Darkness. The feeling of warmth between her fingers. Pressure on her chest and the rest of her body was comforting.

Wake up. Wake up. Time to wake up.

The melodious whispers snaked through her head. She faded out.

…

"Don't let her head hang like that, Drake you take her. Set her here."

"Get the other van ready."

….

Flickers, snatches of words pierced through her unconsciousness.

"She'll get there. It's probably better she goes through Adjustment while she's out."

"Rachel was out for a month, do you remember?"

…

"On three! One, two…three!"

"Bring it around the back, she goes through here."

…

"IV?"

"Her veins in her wrist are too thin, I'll have to do her elbow."

OoOoOoOoOo

Bella. Belllaaa. Beelllaaa. Bella!

Bella's eyes snapped open. The sharp pain felt like her eyelids were being torn off. She couldn't see a thing, the darkness seemed absolute. She raised a hand to rub at her eyes, and she heard the chink of metal before her hand was abruptly halted in place, having not even moved five inches. Panicked, Bella whipped her other hand to her wrist. No outside force stopped her this time, and she could feel the thick band of metal encircling her wrist. She felt the smooth chain until it met with the bar of the bed. It was a hospital bed. She was handcuffed to a bed. These conclusions raced through her mind. Bella attempted to sit up, but found she was too weak to pull herself up. Already, she could feel the heavy weight of fatigue pulling her arms down. The panic that raced through her veins dulled as energy seemed to drain out of her.

Bella lay there, fighting to keep her eyes open, her hand clutching the bar on the side of the bed, the cool metal was a constant against her sluggish thoughts. All she remembered was the comforting pressure of stormy water holding her from all sides, pulling her down, down to the bottom of the ocean floor. She remembered being cold, so cold, almost as cold as the way her heart felt when Edward left. But in the last moments she thought she would have in this life, she hadn't thought of him. She'd thought of Leah, and the feeling of being carried up the stairs. Everything was perfect, and she had no idea what went wrong. She remembered a soft tugging, and sudden pain against her chest, like a snake decided to wrap around her and squeeze her like a tube of toothpaste.

What happened? Where was she?

Her eyes closed, and she fell back into darkness.

OoOoOoOoOo

It seemed wrong to Leah that the loss of her imprint was affecting her so little physically. The urge to run in panic to the water's edge of La Push still struck her at the oddest moment, even three months later. Her feet would carry her to the cliff whenever she was lost in thought, staring down the height that Bella must have dropped, alone in the winter storm. Despite these occurrences, she found her day to day activities filled with helping the council and Sam's new venture to bring wealth into the reservation. She didn't feel the overwhelming pain that consumed her the day of Bella's disappearance. In fact, she felt nothing at all. Paradoxically, she felt better than she had before Bella came into the picture. It was almost as if the loss of Bella struck any ability to feel romantic attraction at all. The long consumed bitterness she had held for Sam disappeared overnight along with Bella. Apathy was the strongest emotion she could muster lately, and while she could feel and process the external stimulus of the world, strong emotions seemed to allude her.

The pack and the council, on the other hand, seemed to have taken Bella's suicide hard. Charlie was friend and ally to the reservation, and the guilt of helping Charlie through the process of dealing with a missing child tore at everyone's heart. The council and Sam's decision to wait until they could find a body before involving the reservation meant that Charlie had no idea about the likely death of his child. Bella hadn't left anything behind for her father to read, and they were currently trying to figure the password to Bella's laptop. Half the pack searched the water's depth constantly looking for clues while the other half assisted Charlie, making sure he ate and took care of himself. Leah had thrown herself into work and all her spare time was spent staring out over the cliff where Bella had made her last call to Emily.

Leah on the other hand, was kept far away from the happenings of the pack, at least on the side of Charlie and searching the ocean floor. After the pack caught Leah in her odd moments staring out in night on the top of Bella's cliff, Sam had corned her. Sam practically plopped the reservations plans of revitalization and money making plans into her lap, with an order to put her best into it. The order had the steel of an Alpha though it was given to her in a friendly manner. There was no doubt though, Sam was using this as a ploy to keep her busy while the pack dealt with the real emergency. Whether it was some attempt to make sure Bella's disappearance was no way connected to her, or a way to cope with the loss of an imprint, Sam made sure she was too exhausted to look too closely at what they were doing.

Leah was currently pouring over paperwork, so Sam's plans were working so far. Numbers and complicated terms swam before her eyes. Leah growled and resisted the urge to swipe all the useless papers to the floor. She got phone calls, emails and texts constantly regarding renovations, payments, and costs. She was up all hours of the night looking over plans and struggling to understand the world of haggling and business and not get run over. It took most of her brain power and energy.

Sam's plan was three pronged. Everyone on the reservation knew that they were screwed unless they received a scholarship somewhere in the States, or got a good paying job off the reservation. The reservation was worn down back when their parents were kids, and it wasn't getting any better. Usually the reservation teens that graduated left for school and stayed away due to better job opportunities. The best they boasted was the council, some who went to school for law degrees, and a handful of waitresses, nurses and odd jobbers who either worked in Forks or took the trip to Port Angeles to work.

