A/N: This is set Post Breaking Dawn, AU and slightly OOC. Also considering this is fan fiction and more or less everything is possible here, I have taken a bit of advantage of the term creative license. I hope you like it.

"Mom, please don't do this" she pleaded, her deep chocolate brown, a perfect replica of my own human eyes brimming with tears "Grandpa Carlisle and Grandma Esme would never ask you to leave the family and you know that. Please don't leave us and go"

As much as I knew that every word of what she had just said was true and no matter how much my already dead heart broke looking at the desolate expression on her face, I knew that I had to do this for my own self more than anyone else.

"Ness" said Jacob worriedly clutching Renesmee's hand tightly in his and wrapping the other of his huge hands warmly around her in an attempt to calm her down "The stress is not good for the baby"

I stared at my daughter as she wiped the tears falling from her eyes, the hiccups of her sobbing temporarily stopping with her maternal instincts kicking in. She put a hand on her slightly showing bump as she looked at me, a silent beg to reconsider.

"I am sorry Nessie" I said earnestly, meaning every word of it "But I need some distance from your father right now. It is not easy for us to be around one another right after the… divorce" I shuddered as I pushed the dreaded new reality of my life out "Some distance will do us good and I promise I will come back very soon. Now what kind of Grandma would I be if I missed this little peanut's birth huh?" I joked playfully though meaning every word what I had just uttered.

"That's perfect" said Nessie with a slight jump of sudden relief, though I knew she was talking about something completely different from what I had just put forward, a typical Nessie thing to do, "You could move in with us in La Push. Our house is big enough and you will be close enough for this little one's birth six months from now. Mom, please" she pleaded with a tear falling down her eyes.

I closed my eyes to avoid the sheer plead that was visible on her face. She was clutching at straws now trying everything possible to make me stay though even her rational mind would have known this that my moving to 'La Push' would be impossible and a threat considered by many of the shape shifter pack as well as the other natives residing there. For starters I was a vampire, their mortal enemy and even though the original treaty had been revoked after Jacob imprinted on Renesmee nearly ten years ago, we, the family never ventured to La Push unless invited or been given special permission by the council like the time when a year back Jacob and Nessie had got married on First beach in a tribal ceremony with it being officiated by Billy or when Sue and Charlie had got married in the Quileute way on Sue's insistence around nine years back in her backyard in La Push.

"Bells" I heard Jacob whisper as I opened my eyes again "We are your family too and we will be there for you in whatever way you need us"

I nodded my head at my best friend of more than a decade. The imprinting between my best friend and my baby had only resulted in us becoming even better friends than before and I knew with full surety that my Renesmee would live a very long and happy life… unlike mine. They were just perfect for one another and once again I was glad that Nessie had Jacob in her forever.

"Nessie baby, I have to do this for my own sanity. I can't be around him and I want to find myself out. I don't even remember who I was before I met your father. I need to get myself back" I tried once again trying to convince her as well as myself of how much I needed this.

She slowly nodded her head after a few minutes of complete silence "But promise me you will keep in touch and you will come back to us very soon"

I nodded my head in agreement as I smiled at my daughter, her husband and their unborn child whose news of coming into the world had come as a pleasant surprise to them nearly a month back and Carlisle who was monitoring Nessie's pregnancy for the obvious reason of her being a hybrid making it impossible for her to go to a normal doctor had said that Nessie's delivery would be at the end of around seven months, much longer than mine but shorter than a normal pregnancy.

The next morning was a heavy one as I bid my family goodbye with lots of hugs and tears that wouldn't fall. They may have originally been my family through Edward and our marriage but even a divorce could not take them away from me. Carlisle and Esme who were the closest I had to parents in this new eternity now that Charlie had succumbed to a heart attack nearly four years back and my mother who knew nothing of my being a vampire and whose face I have not seen in ten years, hugged me tightly assuring me that this was my family and my home too and I was always welcome here while Alice who was my best friend and almost sister refused to even look at me as I left with only one small duffel bag of mine. She was pouting sitting in the corner having decided to silently protest against my decision.

A sad smile enveloped my face at her silly antics. Emmett my brother bear and even Rosalie who had just returned from another one of their honeymoons wished me the best for my journey of self discovery with Rosalie even going as far as telling me that she hoped for me to bring back one hunk of a man on my arm the day I came back as she winked at me making me laugh in this tense environment.

The worst though as I had expected was my daughter who had never lived apart from me for more than a distance of a few miles which could be easily covered with a short run and though she looked to be eighteen having fully matured she was only a ten year old child in actuality who still needed her mother to be there for her to guide her through the ups and downs of life. A feeling of guilt tried making its way in my mind but I pushed it back. Nessie had Jacob now and I knew without a hint of doubt that he would be there for her in whatever way she needed, even if it was like a parental figure whose guidance she required. The imprint made sure of that.

