Chapter 2

Edward carefully picked Bella up from the floor. She lay crumpled with grief against his iron chest as he carried her to their bedroom. True to their immortal nature, they never slept, but there were many times when they simply lay quietly in each other's arms. The sound of Edward humming Bella's lullaby provided a soothing background for her cries. He stroked her chocolate hair as she whimpered, "I'm so sorry, daddy. I'm so sorry," He did his best to hold her with as much strength his supernatural senses could provide. He wanted her to feel the protection of his love.

Bella curled herself closer to Edward as he continually kissed her forehead. They lay together, not moving as the sunset eventually became the sunrise washing their bodies in sparkling light.

When Bella and Edward arrived at SeaTac, Carlisle and Esme were there to solemnly greet them. Bella wore large sunglasses as if her eyes had the ability to become red from crying false tears.

From the moment they'd left Greece, Edward had been at Bella's side holding her hand. She'd only released it now so she could go into the arms of Esme, her immortal mother followed by Carlisle, now her only father. Besides planning Charlie's very public funeral, an interesting dilemma for Bella as not everyone in town had seen her "new look" since her marriage to Edward, was dealing with the arrival of her mortal mother, Renee, who was happily married to Phil now, but still loved the person Charlie was. Like him, Renee had been sworn into secrecy, but had been far less willing to put up with the whole "need to know" business. Funny though, based on Renee's flighty temperament and affinity for the "peculiar" she probably wouldn't have been as shocked to formally hear that Bella was a vampire, but it wasn't worth the risk of literally telling her. Ever. To do so would cost her mother her life. But Bella had assumed her mother's adamancy about knowing greater details was because she was a mother and being one now to Renesme, she couldn't imagine her child telling her such nonsense and being told that was the final word, no questions asked. It took everything to keep Renee calm when she found out about her granddaughter's "sudden growth spurt".

Bella remained quiet next to Edward. As Carlisle drove, she vaguely heard him and Edward talk about going to Charlie's office, as Carlisle had actually been working with the police staff about the crash. Turned out, the driver had had a fatal heart attack. Fortunately, the whole town knew Dr. Cullen and that he had done his best to save Charlie, the Police Chief, and that he was also Carlisle's in-law so his participation with the arrangements had gone unquestioned. As they spoke, she took in the familiar scenery: the change from city to rural, the constant flow of Fork's colors—gray, green and brown; the beauty and sadness of the rainy mist; the neighborhood café she and Charlie ate at, the grocery store where she bought Charlie's groceries, the gas station where she filled the tank of her beloved Chevy truck Charlie had bought for her. Everywhere was Charlie and the life he had lived and shared with her. Everyone in town also knew Billy Black. And many of them knew he had a son who was MIA.

The rest of the Cullen family had been notified and were on their way, arriving in the next day or so. The next, most difficult family member to tell, of course, was Renesme. Edward and Bella had debated the right way of doing so, as they hated for her not to have immediate family there, but they knew they couldn't just order her to come home without telling her the truth; she'd fight them tooth and nail. Edward had often said Renesme had inherited Bella's stubborn streak. When he broke the news to her, he hated he couldn't hold his daughter as he heard her human cries over the phone. He wanted to be there, or at least send a family member to bring her back, but she insisted on leaving immediately, without waiting for someone to fetch her. He would personally pick her up from the airport when she arrived the following day. In the meantime, he needed to take care of Bella which included both of them hunting promptly.

Bella thought it strange that she didn't have much of an appetite when Edward asked her to go with him. What kind of vampire doesn't want dinner? But she just didn't feel like it. Edward pleaded with her and she could clearly tell from the purple bruises under his black eyes that he needed to feed. She was certain she looked just as famished, but her mind was elsewhere. She sent Edward on his way, and he most reluctantly went alone into the night.

She kept to herself for most of the evening, but after while, Bella didn't want to stay in the Cullen house any longer so dressed in a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt, she found herself running toward Charlie's house. She easily let herself in and immediately inhaled the multiple scents that made up her father's home: soap, gun oil, firewood, cheap aftershave, citrus, flannel and cotton. Familiar scents she'd never noticed until she had been changed.

There was no need for her to turn on the lights with her heightened vision as she slowly walked from room to room, touching various items, furniture, and surfaces. Walking into the kitchen she was unexpectedly hit by the memory of when she'd received a phone call from Edward, mistakenly thinking she was dead and that Charlie was planning her funeral because of false information being given to him…given to him by Jacob Black, who a moment earlier, had been bending down to finally kiss her with her unsure consent. Of course, there was another time she willingly let Jacob kiss her based on false information given by him, once again.

Jacob. Jacob…where are you? Do you know your father and my father are dead?

She was certain that Sam or Seth would somehow find him, but he'd been gone for so many years, and, once again, how would they even know where to look?

Bella thought about how Charlie's house also contained a lot of memories: Alice, certainly Edward, mountains with Edward, but there were memories of Jake, too. Like the time he showed up practically naked in the kitchen or when he ratted her out to Charlie about their motorcycles, or when she broke her hand on his face because she definitely didn't want him to kiss her at that time.

There was always drama with Jake, Bella mused.

She walked up the stairs to her bedroom, the sound of the creaking steps somehow comforting. She entered and looked at her bed where Edward had watched her sleep an endless number of nights; her computer was still there where she had looked up "the cold ones" for the first time; she smiled as she looked at the infamous window her chivalrous vampire had snuck through practically every night of their courtship. And then she remembered the time Jake had come through the window to apologize for breaking her heart; he'd ordered her out of his life and their friendship over because of his big secret— being a werewolf. His embrace had been warm as he held her.

Where is this coming from?, she thought to herself. I'm just feeling bad for Jake.

Now, she was agitated so she began cleaning the house; actually scrubbing down surfaces, washing Charlie's dishes and putting them away. She gingerly touched his favorite coffee mug. She would make sure to give that to Renesme. In fact, she decided to collect the various photos and trinkets around the house and place them in a box for her and Renesme to take. She carefully looked at each picture, recollecting the memory the photo had captured. There was one with her, Charlie, Billy, and Jake and then the one from her graduation where the stress of dealing with Victoria was apparent on her forced smile. Edward was right next to her in that one.

Bella knew Edward was worried about her and she should have gone back to the house by now, but she wanted to stay in Charlie's space a little longer; so many things to think about and do. She thoroughly dusted every surface and crevice; folded Charlie's laundry, and made his bed. That was so like him to leave it unmade. It hit her, then, that he would never sleep in it again and she went back to her room, lying down on her own bed. She closed her eyes, but obviously sleep was not to come so she just laid there listening to the silence.

Bella instinctively knew Edward was right outside her bedroom window and when he opened it and crouched inside she outstretched her arms to him. He said nothing as he engulfed her in crushing embrace. She inhaled his scent deeply. Had she been human, he would have surely broken her bones from the intensity of his hold. She pulled his head of silken bronze hair back to look at his satiated, but worried golden eyes.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," he whispered back.

Bella began unbuttoning Edward's shirt, pulling it loose from his pants, running her fingers along his muscular shoulders, down his perfect, marble chest, admiring his view in the moonlight all the way down. He happily let her do so as she continued to undress him. As she pulled him down towards her, she smiled, "You know, not once did we ever have sex in this bed, even though you were sneaking in my bedroom every single night. You were so not the typical teenage boy."

Edward wickedly smiled as he thought about their immortal seventeen and eighteen year old ages, "I am now."