Remote [Chapter 1 -- Discoveries]

[deeperwonderment]

Title: Remote [1/?]
Chapter: Discoveries
Fandom: Twilight
Author: not_from_stars
Character: Cullens, The Pack, A few extras
Word Count: 3,000
Summary: Five years after Edward lied to Bella and the Cullens left Forks, it's gotten to be too much to be away from the girl they all loved. They come back for Bella, only to find that nothing is as it should be -- and that Bella is not who she used to be.
Rating: PG-13
Notes: AU from New Moon. Bella never jumped off the cliff, and Alice never got a vision of her "death" so Edward never went to Volterra.
Author's Note: The image for this fic was created for me by catsimmie.




The face looking back at him through the screen door was neither friendly, nor welcoming.

"You have some nerve coming back here after what you did, Cullen," the man growled.

"I need to see Bella," Edward said quietly, being careful not to wrinkle his nose.

"The last thing Bella needs is to see you ever again," the other man said. He and two other men stepped out of the house and onto the porch. "You did enough damage the last time she saw you."

When the three men stepped out onto the porch, Alice and Emmett were immediately flanking him and he could hear Jasper and Rosalie coming up the walk to join them. They could smell other werewolves inside the house where Bella was.

"We didn't come for a fight, Jacob Black," Edward said calmly. "I just want to see Bella."

Jacob sneered at him. "After what you did, what makes you think you have any right to see her?" His fists were clenched at his sides.

"What gives you the right to try and stop us?" Emmett demanded coolly.

"The fact that we're the ones who have taken care of her and looked out for her since you left her in the woods," one of the others snapped.

"Why would she need dogs to look after her," Rosalie asked from behind Emmett.

The older of the three men looked at Rosalie with contempt and then looked back at Edward. "She hasn't spoken a word since you left her alone in the woods that night, Cullen." His eyes narrowed. "I'm the one that found her when she never came back home. I'm the one that brought her back to her home and gave her over to her father."

Edward reeled back as if he had been hit. "But it's been five years! Are you telling me she hasn't spoken to anyone in five years?" He could feel and hear the shock of his family as they took that information in.

Edward, what did you say to her when you left her? Alice demanded in his mind.

I told her I didn't love her and she got in the way of my other distractions, he admitted to all of his siblings.

Edward winced outwardly at the responses that came pouring into his mind due to that news.

"Not once after she finally stopped saying 'He's gone' over and over again," Jacob said quietly. "That's all she said for like a week after Sam brought her back home. 'He's gone', 'They're gone', different variations of it." He shook his head. "When we lost Charlie..."

"What do you mean, 'When you lost Charlie'?" Alice's voice was hard and it caused Sam to tense up.

"Charlie's dead, leech. He was killed before we knew you had left a mess behind that we needed to clean up. The leech with red hair came for Bella one night."

"Victoria," Rosalie hissed.

"That's the one. She tried to kill Bella and Charlie tried to stop her. Jacob and Billy were just pulling into the driveway when they heard the commotion. Charlie shot her a good four times before she tore into him."

"How did Bella survive the attack," Jasper asked quietly, slipping his arms around the visibly upset Alice.

Jacob glared at him. "Me. I phased into a werewolf and managed to chase her out of the house. Billy had called the others from the truck. Sam and Emily took her to the hospital and afterwards... well, we've all taken care of her."

"Some things never change. Bella stills needs others to take care of her." However, there was none of the usual bite in Rosalie's words.

"What happened to Victoria?" Emmett finally asked since it looked like Edward was in some kind of shock.

A new face appeared at the door. "The boys took care of her and her friend," Billy Black said as he looked up at the group of vampires from his wheelchair. "Why did you come back here? Haven't you Cullens caused her enough pain?"

"It wasn't their choice to leave her," Edward finally said, his eyes full of grief. "It was mine. I thought I was doing what was best for her, keeping her safe." He shook his head. "They wanted to stay. Don't hold my family to blame for the pain I caused her. I just wanted to keep her safe."

"Oh yes, you kept her real safe when you turned tail and ran," Jacob snapped. "You left her and Charlie to deal with two leeches who were pissed off at you."

"Apparently, you killed her mate," Sam said quietly.

"I need to see her, Billy," Edward said softly. "I need to apologize... to talk to her."

"I'm not sure that's the best idea," Billy finally said. "I don't know what seeing the lot of you might do to her."

"Please, Billy."

Billy looked down at his hands. "The thing is, if you see her and it causes her harm, I'm not sure the rest of the pack will be able to stick to the treaty. Bella has become family to most of them and they're awfully protective of her. I don't know --"

Billy was cut off as two women came through the door. Edward didn't recognize one of them but the other --

"Angela?"