The only person conspicuous by absence was my ex- husband Edward Cullen who I knew and could clearly hear, was in his music room composing a new song on his piano ignoring the thoughts and spoken out words by the rest of the family as they saw me going.

But I also knew that he could not be blamed as I would probably have done the same if he was the one in my shoes today. To say the last few months or even a year had been bad for us would be an understatement. We had quickly gone from forever in love to we can't even stand to be in one another's presence in just a decade of our eternity and it had honestly been coming for a while now.

"I will miss you all" I said turning back once again as I left the security of the front door of the house I had lived in since the day of my marriage followed by my change into a vampire after giving birth to Nessie. Though we had exceeded our stay in Forks Washington by years together because of which neither of us could wander close to town anymore, it was all worth it at the end of the day as neither of us wanted to be away from Nessie who had lived in La Push with Jacob since her seventh birthday, three years ago.

I took into a run in no particular direction as I let my thoughts wander to all what had occurred in these past few years of my bumpy rollercoaster like life.

After the almost battle yet non battle with the Volturi Kings our lives had settled down for probably the first time in years and Edward and I had breathe a sigh of relief with hope in our eyes and huge smiles on our faces expecting 'our forever' to begin. A forever of love and laughs, immortality and perfection and a forever of me and him and the first few weeks had been exactly so. We had gone to our meadow each day and would spend hours there basking in the sun talking or making love to one another only to return in the evenings to our cottage to spend time with Nessie and Jacob who was also now a part of my family. Life was perfect and maybe that was the first sign that everything was going to soon change for worse and so when Jake was called for a meeting with the tribal council a few days later I knew that our first hurdle in my forever was here.

After Jacob had imprinted on hardly an hour old Renesmee, he had been extremely worried and even scared of how his father and the other tribal elders would react. He had been extremely close to Billy growing up with him being the one to take care of Billy after Sarah Black accidently died in a rare case of drowning and the twins had left La Push for their own lives and careers and so the thought of Billy being disappointed of him or rejecting his imprint or imprinting was too hard for him to bear and so when he had told Billy of his imprinting only to get a huff and 'I need to research more on this' in return, he had been clearly disappointed and upset, something which had taken beyond her years wise Renesmee days to cheer him up and so when he had heard of this council meeting a new hope had rejuvenated within him. The hope that maybe his father, the chief was calling him home to accept the imprint, accept his son back with wide open arms and accept the girl who the spirits had chosen to be his future but to his shock and not so much of my surprise it had not been so. The reason for that meeting had been to put forth the condition that Jacob's imprinting would only be accepted by the tribe on the condition that after reaching full maturity at the age of seven, Renesmee and Jake would move to La Push and would stay on tribal lands as was expected from the Alpha's imprint and future chief's wife. They were worried that we would force Jake to leave with us and this imprinting would take Jake away from his tribe and family, something that regretfully could have been possible as the family was planning to move during those days and Jake had agreed to move with us.

Jacob had been furious when he had heard of this and had refused to make this choice on Nessie's behalf but the other option had been worse for him in comparison. If he would have refused to accept, he would be banished from the tribal lands and would never be able to return to see his father or to live in the only place he had known as home on the 'crime' of choosing to live with the enemy. The family though had had conflicting opinions on this. Carlisle, Esme and Jasper had stated that this was Jake and Renesmee's decision and no one else had a right to interfere while Alice, Rosalie and Emmett were firmly against this as they believed that this was a matter of forcing someone more than offering them a choice, well Alice's actual reason was also that Nessie would never get to travel or see the world with us, the family like she would have originally.

The worst fight though had occurred between me and Edward. We had never truly fought before that day as whenever I would protest or try speaking on my displeasure, Edward would dazzle me and get me to agree with him but now that I had been a vampire too, just like him it was just not possible for him to dazzle me any longer. Edward had been livid and had threatened Jake to there and then make the family and Nessie leave as the idea of Renesmee living in La Push, away from him was just not acceptable to him but I, on the other hand could see Jake's silent tears and pain behind his eyes as he had silently nodded accepting to move with us to wherever we went so as to not stay away from his imprint while he buried the pain of living away from his father, his sister and his friends and so the first thing from my mouth had been a loud no when Edward was discussing with the others of where to move next.

