What?" Bella repeated. She reached out and took the application from Jessica's hand.

Sure enough, the application's title was "The Rose Foundation for Exploited Young Women," and as she scanned the document, it did agree to do all of the things Jessica had mentioned. She flipped through the application and found an address on the back which showed that the foundation was based in New York City.

"I've never heard of this foundation," she murmured quietly.

"Have you heard of many foundations for pregnant teenagers?" Jessica sneered.

"No," Bella admitted with a sigh, "I suppose I haven't."

Jessica reached out and snatched the application away from Bella.

"So you see, I'm going to be able to afford the best of everything for this baby!"

"What about Mike?" Alice asked.

"What about him?" said Jessica.

"What will be his part in this baby's life?"

"None at all. He never really cared for me; I know that now. He was just going to have his fun and then leave me in that hotel when he grew tired. I heard him say it himself when I thought he wasn't listening," she scowled. "So now he'll rot in jail," she added with a shrug.

Bella had no idea how to respond to this. She looked at Emmett, but he wore a strangely blank expression she couldn't figure out. If she had to be honest, she was relieved to know that Mike would be in jail now, unable to harm any more underage girls, and though she didn't know much about how these things worked, she was sure that once released, he would have to register as a sex offender, which would at least offer the parents of teen aged girls some enlightenment as to his true character.

She couldn't help but feel sorry for this poor, unborn child though, who would grow up fatherless, but she was also thankful for this foundation that had appeared as if a gift from heaven itself. There was no way Bella would have allowed Emmett to sacrifice himself by helping to support Jessica's child when he had nothing to do with the entire ordeal. He was a med student, who was already struggling to make ends meet. She was going to drop out of college – at least for the time being – to help support this baby. After all, if she'd warned Jessica, if she'd told her what Mike was really like, none of this would've ever happened.

But now, she wouldn't have to do any of that. Now she could stay in college, move to New York for grad school like she'd planned, be closer to Edward…

Edward…

As quickly as her hope soared, it was dashed in the next instant.

None of this changed the fact that Jessica would soon be giving birth to Mike Newton's child. After what Mike had put Rosalie through, after he'd made her abort their own child, Edward could never associate his family with Bella's. It would be a constant reminder to Rose of all that she'd been through and now deserved to forget. That Edward's feelings for her were real and not some arrogant caprice Bella was now sure, but those feelings couldn't be expected to survive this. Of that, Bella was also sure.

How ironic that now that she found herself so deeply in love with him, now that she knew she would've given herself completely to him, she knew she'd never see him again.

Because Bella now saw that Edward was exactly the kind of man who would've made her happy. They complemented each other; whereas she was outspoken and playful, he was quiet and reserved. She could've helped him become less reserved, while he could've tempered her tendency to say too much.

But now, that union would never be.

As for Jessica, what kind of mother she'd be was to be determined. But if Bella was no longer required to provide financial assistance to atone for her mistakes, she'd make sure she was at least around to give the child emotional stability.

OOOOOOOOOO

Emmett agreed to stay with the Swans for the next few days, through New Years. Then he and Alice would return to New York.

A couple of days after their return from Seattle, Bella was staring out the open kitchen window, which opened up to the backyard, and she saw Charlie there, in deep discussion with Emmett.

Emmett threw his hands up in the air with a grin. "Seriously, Uncle Charlie, you don't owe me a thing. Jessica is my cousin, and it was my responsibility to find her as much as anyone's. Now, I'd really like to just drop it."

Bella would've kept listening if it wasn't for Jessica's entry into the kitchen. Though it was past noon, she'd obviously just woken up, and stretching her arms lazily over her head, she yawned and plopped herself onto a chair by the table.

"Lord, I'm exhausted. Bella, can you make me some scrambled eggs, please?"

"What, did your hands fall off?" Bella asked with a raised brow.

Jessica leveled her with a steady gaze. "No, but I'm pregnant and tired, and besides, if you refuse a pregnant woman's request, you get an ugly sty in your eye. Didn't you know that?" She smiled sweetly.

Bella pursed her lips, and with a roll of her eyes, she went to the fridge to pull out some eggs.

Jessica giggled. "This is going to be so much fun! I can get you guys to do anything for me now!"

"Not me," Bella said. "I'll be back in Seattle in a few days."

"Maybe you won't wait on me, but Aunt Renee and Lauren won't be going anywhere."

Bella cracked a couple of eggs into a bowl. "They've always done everything for you anyway."

"True," Jessica agreed with another giggle. "Aren't you jealous of me, Bella? I'm going to have a baby before you. By the time you finally getting around to having kids, my kid will be able to babysit yours."

"Jess, I hope you realize that being a parent is going to be about more than just dressing up that baby in cute clothes. You're going to have to put your needs and wants second."

