1: Skinny Love (Ed. Cullen)

59

January:

Bambi sits on the couch looking out the window as the rain pounds, she smiles a little she loves this weather. Charlie glances to her just in time to see her first genuine smile in months, he smiles a little watching her, still worried, but less so then he was a moment ago. She pulls her blanket around herself tighter and snuggles into the couch to watch the rain.

...................

Bambi bounces from foot to foot outside of Jacob's house, he smiles opening the door to see her on the other side, she tucks her hands into her jacket pockets and smiles back.

"Wanna go to the beach?" Bambi asks Jacob who smirks.

"Urm it's the beginning of January" he points out. "It's freezing out there...how about a movie instead?" she nods and smiles a little, amused at herself.

"'kay" she offers following him into the house. "Hey, Billy" she greets seeing the older man, Billy smiles and waves at her.

"Nice to see you smiling again" he comments.

"Dad" Jacob warns pulling Bambi along, she smirks a little watching Jacob grumble under his breath. Bambi chuckles a little and Jacob looks to her, he watches as her eyes laugh with her, it's been a long time since he's seen her actually amused like that, he pulls her closer and she smiles nudging him as they walk into his bedroom. Bambi's phone beeps announcing a text message as she sits on Jacob's bed, he grabs a DVD case from the side and glances to her. Worried that she's still texting Cullen, she glances to her phone. "Who is it?" Jacob asks, Bambi shrugs a little. He turns and sets up the movie for them.

"Just Bella" she answers. "She wants to do like a girls day thing tomorrow" Jacob frowns at her. "Dad threatened to send her to mom's if she doesn't cheer up"

"And now the reason for smiling Bambi is made clear" he offers teasing her.

"No" she argues. "I'm smiling because I have the greatest best friend" she offers, he snorts and sits next to her.

"I'm not going to argue with you there" he grumbles warmly as she leans against his side. He wraps an arm around her as the movie starts. He has missed his best friend, and he knows she's trying to get better, but heartbreak isn't something that goes away over night, and he'll be there for her. As long as she needs him.

.....................

Alice faces off with Carlisle as the others watch on. Esme desolate; Emmett blank. He sits next to Rosalie who seems almost irritated. Jasper isolates himself in a corner. Edward rests against the wall furthest away from them, arms folded over his chest, eyes distant.

"No. We promised Connor" Carlisle argues glancing to Edward.

"But she won't do well without us" Alice argues. "I get flashes of her, but they're unclear...."

"Forget her, let's drag Connor home" Rosalie argues.

"He'll come back when he's ready" Edward comments flatly. As much as he understood Bambi breaking it off, doesn't mean he has to like it, in fact he hates it.

"After Bella moves on" Esme adds.

"Yes. When she's living her life, safe from danger...."

"You mean safe from us" Jasper correct with self-contempt. Alice wraps an arm around Jasper, soothingly"

"And when will that be?" Rosalie asks Alice.

"Can you see him, Alice?" Emmett counter asks. They all turn to Alice... a beat. She closes her eyes, trying to get a lock on Connor.

"The only decision he's made... is to be alone..." Alice tells them and glances to where Edward was stood, he's gone now.

..............

"Edward" Carlisle offers. "A word" Edward nods and follows his 'father' into his office. Edward sits across from Carlisle at his desk, he's resisting the urge to read Carlisle's mind, letting the older vampire tell him himself. "I know you told me not to continue my research but I did anyway" Carlisle tells him. "And I think you were right about Nadine. I think she has fairy blood in her" Edward looks down a little. "Not a full fairy and not even a half, but there is some fairy blood in her"

"And Bella?" Edward asks looking to Carlisle who shakes his head.

"She is 100% human, they're....they're not related, at all" Carlisle pulls a file from his desk and sets it on the top pushing it towards Edward who opens it. "I did some digging from around about when they were born, and I found a report of a baby girl found abandoned in the 12th of September, she was about 3 days old....and then the next day Renee Swan gives birth, to twins, when all her scans suggested that she was only carrying one"

"So they took her in?" Edward mumbles. "Raised her and Bella as twins" he rubs his head a little. "She has no idea" Edward adds and looks to Carlisle. "About any of this"

....................

Edward walks through the snow of Alaska, the cold not bothering him, he closes his eyes a little, and if he concentrate really hard he can still smell Bambi, can feel her hair, her skin, can hear her laugh. And then suddenly, he starts running, like he's trying to outrun his memories, faster and faster -- he races toward a cliff; a ravine hundreds of feet below Edward doesn't slow, just blasts forward faster; then he leaps off the cliff, floating, but the pain stays with him; Edward's feet land hard on the other side of the ravine and he continues to run.

...................

Bambi weaves through the trees of the forest, music blasting in her ears, her breathing even and controlled, her feet pounding the wet earth. She'd had a nightmare, and now she runs it off. A nightmare, a dream, something that once would have been happy for her, instead, now, dreaming of Edward makes everything hurt. She misses him and she loves him. But she has to try and move forward with her life. He's not here and she can't do long distance thing with him, this was the only way it could have ended. This is the only way it could ever work. With them apart. She pushes herself harder. Bambi screams colliding with a wall of fur, she falls backwards onto her ass and looks up, eyes widening seeing a giant black wolf stood before her, it turns it's head to her surprised. It watches her before taking a step closer, but Bambi doesn't more, she just sits there in the leaves.

[Not safe out here, what is she doing out here? All the way out here] it thinks and she frowns listening to him, it seems...clearer then with humans. She's never heard an animals 'voice' before. Never thought to, she thought she was going mad, but this wolf, she can hear him clear as day. "Now she's seen me, a human, Chief's daughter]

"Not safe?" she asks it, the wolf's eyes widen and it frowns at her. There is a howl in the distance and the wolf snaps his head up and away from Bambi who pushes herself up to her knees to watch him. The wolf looks back to her frowning still, studying her. It's thoughts too fast, too many of them, she frowns trying to pick one out but she can't, it's chaos. He turns and runs away, she stands and watches the giant wolf escape. She takes a breath and looks around.