Call it a thank you or a penance for all the troubles Jake had undergone for me but this time I had refused to let him suffer in silence. Edward had asked for us to talk in private but I had refused knowing well that he would use one or another of his 'tricks' to convince me that he was correct while I was as always wrong and so in front of the entire family we had fought for possibly the first time with him stating that Renesmee would not live in La Push and if Jake wanted to be with his imprint he would have to move with us and me arguing that this was their decision not ours to make and forcing Jake to move with us would be no better than what his elders had chose to do to him. Finally after a long loud argument with neither of us willing to accept defeat, Carlisle who was the coven leader had stated that there was no use in going around borrowing tomorrow's troubles and so he had decided as the head of the family that the family was to live in Forks till Renesmee was older and mature enough to chose if this was what she wanted from life or if she wanted to travel with us, living with the vampire family of hers instead. A small smile had covered my face as I had seen Jake bury his head in Nessie who was sitting in his lap's hair in relief while Edward, my husband who was sitting on the opposite side of the dinner table had frowned and pouted not ready to accept that he had lost and the family was for once not doing what he had decided and wanted.

The next few days had been heavy to say the least for us as a couple as Edward was upset that I had not taken his side and had tried to guilt me in the same and though a small part of me had felt bad for making him feel so, I had also known that what he had wanted was not something I could have given him if I thought as a mother which I was doing at the moment. If Jacob was not happy neither would Renesmee and I knew this well from the short while I had observed them in.

"Mommy" a loud cheer of giggles pulled me out of my thoughts making me take notice of where my feet had involuntarily stopped. A small boy of no more than six or seven was being cuddled by a woman on the porch of their house and who was leaving wet kisses all over his face making him giggle and attempt to make her stop. Something about this sight had left me fascinated and I just could not move from the coverage of the trees a mile or so away from where I was observing this sight. It was so pure and beautiful to see that my dead heart clenched remembering of Renesmee when she was of that age, for the short period when she had been an innocent child who loved her hugs and butterfly kisses.

"Daddy help" giggled the same voice making me look at the family again just as a man in his early forties appeared out of the house but instead of going and saving the child from the attack of wet kisses, he wrapped his arms around the woman who looked to be his wife and pulled her back into his arms, pulling their child too with her in their embrace of love and belonging.

My eyes widened in that second as I got a clear look of the couple's face and my mouth lay open in shock and disbelief as I clearly recognized who the woman, the child's mother was.

"Renee" I said out loud though I knew that I was too far for her to hear or see me.

Renee, my mother who I was seeing nearly a decade and Phil, a man who had only been kind to me in the short while that I had known him, lay lost in their own world as they both passionately and lovingly kissed with their son saying 'Ew' in a typical child like tone before Phil took the boy's hand and made his way towards a car that was lying in the driveway with Renee sending them flying kisses from her place at the porch till the car was out of sight.

She looked happy. She was glowing, a happiness and a satisfaction that I had never seen on her face before was now clearly visible as she made her way in the house humming a tune I knew well from my childhood days of growing up with her. It was the same tune she hummed in the days when she would put me to sleep or would cuddle me as a child when I would cry saying that there were monsters below the bed. It was the tune of comfort and love and something I had not even known that I had missed before this moment. It was the tune of what I had lost due to my own greed and selfishness and inability to think of tomorrow which had led me to this point in life.

I stood there in shock for I don't know how long, a very unfamiliar sight for a vampire but I had too many thoughts to ponder on in my defense.

Renee and Phil had a child? My half brother… and I had not even known of this though this was probably my fault more than theirs as after my marriage and subsequent change I had cut all ties with Renee and Phil knowing well that they could not be pulled into this world. My mother had tried to stay in touch, the emails and frequent phone calls to Charlie asking of my whereabouts were evidence enough of this but I had never responded letting that one tie from my life go… forever.

My dead heart pained as the thought of Nessie cutting all ties with me entered my mind and for a second I just could not fathom how Renee would have felt because of my decision. At least Charlie had known of the truth till his last day and had been able to be a part of his daughter and granddaughter's life, something that I had greedily snatched from Renee.

I looked around me once again for the first time concentrating on my surroundings and noticed that I was nowhere close to Washington from where I had started my journey. From what I had known last of Renee she had been living in the suburbs of Jacksonville in Florida so was I in Florida of all places?

The thought was unimaginable as though I didn't clearly remember how long it had been since I had left the Cullen house in Forks, it couldn't have been so long right? It had probably been just a day or so… Yeah I was probably just overreacting and maybe just maybe Renee had relocated to Oregon or Idaho, I tried convincing myself much to my failure.

