Bella hadn't really settled in in the spare room in Jessica's apartment over the last week since she'd arrived in California, instead she was still living out of her suitcases. The only things she'd really unpacked were her toiletries and her work stuff, the latter of which was now located at Cullen campaign headquarters.

Jessica hadn't been lying when she said she didn't spend the night at her place much. In fact, Bella hadn't seen her outside of the office since the day she'd arrived. Jessica had picked her up at the airport, dropped her off at the apartment and handed her a key to the place then had cheerfully said goodbye as she ran out the door.

Bella was actually grateful for the quiet and solitude. She spent most of the day at campaign headquarters, usually being the last one to leave then she would go home, have a quiet dinner and read or watch something off Netflix. She didn't turn on C-SPAN or any of the news networks, though she couldn't avoid it for long. Her job depended on her keeping up to date with politics.

But, in the end, she had been doing her job for the past week. In fact she was more dedicated than ever. And, even though technically she had been demoted, with Carlisle and Jasper in D.C. most of the campaign staff in California looked to her as their de facto leader. When they had questions that required a response, but that they didn't want to have to wait for a response from Carlisle or Jasper, they came to her. Carlisle, and even surprisingly Jasper, were comfortable with this when she had spoken to it about them over the phone. The Senator had told her that he trusted her judgment and Jasper had said the he trusted her to know when he and Carlisle had to be consulted before a decision was made. She was grateful for their trust, especially after everything that had happened.

Truthfully, it was a lot more work than she had been doing in D.C., but she was enjoying it and in the end, it didn't feel like she had gotten a demotion.

Sitting in the office on Friday night, working on going through some invitations for meetings that the Senator had received, she didn't notice that the sun had set and that with the exception of one or two stragglers, the building was clearing out. In fact, she was so immersed in her work that she was startled when Eric, one the researchers on their team, peeked his head into her office.

"Hey, Bella! You sticking around?"

She jumped in her seat, hand going to her chest and she let out a gasp, then a short breathless laugh. "Oh, hey, Eric. What? Oh, um…I don't know, what time is it?"

Eric chuckled. "Almost eight. I think we're the last two left in the building."

"Eight?" Bella blinked, "I didn't realize it was that late."

"Sure you didn't," Eric smiled, "You've been burning the midnight oil since you arrived and now the staff feels they have to keep pace."

Blushing she shook her head, "Sorry, I never intended…"

He brushed her office, "Nah, don't worry about it. It was about someone cracked the whip when Senator Cullen and Jasper aren't around. Things are going to be busier and busier…especially when the Senator gets the party's nomination."

Bella just smiled.

"Anyway," Eric said with a shrug, "It's a Friday night and everyone's gone for the weekend. I just wanted to see if you were sticking around or if you wanted me to walk you out."

She seemed to consider for a second and shook her head. "I think I want to get some things done. Thanks for the offer though. Just lock up behind you on the way out."

Eric nodded. "See you Monday then."

"Night, Eric."

He waved and headed down the hall towards the front of the building. Bella sighed, looked around a moment then got back to what she was working on. It was less than a minute after Eric left when she heard footsteps down the hall as he came back to her office, a stunned look on her face.

"Uh, Bella?"

"You forget something?" She asked with a smile.

He looked down the hallway and then looked at her again. "Uh…"

She frowned, brows drawing together, "You all right?"

"Well," Eric frowned, "Maybe you should let me walk you to your car after all."

Tilting her head, she asked, "Why? What's going on?"

She got up from behind her desk and walked around it then peeked passed him down the hallway, there was no one there, but through the window at the end of the hall, she noticed that the parking lot seemed brighter than usual. "What's going on?" she asked again.

"It's the damnedest thing. There's a horde of reporters and photographers in the parking lot," he said. "They asked me if you were around and I said I wasn't sure and just ducked back in." He seemed to consider this. "Perhaps I should have said no and they would have taken off. Sorry 'bout that."

She frowned. "Reporters? What do they want with me?" She tried to think if the Senator might have made any important announcements that day that they would want clarification or comments on, but she didn't remember anything like that and Jasper or Carlisle himself would have given her a heads up if there was something the media was going to bombard her about.

