There was once a girl who was swept forward by the sea. It was her particular destiny to be raised by a young woman named Renee Brennan, who was to be married to one Charlie Swan.

One summer day, Charlie's mother, Violet, approached the young Renee to tell her of her destiny in raising the child.

"How am I to raise a child?"

It was a valid question. Renee was only seventeen. She was Charlie's girlfriend of nearly a year, but neither of them was in any position to raise a child.

Violet explained to the young Renee that she must tell Charlie, the last week of the December of their high school year, that she was to be expecting a baby, and she was to tell him it would be his.

"Lie?"

Violet nodded her head, but then explained that it would only be half a lie, since they really would be expecting a baby and since it really was destined to be Charlie's. Renee wondered at how Charlie's own mother could ask such a thing of her: to lie to her own son this way, even if the woman did only consider it half a lie.

"We all must play our parts well here, my dear."

Renee went home that evening, deciding with a heavy heart between whether or not she should lie to the man she considered to be the love of her life. After all, Charlie would never lie to her, so why should she lie to him? And what authority did his mother have to ask this of her anyway? Who, after all, had ever heard of a baby girl washing up from the ocean only to be perfectly fine? And where would such a child have originated in the first place?

It was a few days later when Charlie went fishing with a buddy of his from the Quileute Reservation that Violet invited Renee over to her home to once again ask this thing of her.

"I don't know if I can," Renee admitted. "I don't feel comfortable lying to your son. I love him."

"I love him too," Violet interrupted. "That's why we must do this thing. It is required for everyone's happiness."

"Why? Why do you believe that?"

"You know of the old lore around these parts, I think?"

Renee nodded her head. Indeed, she had heard many strange tales; each passed down through the generations and accepted by many of the older citizens of the small town to be the genuine truth.

"You've heard of our family's origins then, haven't you?"

"I get them mixed up sometimes," Renee said. What she wanted to say was that it was all a bunch of bogus fluff to her and that she didn't bother keeping track of which was whose story, but she wondered if that would be impolite of her. Violet was Charlie's mother, after all, and she didn't see the need to offend her needlessly.

"Our family legends recall that my husband's earliest parents came forth out of the Cygnus constellation, which is why they gave themselves that surname, and later changed it to Swan so as to modernize it."

"Your family came from the stars?"

"My husband's family did," Violet said matter-of-factly with a nod. There was no question that this woman seriously believed what she was telling Renee. "That means that Charlie's family did, whether he believes that or not. I know how it is with you young folks these days. There is little need to believe in all this, what would you call it? Hogwash. There is no need to believe in any of it. That's how my son feels, I know it. He thinks me a superstitious woman, which is why I can't ask him to take the child in. If he didn't believe that she was genuinely his, he would turn away from the responsibility. Adopting her would be out of the question, I'm sure of it. He would ask too many questions about where she came from and would always feel alienated by her being in his home."

"So you're asking me to make him believe that she is his actual flesh and blood daughter?"

"I know my son loves you so much, Renee, and that he would do anything for you. I know that he intends on marrying you."

"Then why not wait until after we're married to spring this lie on him? Why make him believe we are having a child out of wedlock?"

"There's not enough time, Renee. She has already been sent here. The time of her arrival is set and we must make it appear as though nine months pass before she is 'born.'"

"When you say sent here, what do you mean by that?"

"You will find out soon enough, Renee. Will you agree to help my family by doing this thing? Do you love Charlie enough to do what is in his best interest, even if he doesn't know it himself?"

Renee sighed heavily, both in her heart and out loud. She couldn't explain what it was exactly that was compelling her to comply with this strange request, but she took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I will do this thing." She could feel in her heart that it was truly what was in the best interest of something greater than herself.

Months passed before it was time for Renee to tell Charlie that they would be expecting a child together. So much time, in fact, that the plans fell to the back of her mind and she nearly forgot about them entirely. It wasn't until that first day of December - the month that was decided upon in which to plant this lie - that Violet rang the doorbell of Renee's home.

"It's time to prepare yourself," she announced as Renee answered the door. "You have three weeks before you announce the news. Remember that you must play your part well for everything to align properly."

Renee didn't bother asking any questions or asking for any advice. She had agreed to do this thing and when the plan was first concocted, she had even spent time practicing how she would break the news to Charlie.

The eventual day was very difficult for Renee. It was the day of the final exams at school before Christmas Break, and she decided it best if she waited to tell Charlie the news after the school day was over. She knew of his ambitions to get into the local police academy, and even if it didn't require a college degree, it still required his best effort. They would be looking at his transcripts, after all, and there would be a new baby to support soon enough.