Sam's plan involved creating jobs, paying for newly graduated teen's education, and renovating most of La Push, free of cost to its citizens. It was, quite simply, an insane plan to try and pull off. Stage one was creating a sustainable and reliable job market, then in Stage Two when the reservation had surplus funds, start paying for an education and in Stage Three, pay for the upkeep that was sorely lacking in the reservation itself. It was a pipe dream that would take a couple years to get off the ground for a regular group of people. But the reservation had one advantage, a pack of shapeshifting wolves that were stronger than the average construction worker, didn't tire easily and has large reservoirs of strength. They still needed to sleep, they weren't vampires, but their speed and strength were big pluses. On Leah's end at least, her height and strength were good enough tools to intimidate the people she was in contact with, or strike them speechless with her looks, apparently.

Leah was currently in charge of getting the last nest egg of the reservation council and get it to make money, fast. So far she almost had the seasonal ideas up and running, or at least waiting in an unclaimed home in storage. The council approved the startup of scuba lessons for those off the reservation starting in May when the water was not such a hazard, a surfing class and water sports, as well as a selective hunting class for the lands surrounding La Push that could be started immediately. The licensure and training were driving Leah up the wall. Part of the plan was to only allow reservation residents to be able to get the job. Word had gotten out though, and she had to deal with nearly every individual trying to snatch the jobs up. Pack members had priority though, as jobs outside the reservation would fire them for their unexplainable absences. These plans would lead to renovating the beach areas to at least have a restaurant, though the current debate was arguing against turning it into a tourist trap. They didn't want drunks and losers on reservation land. She had already started setting up the idea of guided hiking trails, and the cost of forging a path professionally nearly popped her eyes out of her skull. So- she had to organize the pack to so. Everything was in the early stages, all paperwork and plans, but she could only imagine how bust she would be once they started getting off the ground.

Leah sighed and pushed her chair away from the table. She'd rather just leave La Push and roam as a wolf. Get so far away and see if distance really did make the world go quiet. It was a pipe dream though, she struggled to shift these days. Leah was surprised to find that shifting took some discernable level of intent and need in order for it to work, something she was lacking in. She could feel it, the intent and desire needed, if she pushed herself and focused extremely hard she could push herself over the edge, meet the requirements, but most days she didn't care. She ran on the rare patrol she was assigned to, after glaring at the ground forcing the shift for five minutes.

Leah nearly jumped out of her own skin when the front door opened. Oblivious, her mother shuffled in from the hallway and dumped her stuff in the closest chair. Leah watched her like a hawk. "Food is on the stove."

Her mother nodded at her and smiled. "How was your day Leah?"

"I had to talk down a few people from their ridiculous quotes, went over some of the applications," Leah replied slowly. She cocked her head at her mother, studying her. Her mom had flipped a one-eighty in her treatment of her ever since she took on this project. Where there was once scowls and pointed remarks, there was pride and praise. Leah didn't know what to make of it, but it didn't erase the resentment she felt towards her mother.

Her mother smiled wider, "That's great Leah. Do you know where Seth is?"

Leah quickly checked her phone, "He is with Sam checking out the building we are planning to renovate down at the beach, and Emily is with them." If it is one thing she agreed on with her mom, it was knowing where Seth was constantly.

Her mother nodded, her mouth open to say something, before deciding against it for a moment. Her voice came out cautious, "Leah, I have to say… I think it is good how you've let go of the grudge you've had against Sam and Emily. I've talked to the council and you have to have realized by now they didn't mean to hurt you. I've been trying to understand what happened to you and Seth, and I definitely understand more now, after talking with the council and Seth. I think what you are doing for the reservation is great, I've never seen you this focused on anything before. I'm just glad, that it is something like this you have chosen to work on." Her piece said, and seeing that Leah wasn't going to respond, she turned and started fixing herself dinner in the kitchen.

Leah sat, staring at the paperwork on the table. She didn't know what to think, but after a moment of contemplation and a burning itch nagging at her feet, she knew she had to leave, NOW. Panic rose in her throat and with a last look at the retreating back of her mother, she rose and sprinted out of the house into the dark. Back to cliff, and the smell of the sea.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When Bella woke again, her eyes were blinded by light. She blinked rapidly in an attempt to desensitize them. She squinted and looked around, trying to figure out the source of the bright light. After furiously blinking she could at least view the room through half lidded eyes. She realized it was only the sun beaming into the bright airy room. She saw a few perfectly made hospital beds with homey quilts and wool blankets folded neatly at the foot of them, the white sheets and pillowcases crisp and starched against the blue sterile walls. She looked down at herself, and saw the metal contraption she had felt when she was last awake. They were indeed handcuffs, one strapped to her arm and the other to the bar of the hospital bed. She saw the I.V. attached to her handcuffed elbow. She also had an I.V. in her other arm as well. She shook her head, trying to make sense of it all, but her head felt cloudy still. Like she could reach out, but she couldn't hold a concept in its entirety. All she did know, was that she was assuredly not dead, she could feel pain and the hazy relief that came with pain medication. Her throat and her lungs burned as a dull reminder of her flight above the sea.

