A/N: Of course I played the Oregon Trail. I still play it. The updated version is pretty spiffy.

~Late March, 1848. Independence, MO~

Edward Masen was the only man in James Hunter's employ who didn't stumble out of the brothel that morning. It was to be expected. In a few days time, they would be back on the trail where all their time and energy would be accounted for. Edward wasn't a monk by any stretch of the imagination, but he kept to himself more often than not when he wasn't on the trail. The night before had been no different.

"I hope you got your jollies out, because we're on the job as of now. Folks we got on the line are the proper sort. Don't lose us our commission. There are plenty others itching to take their money. I'd rather it be in our pockets, are we clear on that?"

Edward nodded along with the others. They were four in total. James served as guide with Edward, Laurent, a Frenchman and former fur trapper, and Victor, a twenty-two year old boy with bright red hair who worshipped the ground James walked on and had proven he could be helpful, as his scouts.

James nodded. "We'll be leading two families. The Cullens and the Hales. Carlisle Cullen, age forty-five. He's a doctor, so that's useful. His wife, Esme Cullen, age forty-two. Emmett Cullen, age twenty-five, a carpenter. His wife, Rosalie Cullen, age twenty-one. Alice Cullen, age twenty. Alistair Hale, age fifty-three, a banker. Vera Hale, age thirty. Jasper Hale, age twenty-one. No occupation listed. Peter Hale, age eight. Henry Hale, age six." He squinted at the paper in his hand. "And Isabella Swan, age eighteen. Who knows where she fits in that mess. Maybe she's a maid."

"We've seen worse travelers. Even the little ones aren't so little. No babes," Laurent said.

"Yet," Edward muttered.

"Anyway. They're getting settled in. We're going to meet them in about an hour, so be presentable."

~0~

The Cullens and Hales were smarter than most travellers. Edward couldn't count the number of times James and the others had to talk a family out of doing something stupid before they were even on the trail. What most families considered necessity at the beginning of a trip got left by the side of the trail only after the added weight had contributed to the death of the draft animals or worse the people themselves.

Edward distracted himself from that thought as he looked over the group. They looked to be a close knit bunch. Fortunatly, Carlisle quipped, his children fell in love with siblings. "It makes for a cohesive family unit."

Two full families and the odd woman out, Isabella Swan. James and his crew all had their strengths and weaknesses. Edward's insight was a valuable asset for men who made their trade on the trail. It was in everyone's best interest to keep every member of this party alive- not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination.

In Edward's estimation, the girl was at least as vulnerable as the two young boys if not more so. When it came to survival there was a definite hierarchy within any group. It was natural for husbands to look after wives and wives to look after children. Older siblings looked after younger. The whole train kept their eyes on the youngest children. Isabella was neither wife nor daughter. She was old enough not to be considered a child. She was no one's priority. Edward shifted her to the top of his list.

As though she heard his thoughts she looked up at him. Though it probably wasn't polite, Edward didn't look away. Her cheeks pinked under his gaze, but her eyes held what might have been bemusement. She raised an eyebrow, as though calling out his rudeness. Spunky, Edward thought. No wilting flower.

She would survive the trip.

When introductions were complete, the others left Carlisle to handle business.

"There is a train headed out April seventh if weather permits," James said.

"No earlier?"

"Early April is pushing it. If there's still snow on the ground, there's no grazing grass. No grazing grass, the livestock will starve, and I doubt you're going to pull the wagon yourself. The seventh is the earliest, and that's subject to the weather."

"Fine. That's fine. Might be better. It will give us time to sort out a wedding."

"A wedding?"

Carlisle's smile was proud. "My daughter and her fiance wish to be married before we leave."

"Your daughter's getting hitched?" James asked.

Laurent caught Edward's eye and made a face where Carlisle couldn't see. Edward grimaced.

"That's what she wants, yes," Carlisle said

"Uh huh. Well, congratulations then." James shook Carlisle's hand. "We'll start getting your supplies together tomorrow."

"You could have warned him," Edward said when Carlisle had left to join his family.

"None of my concern. We spoke plain enough. He knows the pace we need to go at. A member of his family falls behind, well, it's his own business," James said.

"I don't understand. What's wrong with his daughter getting married?" Victor asked

"Young married woman like that is more like to get herself in the family way," Edward said.

"A sickly pregnant woman could slow us down. He'd be better off keeping his daughter in his tent until we reach trail's end," James said. "Don't make no difference no how. There's a bunch of 'em might already be carrying, and that's on them. They're keeping up or they're getting left behind. That's the end of it." He pointed at Edward. "Keep your mouth shut, Masen. This Mr. Cullen is a spare no expenses type of guy, and I have a few expenses in mind, you get it? Don't scare him off sticking your nose where it don't belong."

Edward held his hands up in a placating gesture. "All right, all right. Just seems he's the type that might have listened, that's all."

~0~

Bella tagged along when Carlisle and Mr. Hale went with James. She kept well out of the way, busying herself with petting some of the smaller animals as James extolled the virtues of oxen over horses.

"I heard mules were best," Carlisle said.

"Oh it's true enough they're ideal. Sturdier than horses. Strong as oxen but lighter. Problem with them is they're stubborn. They don't want to do something; it don't get done. Might seem like a pain in the neck until they bolt down a hill or when you're trying to get them through the water."

"I hear you. Oxen it is."

They had settled on two large wagons and one medium wagon between the two families and more oxen than Bella had fingers and toes.

And that was just the beginning. Under James's tutelage, they bought thousands of pounds of flour, bacon, sugar, coffee, and lard. Overwhelmed with the amount of supplies necessary to take care of their families for five months, Bella beat a hasty retreat.