I knew it was possible though as we vampires often lost track of time or days when we ran and I had been too deep into my own thoughts to take notice of the direction but if it was so I hoped that no one had seen me running through the trees. I could not risk the wrath of the Volturi who would not be willing to forgive and especially not to anyone associated with the Cullens if I had unknowingly exposed myself and so my last hope was that no one had seen me or even if they had they would confuse me for an animal gone wild.

I stayed there by the trees for a while just looking at my mother as she made her way through the house doing the daily chores before she grabbed her purse and locked the front door, sitting in another car that was probably hers and making her way out.

I sighed as I looked around me. A part of me felt terrible for doing what I was planning to do. This was not me it argued but I ignored that part as I made my way out of the coverage of the trees towards the open window that I could see on the second floor of the house. It was sunny today and so I had to be extra careful as to not sparkle in front of an unsuspecting passerby even though Renee did not have any neighbors around for me to worry.

I quickly leaped into the open window entering the house, finding that the room I had just broken into was the master bedroom. Renee's clothes, shoes and accessories lay scattered all throughout the room in a mess as I made my way observing each photo frame that proudly stood on the walls of her room. There were photos of her and Phil followed by photos of the three of them in the simple yet surprisingly neat living room, a few photos of my Grandparents Higginbotham and finally one photo of me lay directly next to the antique bookcase. I closed my eyes as I tried to remember the day when this photo had been captured. It was the day before I had left Phoenix for Forks when I had been seventeen. I had been in my room packing my bag trying to neatly fit all of my belongings into that midsize pathetic excuse of a suitcase when out of nowhere Renee had appeared with a camera in her hand and a loud grin on her face and had started clicking photos of me much to my annoyance saying that I would laugh one day on seeing these photos and remembering of these times. It was a remembrance of the good and some not so good times we had shared over the years she had stated before she had gone on to click multiple photos of mine from each angle disregarding my irritation.

A tearful bitter laugh left my mouth as I took my head in the hands on seeing this photo and now thinking of those days when I had been a carefree teenager who had not completely destroyed her life ending up a place from where she had no way out.

What had I done? I had doomed myself to this life even after knowing and being warned by Rosalie and even Edward against it.

It was not so much of the fact that I didn't like being a vampire. Yes, there were benefits to it such as speed, strength, beauty but the negatives outweighed the positives by a huge margin. To live forever was also not easy as after a point of time life became pointless. How many books could one read or how many video games could you play? How much could you shop before monotony too became tedious? After a point it just became a pathetic cycle of repetition. Sure you could study and become something in life like Carlisle had but even then every few years he too had to leave everything, move and start once again from the beginning, never achieving his full potential.

As a family we did try to be innovative and keep ourselves busy and happy but everyone knew and had kept buried in the recesses of their mind that we were not human and never would be. We never aged and never got to experience things that we would have if we would not have been stuck in this cycle of forever living and never changing.

The others though had been pulled into this world without any choice of theirs but I, I had chosen this world and that to for someone who I thought was something else only to end up realizing what a blunder I had made.

My only saving grace was my daughter but I had sadly accepted this fact that she had her own life and would have her family too soon enough and would not need me as much as before as the time would pass which was I guess a reality of life which every parent one day faced though mine came much earlier than others.

I don't know for how long I sat there in the Dwyer's living room dry sobbing but when I heard the sound of a car approaching I knew that it was time for me to leave and so quickly I exited the house just the way as I had entered it, deciding to come back here again every few months to see my mother and half brother go one and live their life. I knew that it could be considered masochistic in a way but then again maybe this was my price to pay for all what I had done so far.

I had hardly gone a few miles when I realized from the low burn in my throat that it was probably time for me to hunt. I had always had an exceptional control of my bloodlust since my newborn period but still I hunted every few days so as to not have any mishaps and I soon found a herd of deer to feed on. I quickly pounced on the slower ones in the herd clenching my thirst and reducing the forever staying burn in my throat to a minimum. Being an animal drinker came with a price as our thirst was never fully clenched and we were at all times one step away from satiated but still it was better that the alternative of killing innocent humans. Carlisle and Esme had been worried when I had first told them of my decision of leaving the family as they had thought I too would rebel and turn to humans like Edward had nearly a century ago but I had assured them that I was content with the animal diet and had no plans of changing any time soon.

I started walking in a chosen direction once again leaving it to fate where my feet led me when suddenly I stopped in my tracks smelling a scent, a scent of a nomadic vampire coming in my direction. If I could smell the vampire so could they and knowing this I quickly put my shield over me as I got ready to face the threat. I had never really faced a nomad before well at least not without Edward by my side and from Jasper's story of his old vampire war days I knew that not every vampire out there was friendly and some were just out there to kill other humans as well as vampires for fun and so I crouched down in an attacking position waiting to see if this was a threat or not, ready to attack in case it was.