"How were you going to get home?" he asked.

"Well, I was going to walk to be honest. I'm staying with Jessica and her place isn't that far from here," she replied.

"Yeah," Eric said with a grimace, "I don't think that's going to work."

She blinked in surprise. "Are there that many out there?"

"More than a few," Eric said uneasily.

She nodded and stood there, her lower lip between her teeth as she tried to figure this out. "Well, I guess I could call a cab."

Eric nodded. "Might be a good idea. I took the bus. My car's in the shop or I'd offer you a ride."

Nodding she hesitated, "Would you mind staying till the cab gets here?"

"No problem, Bella," he said with a smile.

As she walked back around her desk, she glanced at him again, "Is it really that bad."

"Well, it would be just a normal crowd out there…if you were Brittney Spears or something," he said with a chuckle.

Bella laughed a bit. Eric was quite a bit older than her and his pop culture references were obviously not up to date.

)()()()()(

The cab driver called when he was outside and Bella grabbed her bags and headed out with Eric. As they approached the front of the building and she saw the number of people crowding around the front doors she whispered, "What the hell?"

Eric frowned, and responded, "I think a few more may have joined in in the last half hour." Squaring his shoulders and adjusting his glasses he walked to the doors in front of Bella and opened unlocked them. Even before he did so, cameras were already flashing, trying to take pictures of her as she approached the exit.

When she and Edward had gone more public with their relationship, she had had to get used to the fact that every now and then people would take their photographs. Now and then a reporter would catch them leaving a restaurant and take a shot without asking. Once in a while some of the more polite ones asked, but that was rather rare. When they had gone to official functions together, pictures and reporters were expected, but this…this was a whole different ball game.

As Eric tried to make room for her through the reporters crowded outside, flashes were going off in her face and mics were being shoved in her face. She could barely make out what any of them were saying or asking of her.

"Ms. Swan! Ms. Swan! What do you think about your boyfriend's announcement today?" "Isabella, over here!" "Miss. Swan! Is it true that you are considering leaving the Cullen campaign to help Masen run his campaign!?" "Isabella!" "Will you be returning to D.C. or will you be heading to Illinois to join Masen there!?" "Is it true that Masen asked you not to be there for the announcement?"

She felt like she was being crushed, and poor Eric might as well have been a fish swimming against the tides as he got pushed around as much as she did. The buzz of questions being hurtled at her were confusing and she just shook her head as she squinted against the bright lights flashing in her face, blinding her.

The burly cab driver was a nice guy who made his way to her and helped her into the cab along with a very dazed looking Eric. Once in there, Eric helped her in, and closed the door as the cabbie hurried to get them out of there.

When they finally inched their way out of the lot the cabbie laugh, "Holy geez, lady! What was that all about?"

Bella, still looking quite stunned and confused just shook her head and looked at him through the reflection in the review mirror and shook her head.

The cabbie continued, "When I saw that crowd I thought I was pickin' up a movie star or somethin'." He looked at her through the reflection, "You ain't famous, are you?"

She only shook her head in response and tried to catch her breath, adrenaline still coursing through her veins.

The man laughed, "Nah, didn't think so."

"Thank you for your help out there," Bella finally managed to get out.

He shrugged and responded, "No need. I've helped more than a few famous folk in my time. Damnedest one was some crazy signer that called for a cab after shaving her head and attacking a car with an umbrella or something."

Bella just let out a small startled laugh as she realized he was talking about Brittney Spears, and closing her eyes she leaned her head back against the car seat and sighed. She had to figure out what in the world was going on.

)()()()()(

*earlier that day*

Edward waited quietly in a room off the auditorium where he would be making his announcement. Seth, an old buddy of his from law school who was helping him run his campaign, was out making sure everything was set. Emmett was there to support Edward as well, but in an unofficial role as a friend. Emmett McCarty was now part of the Cullen for President Campaign and Edward was happy for him. Sure, he wanted Emmett on his team, but working on a presidential campaign was a better career choice for Emmett. But, more important than that, Edward knew that he had to win back Emmett's trust when it came to their professional relationship.

"You holding up all right?" Emmett asked. In fact, he looked more nervous that Edward did.