Out in the crisp air, she came across one of the other guides. There were maps spread out beside him on the shop's wrap-around porch, but his head was bent over a leather bound journal. He was the one who'd stared at her when they met. Bella wondered if she should be nervous to be out here alone with him, but he showed no sign he even knew she was there. He scratched away at his journal, and Bella's eyes were caught by the maps at his side. She tilted her head, trying to read what she could of the maps. The lines and colors made little sense to her.

"You can come sit if you want to look."

Bella started at the sound of his voice, and she raised her eyes to find him looking at her. She tightened her shawl about her shoulders and held her head high, hoping he would write off her blush as her cheeks being kissed by the bite of the wind. "I don't want to bother you."

"It's no bother. You got questions, you can ask me. Or James if you're more comfortable."

"James is busy with Carlisle."

"Then I suppose you're stuck with me." He flashed her a grin that made Bella want to smile back. "Go on, then. Sit down."

Bella held her skirts aloft as she settled down with her legs dangling over the side of the porch and the maps between them. "Your name is Edward, isn't it?"

"It is indeed. Edward Masen at your service. And you're Isabella Swan."

"Bella. Please."

"Bella then."

She turned the top map her way and tried to figure what she was looking at.

"Go ahead and ask. I can see you have questions."

Bella looked up. "You're sure I'm not a nuisance."

"No, miss. You're fine."

"Well. It's just that I'm not sure where on here we're going to end up and how we're going to get there. On the map, I mean. I understand the part about the trail and wagons and walking."

Edward raised his eyebrow, an amused smile playing at his lips. "This trail is going to be your life for months, and you don't know where you're going?"

The comment rankled. "I figured that's your job, isn't it? Are you going to tell me or tease me?"

He chuckled, but he took another map from his pack and spread it out. It was well worn, and this one was marked by his own pencil. "See here?" He pointed to a spot on the map. "That's where we are. Independence." He drew his finger along where his pencil had sketched a dark line through the map. "We come up through here. Across these mountains- the Rocky Mountains-through this piece of desert and up here to the Willamette Valley."

Bella traced her fingers along a number of lines that bisected the trail. "Are these rivers?"

"That they are." He tilted his head toward her, studying her. "There are ferries at some of the rivers. Your, uh, family has some advantage there, being able to pay for the ferry for all. The first crossing is at the Blue River. We won't even be on the trail a day before we reach it. It's likely we'll have to wait a day or two for our turn to cross."

"We have to wait to cross?"

"They can only ferry one wagon at a time, so there's a line. It'll be worse in another month, believe me."

"I believe you." Bella pressed her lips together as she looked at the trail on the map. She tried to visualize what the colors and lines meant, the rivers, the mountains, the stretches of nothing.

"Hey." He touched her shoulder and Bella felt a jolt go down her back. She sat up straighter, finding herself caught in his stare. "Don't worry none. James is a lot of things, but he's good at what he does. We'll take care of you and yours."

Looking in his earnest eyes, Bella did feel safer. Still, she couldn't help but ask. "You ever lost someone out there on the trail?"

Pain flashed across his face so vividly, Bella's stomach twisted, but he looked away just as quick. He cleared his throat. "As many times as I've made this journey, it's impossible not to lose someone That's just a sorry fact of nature."

Bella's urge to comfort him overrode decorum and propriety. She reached out to put her hand over his. "I'm sorry. That was a foolish thing to ask."

He stared at their hands, and Bella, self-conscious, pulled away. His expression was a mask as he looked up at her again. "I understand why you asked. I remember your Pa, you know."

"Do you?"

"Sure. Hardy, he was. A good man. He was always helping others when he could. Maybe too much. He talked about you."

Bella felt her cheeks pink. "Did he?"

"Yes, ma'am. Whenever we'd have some time around the fire, or a few times we went fishing together, he was always talking about his girl." He offered her a lopsided smile. "If we're being honest, I pictured you as a little thing, maybe knee high."

Bella's lips tugged downward. "Well, I 'spect that's how he still saw me. I was so young when he left."

He chuckled. It was such a rich sound, it pleased Bella somehow. "You are still very young."

"I'm no baby."

"No." His eyes swept her face. "That you are not."

~0~

The day before they left, the wagons circled outside Independence. Their train consisted of fifty-four other wagons.

"You gotta think of the train as a traveling city," James said as he explained how they would travel. "Just about every train I been a part of elected a council. This is because there will be squabbles along the way and we got to have some way to settle them. It's most like I'll be elected to the council. Always am, but at the end of the day, we have freedom of choice. The train goes a direction we don't agree with, we can always choose a different path. The trail forks in a number of places, after all. But for the most part, it's wiser to stay with the group."

True to his word, James was elected to the council. True to Edward's word, they hadn't gone a day's walk out of Independence before they reached the Blue River and had to wait for the ferry.

The days were cold, and Bella longed to return to the protection of the city not so far behind them. She found herself seeking out the guide, Edward, whenever she thought she wasn't getting in the way. He was more approachable than the others, and when coaxed, he would tell her tales that made her feel better about the journey. It was easy to hear only the dangers and tragedies that struck on the trail. It was easy to fear accidents, drowning, and sickness. But Edward told her about the good things she could expect. He told her of the beauty of the land and the things he'd seen. He told her about the triumphs of earlier travelers and watching the forts pop up one by one.

Listening to Edward, Bella began to feel some excitement about the journey. It was an adventure she would live to tell her grandchildren, he said.

More than once in the few days they waited at the river, Bella fell asleep by the fire, listening to Edward's melodic voice.