I knew that I had been sheltered living with the Cullens since the day I was turned. I had never had a reason to fight for survival after entering this life and even while facing the Volturi I knew that I had my family and the wolves with me but this was different. I was on my own now and if I wanted to survive I would have to be strong and more than that prepared to fight for my own safety.

A familiar looking male with shaggy brown chin length hair and a goatee soon approached me from the other side raising his hands up in a defensive manner when he saw me in a crouch with a sneer on my face, ready to attack him.

"Whoa! I meant no harm. I thought I smelt you, Bella Cullen and so came to investigate"

I let go of my crouch standing straight at my place as I looked at the man I had briefly met nearly a decade ago when he had come to save my daughter against the Volturi. That had been my first and last meeting with him though.

"Garrett what are you doing here?" I asked surprised, my tone conveying the hesitance that I felt on seeing him.

He shrugged with a little amusement showing on his face "I am a nomad. This is what I do but I must say I am surprised to see you here in Florida out of everywhere. It is not a very hot spot for our kind as you know. If you don't mind me asking, where is Edward though? I have never seen you one without the other"

I looked at my feet, a nervous habit I was still to let go of as my hands craved to wrap around my torso but I stopped them. I had chosen this. This was my decision.

"Umm Edward and I are no longer together. We got a divorce" I said keeping my voice strong despite the turbulence going within me.

His eyes widened at that "Oh" "I guess I am sorry" he continued after a minute or two of silence between us.

I nodded my head as I looked at him "I thought you were in Denali with Kate"

He let out an unneeded breath as if this was a heavy topic for him, one that he was still not very used to talking about. I was about to apologize for asking when he answered "I thought so too but I guess we were not on the same page. I wanted more while she was not serious enough and it ended when I caught her in our bed with a human when I came back early from a hunt"

"I am sorry" I mumbled in a whisper. After Irina had been killed by the Volturi, relations between my family and the Denali siblings had never really been the same and though I knew that Rose and Alice did go to visit the sisters at times I was never invited on these visits as the sisters were not very comfortable being around me who they still held partly responsible for Irina's death.

He shrugged once again "Can't say I hadn't seen it coming"

I nodded my head in agreement of knowing the same had been true for my relationship with Edward. Like I said before it had been coming for a while.

"So where are you off to?" I asked curiously

"To tour the world" was his quick answer leaving me in surprise

"What" I asked with my mouth open in shock "Really?"

"I have nothing better to do at the moment and I have seen enough of the country over the centuries so what better than seeing the overseas" he said with a small laugh.

"Wow, well I guess have fun. I should get going" I said albeit a bit awkwardly, as I started to take my first step in another direction only to be stopped by his voice.

"Wait" he said nervously "I could use some company. Do you want to come with me?"

He stared at me in hope and anticipation as I looked back frightened. Could I really do this? Go on a world tour with a man I hardly knew. I had always been the mature one and mature people did not do this… right?

"Such opportunities come only once in a lifetime, Bella" he said after a few minutes noticing my hesitance and reluctance "It is your choice to take or decline"

I closed my eyes as I thought about it. It was true such opportunities came only once in a lifetime and I smiled as Renee's words said so long back entered my mind – When life gives you lemons, take out the salt and the shot-glasses and fill them up with tequila.

"Sure let's do this" I said confidently as I opened my eyes again. It was rash and maybe even senseless but at times you have to be spontaneous and irrational I surmised.

"Great" he said with a grin "I hope you are okay with swimming though" he added after a few minutes almost like it was an afterthought.

Say what?

X-X-X-X-X

Two months later-

Garrett was different.

Being around him was easy.

Living as a nomad for so long as he had, he understood when to give space and when to not and that was something I learnt that I really appreciated.

Living as a nomad for me though was a completely different ballgame than the life I had been used to. First and foremost there were no flight travels and hotel bookings. That was the first misconception Garrett had cleared of mine. As nomads everywhere we went we either travelled by foot or swimming if it was overseas and for clothes and other basic necessities…

Well that was something I was still clearly not on board with but once Garrett had said the alternative option to his 'borrowing or more like stealing' scheme was to travel naked, I had quickly agreed to 'borrow' everything that we would need for our day to day travels. Anyways it was not like I had a surplus of money on me to pay for everything or any ID that could get us work. So yeah you work with what you have.

