Prologue

Death.

For many this was a touchy subject, for others they didn't think too much about it.

Death was a part of not only life but technically it was my job.

For at least two years so far, I have been a licensed pathologist and one of the best in my county.

I would like to say I had always wanted to become one, but it wasn't until I delved into my tweenhood, I had found an odd fascination in death and its tow on bodies after the organs would shut down and the blood would become a different texture. The skin which would begin to wither away, and as hair would continue to grow along with nails. The jaws of the corpses would have to be stapled shut and eye cups would be put underneath eyelids to make sure the eyes would look natural when their eyes would remain shut. There would be so many different elements, some of the elements being natural and other things being taken care of by the living.

It was raining, quite heavy, as I stood in the cemetery of my birth town.

A birth town called Forks and had a little over 3,000 and some people in its population.

An umbrella handle was clamped in one of my hands. The actual canopy was a deep purple shade. I was dressed in a black ruffled neckline blouse with a pair of my nicer gray slated dress pants and some slightly heeled boots. My brown hair, quite dark but still had highlights of natural red during the summer, was not as vibrant since it was January, and the sun wasn't a very frequent visitor in this town due to the clouds.

I stood quietly in front of the tombstone that was nice, simple and nothing that was outspoken. It was exactly what the person who was buried was in his life. The police emblem etched into the front face of the tombstone reminded others not only of his job, but the reasoning behind him dying when I was a junior in high school. He was the chief of police in this town, and he also happened to be my father. His name was Charlie Swan, and he died when he was 37.

I brought my brown eyes away from the gray tombstone when I heard the crunching of dead grass behind me. The cemetery was small compared to the cemetery of the town I had been living in. It was nicely taken care of, and not too far away from the cemetery there was the funeral home I would end up working at. The funeral home would also be where I would live, as did all the past funeral directors or sometimes pathologists. I wouldn't have to worry about living in that house Charlie had left for me, which still looked exactly the same (over a decade old and hadn't changed after the two years he had been married to my mom, Renee).

Behind me, I could see my godbrother and godfather making their way towards me.

Natives of the Quileute Reservation, both father and son had the same rustic skin and dark eyes.

Billy Black, my godfather, was in a wheelchair due to his Diabetes, and was wearing his usual leather jacket and denim pants/shirt combo. A black cowboy hat sat upon his head, and his once vibrant obsidian hair that fell down his shoulders was being eaten away with grayness. His cowboy boots were still intimidating, despite them merely being for show when it came to his feet. His wrinkled hands were clasped together in his lap, as if letting me know he was going to be patient with his time even if he was at unease within himself.

Jacob "Jake" Black, my godbrother, was a successful mechanic who worked mostly on motorcycles and antique cars. He was gaining popularity around Port Angeles, and even if he wasn't the wealthiest man in the world, he was happy with the extra change but most of all he loved his work. He had on an Indian Motorcycle t-shirt over his rustic, muscular biceps, dark washed jeans that were worn out and had rips through some of the parts. His combat boots were crusted from the dirt and mud. His leather woven necklace had a wolf tooth I faintly remember Billy wearing in the past, but he must have handed it down to Jacob. Maybe it was an heirloom from a past ancestor who had taken a tooth from a deceased wolf (Quileute's did not hunt wolves, they were sacred).

"Bella! I had hoped we'd get the chance to catch you before you go to the funeral home!"

Billy cheered; his features that usually were tightened became loosened the closer he came to me. He noted there wasn't a wedding ring on me, so he must still have that silly fantasy that I would find myself falling for Jacob in the future…and I would become his daughter through marriage.

I came forward to them and bent down to hug Billy, taking in the scent of the Native Indian American cigar smoke that clung to his leather and denim. I pulled away and kissed him on his cheekbone, which reminded me of a raisin. I reached my hand out in a fist pump motion over his head, and Jacob knew exactly what to do. Our fists hit each other before our hands fell on our sides again.

"Thought I'd come and see Dad before I get to the funeral home. Renee wouldn't let me come up here for the funeral…" I whispered, trying not to have a deeper resentment appear in my voice.

I had tried to buy a plane ticket, but the prices were ridiculous. Renee was dealing with a horrible breakup with a minor league baseball player named Phil…who eventually became my stepdad and still happened to be my stepdad despite the toxicity of their marriage. She wouldn't give me the money for the ticket and went up there, only so she could save face and claim I was at home dealing with a respiratory infection or some other kind of bullshit.

I only tore my attention away from my past, not really caring at how Billy was grumbling underneath his breath. It had always been obvious he had not cared for Renee; he could have possibly tried to keep Charlie from marrying Renee but obviously that didn't work. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been born, and I wouldn't have been his goddaughter.

Jacob cussed under his breath when he heard his phone ringing.

Bringing his hand up to let us know he needed a moment away; he jogged away from us and went a few aisles from where we were so he could focus his entire attention on the caller. He paced next to a tombstone, never moving in the way he would be standing on the grave. It was considerate and sweet, something I was certain not everyone did. The dead needed respect, and that was one thing I always admired about his culture: their respect towards the dead.

It was short, but when Jacob hung up his phone, he went up to Billy and bent his head before whispering to him. Billy's lips pressed together, before he nodded his head. "You're right, I can't miss any other appointments. Even if it's pointless at this point."

I wanted to ask him what it was, when it came to Billy thinking it was pointless.

Could Billy be sick?

He didn't look sick, but then again Charlie didn't look as if he was going to be killed in action that day due to something like overthinking, but he was. I wasn't able to say anything, both because my god family was saying goodbye, but also because I didn't know what to say.

As their pickup truck went through the front gate of the cemetery, I turned to Charlie's tombstone and patted it on the top.

"I'll visit again when I get settled in, I promise. Love you, Dad."

Then, it was my own vehicle that was going through the gate of the cemetery.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Bella is 33 in this fanfiction. So is Carlisle, both to make this more accurate on how old Pathologists are when they graduate and also because it will make it more realistic for Carlisle to be a single dad in his 30's. Esme is actually Eleazar's mate in this fanfiction so she's the mother of Tanya and her sisters. Edward is asexual in this fanfiction, so he's not interested in romance. Everyone else is with their cannon mate. I hope you enjoy this fanfiction.

-it'semmynotemma

as always: Twilight doesn't belong to me