"What in the hell are you doing here, Edward?"

Edward stumbled back from the force of the young woman's rage and hatred. The Angela he knew had been such a sweet, gentle girl. She had been the best of Bella's human friends and Edward had always liked her. However, the woman in front of him had her fists clenched and she looked for all of the world like she would be happy to hit him a few times.

"Ange," the other man on the porch said gently, reaching out to pull her to him. "Calm down, sweetheart."

"I won't calm down, Embry. Bella loved him and was decent to him and he broke her. She didn't deserve what he did and he didn't deserve for her to love him." Angela was glaring at all of them. "I thought the other kids at school gave you guys a bad rap, calling you freaks and all. I defended you and was so happy when Bella wasn't like the others. She cared about all of you and it hurt her that others talked about you." She shook her head. "All of that goodness and you destroyed her. You have no right coming here. Get out!"

Almost as if he was afraid Angela would launch herself at Edward, Embry wrapped his arms around her tightly and held her firmly against him.

"You should leave," Billy finally said quietly.

"Billy --"

"I'll speak to others and we'll decide if it's such a good idea for you to see her."

"I won't take no for an answer," Edward said quietly.

Sam shook his head. "You don't want to start a war with us, Cullen. There are a lot more of us than there are you. Do as Billy says. Leave. Go back to your place -- I assume that your family have moved back into your previous residence?" At Edward's nod, Sam continued. "We'll discuss it and let you know."

"We love her, too, Sam," Alice said softly, almost pleading.

"Yeah," the other woman spat. "You showed her how much your love was worth, didn't you?"

"Leah," Sam warned.

"We'll be in touch, Edward," Billy said as he wheeled himself back into the house, the others following after him. It wasn't too long before the five Cullens found themselves staring at a closed door. There was a heavy silence and then the anger of his siblings started being directed at Edward.

Idiot. Imbecile. Jackass. That was Rosalie and there were several epithets coming from her. Even I wouldn't have said something like that.

Damn it, Edward! How could you have said such a thing to her? That was Alice. How could you be so cruel?

Jasper's mental voice was full of recrimination. After everything she tried to do for us, she deserved better than that.

That was beyond harsh. Emmett, as usual, kept his thoughts simple and to the point. Bella was worth more than the way you left her.

Edward sighed as they got into the car. "You guys can yell at me when we get home."

"Carlisle and Esme, too," Alice finally said when they were half way home.

"Yeah, them, too," Edward said tiredly. "I honestly never thought this would happen. I thought her temper --"

"She loved you, you idiot," Rosalie said in a cold voice. "I may not have liked the relationship, but she did love you and would have done anything for you."

"Rose --" Emmett started.

"No, Emmett. The rest of you may shield and coddle Edward from his stupidity, but don't expect me to."

The trip from Bella's house to theirs seemed even longer than usual. Edward was the last one to enter the house and he found the rest of his family waiting for him.

"What happened," Esme asked in concern as she took in all of their expressions.

"The dogs wouldn't let us see her," Rosalie responded angrily.

Carlisle and Esme exchanged a look. "Why are werewolves deciding who Bella sees or doesn't see?"

"Because apparently the boy genius shattered her into a million pieces when we left," Rosalie said acidly as she flopped down into a chair.

Carlisle looked confused. "Edward?"

Edward sighed, shaking his head. "It's a long story. Let's sit down and I'll tell you everything that happened."

Once everyone was seated at the table in the dining room, Edward related everything from the last time he saw Bella, word for word. Once he was done, there was silence in the room for several long moments.

"Edward." Esme finally said, shaking her head. "How could you?" Oh poor Bella. Our poor, poor girl.

"Is that why you wanted us to leave before you told her goodbye," Carlisle asked, his face expressionless.

Edward nodded. "I knew that if you guys were still in the area, Bella would try to contact you and get your help in convincing me to change my mind."

"The dogs said that Bella hasn't spoken a word in five years," Jasper said quietly, and there was sorrow in his own eyes. "If I had been in better control back then, this never would have happened."

"No, Jasper," Rosalie said, shaking her head. "Don't you dare blame yourself for any part of this. We all have slips sometimes, and you heard Edward. Bella said that same night that she wasn't upset with you."

"Maybe not, Rose, but if that hadn't happened, Edward wouldn't have felt he had to do what he did -- and Chief Swan would still be alive."

"At least now I know why I couldn't see Bella's future whenever I tried. She's been with the werewolves all of this time and I apparently can't see them," Alice said quietly.

Edward glared at her. "I told you not to try."