And so far on our world tour that had started a month back, after crossing the North Atlantic Ocean which was freezing even though I could not really feel the cold and feeding on the piked dogfish shark that gave us both mesmerizing dark blue colored eyes, we had reached Copenhagen, Denmark considered to be one of the greenest and cleanest cities in the world. It was a city of happiness and we had taken the canal tour to explore the beautiful city filled with exotic architecture and mesmerizing gardens and Garrett had also achieved the impossible, in my eyes, when he had made me agree to enjoy the nightlife with him, something I didn't think I would ever do making me find out that Whisky could be digested by our kind if not any other drink.

Our next destination on the list had been Norway followed by Sweden and Ireland where we had spent a few days each and had even met the Irish Coven consisting of Siobhan, Liam and Maggie who too were equally surprised to see me divorced and Garrett parted from Kate. They offered us to stay with them in their house while touring Ireland and Maggie had also accompanied us to see the Dark Hedges in Northern Ireland which was a magical tree tunnel and was truly a photographer's paradise with its stunning look.

We had huge smiles on our face as we had left for our next destination United Kingdom where after visiting the Lake District known for its beautiful lakes, mountains and forests and experiencing boating for the first time in life we had reached London to see the Westminster Palace and Madame Tussauds amongst other places that London was so famously known for.

And so here we were currently on a bank of a lesser known lake in the outskirts of London sitting in complete silence beside one another just like we did so often. There was no need to fill the silence when it was just the both of us. We knew that at times the only thing needed from the other was silent support.

"Tell me about your divorce" said Garrett surprising me with his question as this was the first time he had asked me this since we had started our journey. I had expected this question to come much earlier but Garrett had never asked, probably understanding my hesitance.

I sighed as I turned towards the clear calm water in front of me "We were very different people. Something I didn't realize till I was too far gone being married with a daughter. The fact that he was from the twentieth century while I belonged to the twenty first was something that started affecting our relationship later on which I had never thought would occur. His thinking and mine was completely different with him considering my taste in music and movies to be trash and juvenile while his orthodox unable to adapt with time thinking and mannerisms started suffocating me. As the time passed the common topics between us became lesser and lesser and it got to the point where we had nothing to talk about. Yes we loved one another but after a point it was just not enough. Our fights increased as neither of us wanted to leave our point which we thought was correct"

I thought back to the biggest argument that had occurred between me and Edward in my decade long marriage. It had been around three years back when Nessie had come to us, the family saying that she wanted to be in a live in arrangement with Jake before they decided to get married and start their family. Edward had been furious as the idea of his daughter living with a man before marriage was unacceptable to him, no matter that the said man was someone he had known for years and whose mind he could read. He had refused to grant them permission ignoring the fact that they were waiting for our approval and could have easily moved in without the 'permission'. I on the other hand understood where Nessie was coming from as I too would have chosen a route like this if it had not been for Edward's orthodox thinking that had demanded to be married before we got intimate. I had no qualms as such and so while his answer was no, mine had been yes which had resulted in a huge blowup between us which had only ended when Nessie had moved out without Edward's permission.

"Kate wanted an open relationship" said Garrett bringing me out of my thoughts "I tried making her understand that male vampires are extremely possessive of their mates and I would easily kill any man that tried to get close to her but she blamed me for taking away her free will"

"Oh" I whispered not knowing what to say ahead to console him but he just nodded his head in return as if he had never expected an answer in the first place.

"So" he said after an intake of an unnecessary deep breath "Now that the heavy topics are out, where you want to go next? I was thinking of Germany"

X-X-X-X-X

Four months later-

"And so after that day Pete refused to ever feed on animals" said Charlotte with a loud laugh as she finished narrating the story of how almost a century back she had tricked Peter into eating a Giraffe whose blood tasted repugnant even to us animal drinkers and was therefore a known fact that Giraffes were out of question.

"I can't believe you did that. That is just cruel" I said with amusement filled disbelief

She shrugged "He claims to be a prankster. He got a taste of his own medicine for once"

"Fair enough" I said with a slight nod "I can't believe the boys missed this though"

"I know right" she shouted in agreement from her place scaring the masseuse that was currently massaging her back as she lied on her back on the beds provided. She apologized to her before turning towards me again "But honestly I can't believe Pete chose some video game over this"

"This is better than any orgasm I have ever had" I said as the masseuse worked her hands on my back making me moan in pleasure.

"Girl you need to get laid properly. That pussy probably ruined the term orgasm for you" she said, her voice filled with seriousness making me laugh and equally roll my eyes at her expression and words.

Four months back if someone had told me that I would be in Dubai out of all the places in the world, in a massage parlor run by vampires and that too with Charlotte Whitlock who I had just met in passing a decade back I would have laughed, refusing to believe them but so far all of this was true no matter how bizarre it sounded.

