Chapter 1

Disclaimers/Content Warnings: I do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.

A special thanks to my pre-readers byrd, Tasha, Kat, Luee Fishes and Jasper's Woman and to my awesome beta blueeyedcherry.

A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. - Colin Powell

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.- Anatole France

BPOV

I knew what I wanted, and I was going to get absolutely everything on that list. I didn't think I was conceited, even though others might have perceived me that way. I just had very specific goals and did what needed to be done to reach them. I knew it wasn't going to be easy. Is anything worth having in life easy. I'd had my life planned out from the time I turned ten. I was an overachiever, and I made sure that the word "can't" was not a part of my vocabulary.

I was class president all through high school. This was just a small step on the ladder that led to my ultimate prize. Those who knew me understood that this was just a small taste of the power I knew I would have one day. For those who didn't know me, I made sure to make myself known to them one way or another. I needed to begin cultivating a growing support base sooner rather than later. I would be a member of the state government in a few years, so I had to have as many supporters as possible to make that a certainty.

I graduated at the top of my high school class and attended Harvard. After that, I went to Harvard Law and was editor of the Law Review. I graduated Summa Cum Laude and went back to my home state of Washington to put the next steps of my life plan in motion. I never listened to those who told me that life sometimes doesn't go the way you plan.

EPOV

Girls my age never did anything for me. When I was 13, my first crush was my middle school English teacher. Oh, how I loved Mrs. Cope. Those glasses, the prim and proper suits she wore and the bun held in place by that pencil. I could picture myself taking the pencil from her golden locks and stroking her silky hair as it fell down her back. Then I would let my hands continue to discover other areas of that smoking hot body of hers. I often found myself rather excited by her, and learned early in the school year how to hide that excitement from the eyes of others. All any pubescent boy thought of was sex. I just wanted to have sex with my hot as sin teacher. Every once in awhile, I found myself singing the song "Hot for Teacher." Every time I watched that video, I pictured my beloved English teacher strutting her stuff on the TV screen.

I never thought that anyone would turn me on more than Mrs. Cope, but I was very, very wrong. My dad worked at the University of Washington Medical Center as the chief of surgery. One day after class, Mom picked me up and took me to the hospital. It wasn't to see Dad though.

It seems like it was just yesterday that I saw her for the first time. Her brown, wavy hair cascaded down the sides of her face; a face that stopped me in my tracks. The great master artists couldn't have sculpted a more perfect face than hers. Her pert nose, heart-shaped mouth, and high cheek-bones were the classic beauty like the movie starlets from the 1950s. She had the most expressive brown eyes that said she meant serious business. When she smiled, my heart stopped. I wanted to run my fingers across the crinkles that appeared at her eyes each time her smile emerged.

She was wearing a black pant suit with a white button up shirt. My eyes roamed up and down her body repeatedly. Those pants showcased legs that seemed to go on forever. The top button of her jacket closed just under the swell of her generous breasts. I swore to myself that I saw a gap in her shirt and that I caught a glimpse of her lacy bra. Cullen the Magnificent decided to rise to the occasion to salute the glory before me. I pulled my jacket down to cover myself up. Mom and Dad didn't need to see me like this in public.

In my lust-filled haze, I began to pay attention to what she was saying. Articulate. Passionate. I could have listened to her read the telephone book and would have been enraptured by the angelic tone of her voice. She was talking about the importance of health care reform. I didn't understand a lot of what she said, but I was drawn to her. Entranced. Captivated. Held hostage by her surreal beauty and her fiery fight for what she felt was right. Not what was right for her; she was talking about what was right for all people.

"Who is that?" I asked my mom.

"That's what we came here for, Son," she told me. "That's our new State Senator, Bella Swan. Your dad and I thought it would be a good idea for you to come see her in action. What do you think?"

"She's incredible," I said. Realizing that my voice had just expressed the awe that I felt in this moment I added, "It seems like she really believes in what she is talking about. She means what she says, huh?"

"It looks that way, Edward," Mom said as we walked closer to the front of the hospital where she was talking. Three television cameras covered her from every angle. I saw others taking detailed notes of what she was saying.

When she finished talking, the reporters asked her a lot of questions, and she answered each and every one eloquently. I noticed Dad standing off to the side. She walked over to him and shook his hand. I was not going to miss this opportunity. I had to meet her.