"Charlie," Renee said softly as he walked her to the front steps of her house after school that December day. "Will you sit on the swing with me? There's some news I need to share with you."

Charlie was madly in love with Renee and gladly obliged her. He could sense that she was worried all day and he wondered if maybe she was going to break up with him and finally get out of this town once and for all in the spring, or maybe even sooner since she was set to graduate an entire semester early. She wouldn't be returning to school in January, but where would she go? It never occurred to him that she would actually fly out of here early.

In his heart he believed that Renee was too good a woman for him to keep for the rest of his life, and he had intended to ask her to marry him the moment they both walked across the stage with their diplomas in hand, but now he was afraid he might not even get that chance. He simply figured that all these weeks he'd carried the little velvet box that held the ring he would ask her to marry him with around for nothing. It was a ring that only he knew about; not even Violet was in on this surprise.

He brushed the thick layer of snow from the swing, and she sat on the down, and he gently pushed her. He adored the way the breeze flew through her hair and his heart broke at the thought of never seeing her this way again.

"It's not good news," she started.

His heart sank a little further and there was a strange, painful feeling in his throat he couldn't describe. He didn't know it was heartbreak because he'd never had his heart broken before. Renee was the only girl he'd ever loved and he was convinced that she was the only woman he ever would love.

"Whatever you need to tell me, Renee, you can."

It was hard for him to get the words out; he was already braced to hear such painful words. But those words never came. They were entirely different than he thought they would be.

"I'm sorry," she began to weep. "I don't want you to stress out or be unhappy with me, but we have a baby on the way."

She would have been happier if it were actually true than to lie to him this way, even though the obvious stresses that came with an unconventional unplanned pregnancy would have been a great weight to bear as well.

She didn't know what Charlie's reaction would be, but she was certainly not expecting this. She felt him stop pushing her forward until the swing came to a complete stop, then he walked in front of her, dropped down to one knee, pulled a little red box out of his jacket pocket and said, "Renee Brennan, you are the only woman I can ever think to love in this world. I knew from the moment I met you that you were the one I would propose to someday, and well, today is that day; this moment is that moment. I can no longer wait to ask you, because I never want to lose you. I've dreamt of you saying yes for so long, so please, Renee, please say yes, that you'll marry me."

Her heart soared with joy at his words and she whispered through her tears, "Yes, Charlie. I would never tell you that I wouldn't. You are the only man I've ever dreamt of being with. Thank you for loving me no matter what."

With so much love in the air to give him strength, Charlie believed that now would be the best time for them to explain the situation to her parents, but Renee insisted they wait until after they were married. They would have a quick, small ceremony in the weeks to come after the New Year, and no one would ever have to know about their situation except for them. Charlie explained that he didn't want to lie to her parents this way, but she insisted that they keep this secret from them, asking him to do it for her. Though, the real truth of the matter was that she didn't want her parents to find out because they would surely take her to the doctor where she would be tested. If she took a pregnancy test and it came back negative, the entire plan would be shot before it could really begin.

And so, instead of telling her parents negative news they surprised them with positive news instead. Charlie had planned on speaking with Mr. Brennan in two days to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. He didn't explain to her father that those were his intentions for their meeting, but he was smart enough a man to have figured that out already, and so it was really no surprise to him to hear that his daughter was engaged, though he did wonder at Charlie's not asking him for her hand first, as was the traditional way in that small little town of Forks. Renee's mother was happily surprised and neither of Charlie's parents were surprised at all, though they feigned the expected reaction. No one thought it odd that Charlie marry Renee while he still had a semester of high school to complete. They were both eighteen already, and Renee was technically done with that part of her life now.

Many months passed and Renee played her part well. Although the earlier months of the "pregnancy" were easy, she was able to convincingly pull off the stunt of looking nearly nine months along at the expected time. Violet helped her with this, of course. Neither Renee nor Violet knew of the exact hour that the baby would show up, but they knew the place where she would arrive. It was on a little section of the beach at the Reservation, and Renee insisted that he go fishing with his friend Billy as often as possible so that she could take her "regular walks" on the beach and enjoy what little time she had left to herself before she would be bombarded with all of the sudden expectations of motherhood. Really, though, she was always awaiting the hour when her daughter would arrive, and she knew she would have to feign labor. She had hoped that Charlie would be out fishing at this time, and be back in time to have "just missed the big event."

Renee got her wish. It was about six o'clock one evening in September when Violet met her at the beach. Charlie had agreed to go fishing with Billy at Renee's request, but he was worried that they weren't spending enough time with one another. He had been putting forty hours into the police academy each week since it started in June, and she was very much pregnant, or at least it seemed that way; yet, she promised him that she wouldn't go into labor. Ironically, that part was actually the truth!