"Yes," said Edward, running his hand through his hair.

Emmett nodded, shifting his weight nervously from foot to foot, his arms crossed across his massive chest. "You sure."

Edward couldn't help but smile a bit. "Yes, nervous as hell, but I'm all right."

Emmett nodded again and continued fidgeting.

Edward looked at the notecards in his hand again and sighed, wondering for the millionth time if she'd be watching, what she thought about going on.

Truth of the matter was that when Senator Cullen had suggested that he run for Monroe's seat, his first thought had been that he had to talk about it with Bella first. It had been instinct on his part feel that she had to be part of any major life decisions that he would make. But, his choice to hand over her speech to Aro, even though it had been a thoughtless one, had put both their lives on a path that neither of them probably wanted.

Yes, he wanted her to be part of the major decisions that he made in his life, because he couldn't picture life without her. She was part of those decisions. Even now, when she wanted nothing to do with him.

In the end, while Carlisle had put the idea in his head about running for the Senate seat, he had made the decision because of something Bella had said, something that had not left his mind. He had decided what kind of man he wanted to be.

He wanted to be a man who was honorable, but his thoughtless action had made him less than so.

He wanted to be a man that his parents would have been proud of, but he had been too scared of the pain of their loss to make the right decisions when it came to his professional life.

He wanted to be the kind of man that Bella deserved, but right now, he knew he was not.

He wanted to be a good man, a man that could be counted on both personally and professionally.

He wanted to do these things for himself, so he could become the kind of man she admired. He knew that right now, he was far from being that.

He wanted to do this, run for the Senate, because he wanted to help his people, not only the people of Illinois, but of the U.S.

He was lost in these thoughts when Seth finally made his way back into the small room where they were waiting.

"Holy Moly, Edward! This is a lot bigger than we anticipated," Seth said, looking a bit shell shocked.

"Well, you all knew there was going to be interest," Emmett said with a shrug.

Seth nodded, "Well, yes, but this exceeds our expectations. They've moved you to a bigger auditorium and most of the press has made their way there. Even then we've had to turn people away…"

Edward opened his mouth to say something, but Seth held up his hand to stop him. "I know, I know. We've reserved the majority of the seats for ordinary citizens and the press has been asked to hold their questions till tomorrow when you hold a separate press conference. They know that today is just an announcement. I just didn't expect that many of the general public to be interested!"

He looked to Emmett with a big smile, "You should see it! Feel it! It's electric! I've been around other campaigns, but…WOW!" He looked to Edward again. "These people are clamoring for a leader Edward. They want this! They NEED this! They need you!"

Emmett chuckled and leaned over, using a faux whispering voice, "He always this much of a suck up?"

Edward laughed and Seth did as well as he responded, "Hey! I already have the job, mister! I don't need to suck up to keep it, I just need to do my job." Seth looked at his watch. "We better set out. We're going to drive you over to the other venue where we've moved the event. Let me go make sure the car is outside," and with that he dashed off.

"He always have this much energy," Emmett asked as Seth left. Edward just nodded and smiled.

"Well, good," continued Emmett, "That's what you need. He's a good guy." In fact, he'd met Seth before whenever he'd gone to D.C. to meet up with Edward, and he liked the guy, but even then he felt like he should be running Edward's campaign, or at least helping out in some way, but in his heart, he knew that Edward had to find his own way, and till then, he could be a friend, but not a colleague.

As if reading his thoughts, Edward said, "Thanks for being here, Em."

"Wouldn't be anywhere else, Chief," Emmett said with a bit of a smile.

)()()()()(

Edward had been used to crowds and cameras his whole life, so stepping onto that stage, it wasn't the crowd or the lights that made him nervous, it was the idea that this might just be his path towards redemption.

As he stepped up to the podium, his voice rang strong and clear, "Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for being here."

Was she watching? Did she even have a hint that this was going to happen?

"Many years ago, my father stood a podium much like this one and spoke of the direction that he hoped to take leading this country. Many of you are here today because of his legacy or my grandfather's legacy, because of the promises and hopes that have been associated with the Masen family.

But, I am not here today to talk about my father, or my family's legacy. I am here for one reason, to answer the question…What kind of man am I?"….