"Yeah, yeah," Jessica waved off her words.

"Have you finished filling out that application?"

"Of course I have! That application is my and the kid's meal ticket for the foreseeable future!"

Bella tried to rein in her temper while she beat the eggs with a fork, hoping that at least once she gave birth, Jess would mature a bit.

"You know that there's usually an approval process for those types of things. Though I hope you do get it, it's not something that is necessarily in the bag."

"Of course it's in the bag," Jessica contradicted. "Edward promised me I'd get it. Oops!"

When Bella whirled around, bowl of scrambled eggs in hand, Jess was sitting there with eyes wide, her hand over her mouth.

They stared at each other.

Bella approached Jessica slowly. "Edward? What do you mean, 'Edward?'"

Jess kept her hand over her mouth. "Nothing. I didn't mean anything."

Bella kept staring at her, confusion mixed with the realization that she was missing something really big here.

"Jessica, tell me everything that happened, from beginning to end."

"No. I mean, I already told you everything."

Bella's nostrils flared as she held the bowl full of scrambled eggs over Jessica's head.

"So help me God, I swear to you, Jessica, if you don't tell me everything that happened from beginning to end, I'll drop these eggs over your head and sties be damned!"

"Fine, fine, fine! Sit down!" Jessica agreed quickly with a growl.

Bella took a hasty seat.

Jessica huffed indignantly. "Fine. Well, Mike and I arrived in Seattle a few days before Christmas. We had such a good time, Bella! I mean, we didn't go out much because Mike said he didn't have any money to take me out, but he promised that as soon as a couple of guys paid him some money they owed him, he'd take me dancing or something! But that was fine anyway because it was cold outside, and he was keeping me nice and warm if you know what I mean. I don't think we got out of bed long enough to-"

"Ugh!" Bella groaned, closing her eyes and covering her ears. "By everything I didn't meant that! You can skip that part and get on to the relevant facts, please!" she hissed.

"Fine!" Jessica snapped. "Anyway, I was starting to get a bit bored, if I must be honest. One afternoon, I went into the bathroom to take a bath, but then I thought I heard some voices. I left the shower on and tip toed to the bathroom door, opening it just an inch, and then I heard him."

"Heard who?" Bella asked desperately.

"Well, I wasn't sure who it was at first!" Jessica spit out. "The voice sounded familiar, so I opened the door just a tiny bit more and saw Edward," she said with a roll of her eyes. "He had Mike up against the wall, his hand around Mike's throat. I was going to go out and rescue him, but then I heard what he said to Edward," she sneered.

"What did he say?"

He said, "I don't really want her anyway, she's just a quick and easy piece of ass. She's got me bored already as it is. So if you'll let me go, I'll be out of here quickly and you can have a turn if you'd like."

Jessica closed her eyes as she said this, but the pain and betrayal was etched so deeply in her features that Bella's heart couldn't help but go out to her little cousin. She was still young. And hopefully with time, age, maturity and true responsibilities, she'd change.

She put her hand over Jessica's, but when Jessica opened her eyes again, that pain was gone, replaced by a steely determination.

"So anyway, I let Edward knock Mike around a few times before I finally wrapped a towel around myself and came out. Then I saw that Emmett was with him, standing by the door with his arms crossed, I guess waiting to see if Edward needed help, but he was doing just fine on his own."

"And then what happened?"

"Well, then Edward asked me if I wanted to press charges, and I said yes," she grinned. "Emmett called the cops, and we all went down to the precinct. Then Edward gave me those papers with the application and told me that if I wanted to keep the kid," – she pointed to her stomach – "that organization would help me, as long as I did my best for myself and for the child."

For a long moment, Bella simply sat there, shocked into silence. Finally, when she felt as if she couldn't hold her body upright any longer, she sank back against the back of the chair, speechless.

"Then he asked me not to mention the fact that he'd been involved in any of this, and left. And I figured since he'd…helped, I might as well do that much for him." Jessica shrugged. "And now you've gone and gotten it all out of me."

Again, Bella could do nothing but stare.

"Now are you going to make me those eggs or what?"

A/N: Thoughts?

Chapter Song Rec: We Belong Together by Mariah Carey. (I had this song in my head the entire time I wrote this chapter, LOL.)

I know that this version of Mike/Wickham is a lot more evil than in the original story, but it's the year 2013; I don't think anyone would've really raise a brow if he'd simply done the things he did in the original story. A few things will have to change to bring this story into the present, and I hope you guys don't mind too much. :)

For those of you who will be interested in being alerted when I start my new story (which will be in a month or so), put me on Author and/or Story alert.

Twitter: PattyRosa817

Link to 'Stories by Pattyrose' is on my profile page.