"It's time now," Violet said very seriously.

They waited by the water until the sun set entirely into the West, and that's when she arrived. Nothing carried the baby; no boat, no basket, nothing at all. She was swept in slowly as the tide began to be still, and there she was on the sand. Violet picked her up from the water and wrapped her in blankets she had brought with her, then handed her to Renee, congratulating her on her success so far.

The strangest part of all was not strange in the least to these two women. Both of them knew in their heart of hearts that this child's name was Scarlett, though neither had to say it out loud to confirm it. Each knew the other knew this fact.

"Come on," Violet said, rushing Renee away from the waters.

"Where are we going?"

"To Sue Decoteau's home."

"Harry Clearwater's fiancée? Why?"

"She is the one who delivered your child, Renee."

"No one else can be in on this secret! If Charlie ever found out…"

"He won't; I promise."

"Harry is one of his oldest friends. What if Sue tells him someday and he tells Charlie?"

"We must hurry. Charlie and Billy will be back soon."

They rushed to Sue's home where she welcomed them in immediately. Renee was worried that Charlie would find out about her lies and no longer love her. She wouldn't be able to bear it. A part of her wanted to come out completely and tell him the entire truth, but she was too far into the lies to be the one to rip them apart. Charlie would never understand why she would do this to him, and she even risked the love he had for his own mother, should he find out that she was in on the lie as well. Renee justified everything now based on that Charlie would be happier if he never found out than if he understood the truth, so she decided to remain silent on this matter forever.

"Hurry and change your clothes," Sue said quickly, ushering Renee back to her bedroom with the newborn child.

"Does she know everything?" Renee asked Violet in a whispered hush as Sue closed the bedroom door behind them to give Renee privacy in changing. She couldn't, after all, be seen in the exact same clothes that Charlie had left her near the beach in. She quickly recovered herself with a nightgown.

"She does," Violet confirmed. "But she is to be trusted entirely. Our families have been very close for generations, and she understands the need for this thing to be brought to pass. Don't worry, Renee. Her lips are sealed forever. Sue's promise is as solid as steel. There is nothing to be afraid of."

Renee climbed into the bed with the baby as she heard the front door open.

"Where is she?" Charlie was all in a panic.

"She's fine, Charlie," Sue said in a calm tone. "She and the baby are just fine."

Renee began to cry, though she wasn't exactly sure why. She trusted Violet and Sue to keep the secret, and she was happy to have this beautiful baby in her arms and had already promised herself that she would love her just as if she really were her own flesh and blood child.

"Renee," Charlie said, nearly busting through the bedroom door. "Are you alright?"

He noticed her tears right away and immediately felt guilty for having gone out fishing with his friends. He had known instinctively that tonight would be the night, though he relented at his wife's request to enjoy time with his buddies.

"I shouldn't have gone," he sighed sadly. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here for the big event. I swore to myself that I would be by your side."

"I'm fine, Charlie," Renee said, sweeping her tears away with the back of her hand. "I promise, I'm fine."

"Oh my God," Charlie breathed, "Is this her? Our daughter? She is so beautiful! Have you named her yet?"

Renee shook her head, yet she knew the child already came with a name.

"Let's call her Bella," Charlie pleaded. "Can we please? She is so beautiful and the name fits her, being that it means beauty."

"It's a wonderful name," Renee said, taking Charlie's hand in hers, letting him know that she was approving of the name.

The tiny thing's eyes opened, focusing on nothing in particular, then closed again.

"Look," he said with a smile, "She must recognize my voice! She opened her eyes."

Renee began to weep again, knowing that there was no way this little baby recognized her daddy's voice because she hadn't carried her in her womb these last nine months.

"Come, son," Violet said, taking the baby. "We must let mommy get some rest."

Violet and Charlie walked out into the living room where Charlie sat on Sue's couch and held his daughter for the first time.

"Is Renee alright?" he asked.

"She is fine," Sue insisted. "It's typical for women to be a little weepy just after delivering a child. This little case of the blues is something she will snap right out of. This is just how mommy hormones work." She added a little giggle for convincing measure, and Charlie bought the entire act, never asking a question about it for nearly two years.

…

Author's Note: Here lies the groundwork for a sweet little love story between Bella and Edward. I hope you will enjoy the little twists and turns along the way!

Additionally, here is my official disclaimer for the story: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended in any way. I have made up my own little story using the characters of Twilight, and I take credit for that. Although these characters are from Stephenie Meyer's imagination, I have taken artistic liberties in altering them in any way I see fit to mesh with my own story.