I pulled on my mom's coat to get her attention. "Hey, there's Dad," I pointed.

Mom guided me to where Dad was standing with Senator Swan. I sighed inwardly. Mrs. Cope had nothing on the woman who currently stood before me. She was even more beautiful up close.

"Hi, Dad," I said.

"Hello, Son. Hi, honey," Dad said as he kissed Mom lightly on the cheek. "Senator Swan, I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Esme, and my son, Edward."

"Nice to meet you both," she told my mom as she shook her hand.

As she engulfed my glove-covered hand in both of hers with a strong, confident handshake, I fell head over heels in love with her. Mrs. Cope was now a thing of the past.

"It is nice to meet you, too, Senator," I smiled at her. I knew that my dimples winked at her, and that my smile was crooked as always. When she smiled back at me, Cullen the Magnificent became even more magnificent. God, being a teenage boy in puberty was often literally a BIG pain.

"Was this the first time that you've been forced to endure a politician's speech, Edward?" Her smile as she joked with me was even more brilliant. When the senator turned it on, it was as bright and beautiful as the sun.

"Yes, it was," I answered back.

"What did you think about it?" The senator asked me with a little twinkle in her mocha eyes.

"I think you were absolutely brilliant," I admitted. "When you talked, I wanted to listen. I think that when you speak everyone wants to listen to what you have to say. That's important for being a politician, right?" She laughed, and it made the crinkles near her eyes stand out even more.

"You are very right, Edward. When we give a speech, we most definitely hope that many people listen to what we have to say," Senator Swan told me.

"Senator, what do you hope to do? What is your ultimate goal?" I had to hear her voice again.

"Edward, I am going to change the world. I am going to be the first female president of the United States of America." There was no doubt in her voice at all. For her, it was set in stone. She would be president. "You would vote for me, wouldn't you?" She smiled at me again.

"Of course I would," I admitted. In 12 years, I would be one of the millions who helped make history as she was elected the first female president of the United States. In an election year when no one was a clear winner, her charisma helped her become the most powerful person in the entire world. Twelve years later, I would still have an unwavering crush on the undeniably gorgeous president.

~~~~~~~P~P~~~~~~P~P~~~~~~~P~P~~~~~~P~P~~~~~~~P~P~~~~~~P~P~~~~~~

I was dressed in my best suit and almost squirming in my seat. I sat across from the formidable Rosalie Hale, Chief of Staff to the former senator from Washington State. I had met Ms. Hale on more than one occasion as I helped run the main office of Isabella Swan-Newton's presidential campaign in DC.

That first meeting with Senator Bella Swan helped me determine what I wanted to do with my life. I was going to follow in her footsteps. I wanted to be a politician, too. What better way to learn the ropes that to watch the master at work.

Bella Swan knew that the world of politics was like a game of chess. With the right strategy and planning, she knew how to win every political game she played.

After she graduated from Harvard Law, every law firm in the country seemed to want her. Who wouldn't want her on their side? She decided on a small law firm where she met her future partner in the world of politics, Rosalie Hale.

At the age of 26, she was elected to the State House. Two years later, she won her first State Senate seat. She was the people's politician. There wasn't a single person in the State of Washington, even members of the opposing party, who didn't adore her. She had a way with people. She knew what everyone needed to hear and what they needed to see from her. Bella Swan was brilliant.

When her political mentor, Congressman Simon Sanders died, she announced that she was going to run for his office. She won the seat easily and was now on her way to Washington, DC

During her second run for Congress, I helped make phone calls for her campaign in Seattle. I was the youngest volunteer there, only 17 years old. I knew that this would look fantastic on my application to Georgetown University in D.C.

"Tell me, Edward," Ms. Hale asked brusquely. "Why do you think you deserve this internship with me in my office? What makes you different than all of the other volunteers who helped the President get elected?"

I took a deep breath, and I began to play the game that I learned from the master, Bella Swan. Politics was a game, and I was ready to play the most important match of my life.

~~~~~~~P~P~~~~~~P~P~~~~~~~P~P~~~~~~P~P~~~~~~~P~P~~~~~~P~P~~~~~~

BPOV

I met Mike Newton when he was a political correspondent for the Washington Post. He was my first official national interview after my election to the House of Representatives. His sparkling blue eyes, blonde hair, and all-American good looks drew me to him immediately. He was smart, witty and just everything that I was looking for in my life partner.