After all the heavy conversation between me and Garrett had passed, things had become normal and our conversations too were lighter and more fun. We would talk of movies, music, favorite animal, now that he too fed on animals courtesy Kate Denali and our pasts and human lives. He would tell me stories of his human days and in return I would share with him the tales of Emmett and Jasper goofing around. In a short while we had become good friends and this friendship only continued when we toured the majority of the European countries such as Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain, the last being where we found Peter and Charlotte on a vacation that too attending a game of football.

I had only known the couple in passing as Jasper's brother and sister but Garrett had known Peter since decades and their camaraderie was one to see and so the Whitlocks had too joined us on our tour which had now led us to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and so far travelling with them had been amazing. We had gone shopping in the renowned malls of here, visiting spas and salons and had also seen the Burj Khalifa, said to be the tallest tower in the world with Peter joking of jumping from the top to see if the ground would break from the impact, obviously considering we were vampires and nothing would happen to us. And oh we had also gone skydiving over the Scenic Pal Jumeirah which was an adrenaline filled experience in itself.

"So what is going on with you and Garrett?" she asked with curiosity written all over her face

I shrugged in confusion "We are friends"

"Oh come on" she said disbelievingly "Anyone can see that that is not the complete truth. You can tell me. We are friends you know"

I shrugged again "Garrett is my really good friend, Charlotte. That is it"

"Oh my poor dear" she sighed dramatically "You really don't have any idea do you?"

"Any idea of what?" I asked confused

She shook her head giving me a tired look "Garrett is head over heels for you. He holds a candle for you. In other words he is completely smitten by you"

"What" I whispered shocked "You are joking right?"

She shook her head with a small smile "Nope, Pete tells me you are all he talks about when they are alone and he can see that Garrett's eyes glisten with love and admiration when he talks of you. The same love that he sees for me every time he looks into the mirror and I too can see that same bud of love in your eyes when you talk of Garrett but I guess maybe you don't see it yourself, yet"

"That is just not possible" I said taken aback

Love…. I didn't love Garrett. He was a friend, a good friend that is all.

Love was complicated and filled with trials. No I didn't love him. I couldn't love him.

"No" I said aloud "You are wrong. I have just got out of a marriage that quickly went to hell and Garrett too is recovering from a broken heart. There is no place for 'love' or any such thing in my life or in his for that matter. You are just confused and…"

"Sweetie calm down" said Charlotte getting up from the bed, the masseuse leaving the room understanding that we probably required privacy right now.

"I am not telling you to jump him here and now" she continued looking at me like she was seeing my soul "I am just telling you to give him a chance, to give yourself a second chance. Take it at your own pace, however slow that is. Do you know Pete and my relationship only truly flourished after we were out of Maria's death camp? Till then we were just two people who were mutually attracted to one another. After leaving from there we took our time to get to know the other, to understand if we could go beyond liking towards love" she took a minute before she continued again "I was married before I was turned"

I looked at her in shock. I had not known of this. Charlotte never spoke of her past, ever. She would just sit silently when we would talk of ours. I had just assumed that she probably didn't remember, just like Alice.

She nodded her head in understanding "Only Peter and Jasper for that matter know of this. He, my husband George was abusive. He used to beat me up and threaten to kill my younger sister if I protested. I was all she had. How could I let him hurt her?"

"Oh Charlotte" I said sympathetically. No one deserved to go through that.

"The night Jasper turned me, he killed George too seeing how he was going to smash a broken beer bottle on my head. Bella, I cannot tell you how much time it took me and Peter to get past that. How much time it took me to trust him but life does give second chances. You just need to be prepared to grab them"

I nodded my head, a new found respect for Charlotte making its way in my mind.

"I don't know" I whispered shaking my head softly

"Take your time but just don't push him away" she said just as my phone rang with a ringtone that I recognized all too well.

"Mom" said Nessie just as I picked up "Where are you? Why haven't you called?"

"Nessie, I am in Dubai and I am perfectly fine. How are you and Jake and the baby?"

"Dubai?" she shrieked making me put the phone far from my ear at her loud tone "What on earth are you doing in Dubai? When I spoke to you last you were in Paris and why won't you just tell me who you are with. You know I worry about you"

"Nessie calm down" I said with a small smile "Like I said I am perfectly fine and I am traveling with a few other vampire friends. I will tell you everything in detail when we meet"

"You are still coming back right?" she asked, her voice small and slightly dejected

"Of course I am. I told you I will be back at the end of six months and I will be. Now how is my grandbaby?"