"And I told you that I couldn't help it. I loved her, too, Edward! She was my best friend. I had to know what was happening and that she would be okay, but I could never see her! If you had just talked to us instead of --"

"Instead of what?" Edward demanded, his voice rising. "Instead of trying to protect the very reason for my being?"

"And look how well that protection turned out for her! Her father is dead because we left! She's catatonic and in the company of werewolves! Oh yeah, Edward, you took real good care of her, didn't you!" Alice was on her feet.

Even Jasper -- who knew Alice so well -- was shocked at her outburst of temper on Edward, whom she loved like her brother.

"Alice --" Jasper said, reaching out in an attempt to pull her into his arms and calm her down.

"No, Jazz. I'm tired of not saying what I think." She sidestepped Jasper's reach and looked at Edward. "You're my brother and I love you, but you really messed up this time. Bella was our family, too, and you made us leave her. You didn't give any of us a choice in the matter and when we tried to talk to you, you shut us out or went off on your own. We tried to respect your wishes because we love you, but this was one of those times that we shouldn't have." If Alice could still cry, there would be tears in her eyes. "Look what this has done to her! She wasn't some random stranger that we met and then left. This was Bella. You said she was your life! We said she was our family -- and we just abandoned her. We threw her away like she was nothing -- because you decided it was best."

"Being a part of our lives kept bringing her closer and closer to danger!"

"No! It wasn't us that caused her danger, it was the way things were for her and she said that. James chasing her wasn't your fault, Edward. The nomads would have come across her had we been here or not. We're not the only ones that are going to notice her scent and how much it will draw you in. She would have been killed for sure if we hadn't been there the day they saw her. We were able to run with her and even when he did get her, you saved her, Edward. It was going to happen whether we were with her or not. You know Bella. We all know Bella. Bad things just happen to her, but we were able to prevent so much of them. We kept her safe, and more importantly to Rosalie -- whether she wants to admit it to you or not -- we kept her alive!"

"The party --"

"Oh knock it of, Edward," Emmett finally said, anger in his usually cheerful voice. "It wasn't Jasper's fault it happened and it wasn't your fault -- and it damn sure wasn't Bella's fault! It happened and it could have -- and has in the past -- happened to any of us. Bella was our sister, Carlisle and Esme's daughter - just like any of us."

"Her being human didn't change how we felt about her," Esma agreed softly. "I loved her for saving you, Edward. I loved her for all of the things she did to show what a loving person she was -- and for how much she loved my son."

"We all loved her, son," Carlisle finally said.

"Rosalie didn't--"

"I wanted to protect her humanity," Rosalie said quietly, causing everyone to look at her. "Ask Jasper, he could feel it. She was too accepting and too sweet-- too dangerous for so many reasons. She wasn't that dangerous to us, but I thought we were too dangerous for her." Her hand gestured to their surroundings. "She was so much like a child to me. She needed someone to look out for her and protect her -- someone who was able not to get too close to her and keep her at arms length." Everyone was staring at the blond vampire now. "I knew that none of the rest of you could do that, but I knew I could force myself to do it. It's not like me acting like a selfish bitch would have been that much of a surprise to any of the rest of you. It's who I am."

"Rose," Emmett said softly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You can't hide things from Edward, love. You've never been able to. What was I going to say, that I saw Bella more as a daughter than a friend or a sister, but that she was too selfless? He would have picked that up out of your thoughts so easily. Bella wouldn't be selfish for herself, so I figured that I could be selfish and be a bitch to her. I thought someone needed to be selfish on her behalf. I knew that everyone else here loved her, and even though I cared about her, too, I knew that I could be the one firm hold out in the family. I was strong enough to do it. I knew if I just acted like myself and kept pushing her away, there was the chance that I wouldn't get attached like the rest of you did. It was hard, almost impossible sometimes. But I stuck to it. I didn't want her to end up dead, or in this life like us." She looked down, uncomfortable about these softer feelings towards Bella that she had managed to hide from anyone but Jasper. "Even when we left I kept having these urges to call... or to come back and check on her. I wanted to know she was safe. But when Edward made his demand that none of us contact her and everyone agreed, I decided that it was better if we didn't know -- if she didn't know that any of us still cared about her." She raised her eyes to glare at Edward. "If I had known what you said to her that night -- what had happened to her, I would have ignored all of that to go and help her. I didn't hate her, Edward, not like you thought. I was afraid for her. I didn't want her dead or changed. I wanted her to stay Bella. I wanted her to have the chance we didn't and bring light and her caring to someone else's life. I most certainly didn't want her hurt like you did and I didn't want her to be in the state those dogs tell us she's been in ever since."

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