The attraction was mutual. We began dating a week after he first interviewed me. Our relationship heated up very quickly. We couldn't get enough of each other. After a long discussion about our careers, he decided to be transferred to another department to avoid any conflicts of interest. He became a foreign correspondent.

After 6 months, we were engaged. Another 6 months and we were married in a huge church ceremony in Seattle. We were the new "it" couple, our wedding photo gracing the cover of People magazine.

Unfortunately, Mike's many trips abroad for the Post meant that we didn't get to see each other as much as we wanted. I was a member of many of the most important committees on the Hill. He was covering war, famine, and natural disasters all over the world.

Even though I had my plans in place and my future planned out, I didn't make a political move without discussing it with my husband first. Two terms in the House was enough for me then I was in the Senate.

Because of the name that I had made for myself, when it became time for the next presidential election, members of the Democratic National Committee came knocking on my door. I hadn't planned on running for office when I was 40, but the opportunity presented itself, and I had to take it. There was no way I could say no when I was on the precipice of getting everything I'd always wanted.

Since the current President was a two term lame duck, the Republicans selected Jacob Black, the sitting Vice-President as their candidate. The fight against Black was hard, dirty and an uphill battle from the beginning. While Mike and I waited in a suite at the Watergate Hotel for the election results, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, ABC, and every other news media outlet said the race was too close to call. I needed the state of California to seal the win. I was hoping that my new-found friends in Hollywood had helped me reach a wide enough audience for victory.

By the early morning hours, I had gotten a congratulatory call from Black. He was snippy and didn't mean a word he said when he congratulated me, but I won. I was not only the first woman president, I was also the youngest president ever elected.

Our true blue supporters hadn't abandoned us at the late hour. When Mike and I went to make my acceptance and thank you speech to the nation and to the world, the room was overflowing with people screaming my name and holding Swan-Newton for President posters above their heads. I stood at the podium and glanced back at my handsome husband as I prepared to make one of the most important statements of my life.

"I want to thank all of you who have supported me and helped me become the next President of the United States. I am truly honored and blessed that the American public selected me to help guide them toward the future and make this great nation an even better America; an America that will have an abundance of well-paying jobs for all of our citizens; an America that will have less pollution by increasing the number of natural gas vehicles on the roads; an America where every person can work to make their dreams a reality. It is up to each of us to make this country greater than it has ever been. With the joined efforts of all our citizens, we will make America the country it was always meant to be, a nation that everyone can be proud to call home."

The conclusion of my speech was met with deafening applause and cheers from my supporters. Balloons and confetti dropped from the ceiling as Mike came to take my hand. We clasped our fingers tightly together and raised our joined hands above our heads. Our parents stood at our sides and joined our hands as the crowd continued to clap and cheer. I had done it. I was now President-Elect Bella Swan-Newton.

My best friend and campaign manager, Rosalie Hale was immediately named Chief of Staff. We quickly got our transition team working with the outgoing administration. Running this incredible country was not going to be easy, but I knew that I was more than ready for the challenge; there was nothing that I couldn't do.

Mike had left for Egypt to cover a political uprising against the current regime. The country was in utter chaos after the horrible corruption of their current leader had been discovered. Violence reigned supreme. I cringed when I got a call from Mike and heard automatic machine guns firing in the background. I told him that I loved him and hung up the phone. I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that wouldn't go away. I wanted to pick up the phone to call him back, but I had tens of millions of people depending on me to do the job I had promised.

Rosalie was pulled from our meeting with the current National Security team for an urgent call. When she came back into the room, I knew.

"Rosalie?" I asked. I wasn't ashamed that there was a tremor in my voice. My life as I knew it, as I planned it, was history. I knew it in my head. My heart was another story. It was sobbing for the future with my blue-eyed love that was most certainly lost to me forever. Her facial expression told me everything.

"Madame President-Elect, may I speak with you outside for a moment?" Rose asked me. Her eyes bored into mine.

I stood up and moved to the corner of the room. "Mike?" I asked. She nodded solemnly.

"I'm so sorry, Bella." She grabbed my hands in hers, squeezing them tightly as she fought back tears. "He was shot and killed a few hours ago in Cairo."

A/N: Yes, my cliffhangers shall continue with this new story. Not sure how often I will update, but chapter 2 is already written :)

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