"Grandpa thinks it is a girl from the ultrasound though it was not very clear. Jake is on top of the moon with happiness"

"I am so happy for you, baby" I said, the pride and love I felt seeping in through my voice

"Mom" she continued slowly "About Dad… he has been spending a lot of time in Denali these days. He just came back from Alaska last night and Tanya too is here"

I nodded my head with a sigh even though she could not see me "Renesmee Black, you do know that your father has the right to move on right? We are divorced and he can choose to be with another just like I can if I want"

"Do you?" she asked in a whisper

"I don't know" I said truthfully "I need time to think and work on what I want and need from life. I hurried up once I don't want to make the same mistake twice"

"Take your time and whatever your decision will be, I will support you" she said with such maturity in her voice that it surprised me before adding "I love you mom. Take care"

"I love you too and look after yourself" I said before cutting the call and looking back at Charlotte.

"Really?" she asked in derision "He couldn't find anyone better than whore Tanya Denali? Gosh I thought your ex had better taste than that"

"Don't start Charlotte" I said exasperated knowing that bitching or gossiping as she put it, of the Denali sisters was one of Charlotte's favorite activity to do. She hated them, Period.

"But think about it, Bella" said Charlotte changing the topic, talking about Garrett and giving him and myself a second chance.

I nodded my head. I still had two more months to think of it before I would have to take my decision.

X-X-X-X-X

Six months later-

It was something akin to a miracle. The evening air was frosty with the sky clear, without any clouds. It was a dancing palette of subtle shades of red and green capering in the night winter sky.

Aurora Borealis or the Northern lights- a beautiful phenomenon in itself had the sky glowing with thousands of seemingly dancing lights illuminating it in a way that I had never seen before.

"Wow" said Garrett pulling my attention towards him "This is something else"

I nodded my head. This was unlike anything I had seen till date.

"What an end to our trip" he said exclamatorily as I thought back to these last two months or the final leg of our world tour. After leaving from Dubai, Peter and Charlotte had parted to go back to their at the moment permanent residence in Canada promising to stay in touch while Garrett and I had continued on our journey to the Himalayas, the home to fourteen of the highest mountains in the world including the Mount Everest, considered to be the highest peak in the world. We had fed on the rare species of animals that called the Himalayas its home while we trekked and camped at such a height cherishing on the stunning view of Sunrises and Sunsets over the snowcapped mountains.

I blushed as a memory of while we were on the Himalayas filtered through my mind. We were admiring the view of the sunrise when Garrett suddenly turned to look at me, his eyes filled with an unknown determination before he took a step ahead making my dead heart beat in nervousness. I had almost thought that he was going to kiss me from the way he was adoringly looking at me but then he had turned to look ahead, almost as if the moment had come and passed.

And the thing that scared me was that I wanted him to kiss me. I was almost ashamed to admit that I wanted that closeness, wanted that excitement and wanted those butterflies of nervousness and newness.

After leaving the Himalayas we had reached China to see the Rainbow Mountains of Zhangye Danxia which showed weathering and erosion at its most beautiful. The sand coloring throughout the mountains was in reds, greens and yellows making it a sight never seen before. The Great Wall of China which was named as one of the Seven Wonders of the World was next on our list before we made our way to this last destination of our tour, Kirovsk, Russia to see the Northern lights. The temperature was freezing, again not like it affected us even a bit but still the view from here was worth living and even dying for.

It was blissfully romantic in its own way too…

It symbolized the magic, the mystery and the unknown of the world.

"So where are you going to go from here?" asked Garrett, an unknown fear evident in his voice

I shrugged "Back home to my daughter and family" "What about you?"

He shook his head with a sad smile "I don't know. I have nowhere to be. Will probably travel some more"

An irrational yet somewhere in my head making complete sense idea made me open my mouth again "Do you want to come with me?"

"To Forks?" he asked

I nodded my head "Yeah… I want to see where this goes if you are willing to"

His smile widened as his eyes glistened with hope "I would like that"

He took my hands in his squeezing them gently. There was no guarantee of what was going to happen tomorrow. All we knew was that we had the chance today. It could turn out to be bad or even better than we could have ever imagined. It was a risk, one that could go either way but then again which decision in life came without its own set of risks.

"So you ready for Forks and an overprotective family than consists of my ex-husband and daughter with a baby on the way, too in tow?" I asked with a nervous grin.

"Another adventure" he asked "Always ready for one of those"

And then the noise of our laughter filled the air as he took me in his arms and kissed me, making me forget everything and everyone except him in that moment.

A/N: Thank you for reading. I do plan to write a second part to this focusing on the Cullens and Edward's reaction to Bella and Garrett but for the moment I am marking this as complete.