She groaned, raising shaking hand to her face, and through her hair. It hadn't been washed since its experience within the salt water, and as a result her hair was a gritty tangled mess. How long had she been here? She nearly jumped out of her own skin when a door burst open, and a blast of frigid air raced through her. A woman strode into the room, her eyes on Bella as a woman followed closely behind.

"Well, well. Can't say how relieved I am that you chose to wake up today. We were worried about you. Thought that maybe we'd have too- well, let's just be glad we didn't have to get to that point." The woman was now at her bedside, looking down at her curiously. The other woman, quickly checked her I.V. bags and checked the insertion sites. Bella was too shocked and off balance to do any more than watch blankly.

"Who are you? Where am I? Why aren't I dead?"

The woman smiled. "I for one am incredibly grateful that you are alive Bella." The women placed a hand on her wrist, as if reassuring herself that Bella did have a beating pulse. Her dark skin looked incredibly healthy and strong against her own sickly pale and wisp thin wrist. "My name is Leanna, and this is Audrey. Not to alarm you but you're in the middle of Alaska. Don't worry too much though, we take care of our own here. As to why you're not dead, well we will work on that later. I assume by that response you are not thrilled to be among the breathing. That's alright though, can't say too many of us couldn't say the same when we first were rescued."

"Rescued?" Bella mind was in a whirl. Alaska? The past months came to mind and Charlie popped into her head. "Did you pull me from the water? Did- did Charlie send me here or something?" The only connection her mind could make was Charlie had sent her off to some sort of rehab center, checked her in and left her in the middle of Alaska like he once planned in Forks. How else could she end up here? She eyed the woman beside her with some suspicion, she wasn't kidnapped, was she?

"Charlie?" Leanna looked confused for a moment until the other women, Audrey, murmured something. "Oh, your father. No, he didn't send you here. I doubt he knows what happened to you. But then again, that sort of thing hardly matters now does it, since you planned to leave him anyway, one way or another. Am I right?" The woman's piercing brown eyes held no blame, but Bella felt shamed all the same. Charlie, she's right, but how did she know?

"Does he even know I'm alive then? Then why am I here, are you holding me here against my will?" She sat up straighter, but her voice sounded weak even to her own ears, and she knew that even if that was the case, there was nothing she could do handcuffed to a hospital bed.

"No, no one knows you are alive. It's is better that way. Your human life is nearly over as it is."

These words electrocuted Bella. "Wha-?"

"The truth is Bell, this is a rehabilitation center of sorts. The goal is to get healthy, address your inclinations to jump off cliffs and prepare for your future. A future, I assure you that will be worthwhile and fulfilling. I don't think when we are done you'll ever feel the inclination to end your own life again. You will have family here, friends and happiness and then you'll leave us for something better. You won't remember half of our conversation when you wake up again, but just know this is the start of your new life."

It sounds like a cult. They talk like the Cullen's. Bella glanced down at the woman's hand on her wrist. She's warm though. So not a vampire.Bella frowned at the woman. "Why do you care?"

Leanaa nodded to the other woman, who exchanged one of the I.V. bags. Her face turned back to Bella, a soft smile on her lips and determination in her eyes. "Because you are precious Bella, there are so few of us left."

Bella felt the familiar wave of wooziness and lethargy creep over her limbs. Her eyes drooped, but she struggled to stay awake. "I think….. you are….crazy."

The woman laughed, a tinkling laugh that sounded like falling glass, it reminded her of Alice. "You are going to be just fine Bella, I promise."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Edward?" Alice's melodious voice couldn't mask the hesitance in the tone. Edward had been away for days, and he'd just returned, with blackest eyes a vampire could have. He was torturing himself as only a vampire could.

"I need to hunt, come with me," His voice barely above a whisper, though the whole house could hear it.

"I'll come with you Edward," Tanya practically pranced into the room, looping her arm around his waist and pulling him away. Edward simply nodded, not paying any attention to Tanya or the rest of his family. Alice was nearly vibrating in fury at the presumption of the Denali vampire, Edward was not in his right mind and Tanya was taking advantage of him! Edward needed his family! Almost as if he could read her thoughts, Jasper loped behind the couple and Alice sent him a grateful look.

In a flash they were gone, and Alice sighed and turned towards Carlisle. His golden eyes were worried, she could see that. "Any more emails from Bella?" he asked. Alice knew the question was more complex, seeing as she couldn't see Bella since she left. The emails were the only proof they had she was still okay.

Alice shook her head, "Not since the last one months ago. I haven't seen anyth-" She froze as images flashed through her brain. A group of people covered from head to toe in furs standing out amongst a full moon. An icy tundra with howling winds. A boiling pot with the laughter of children. Bella standing on the edge of a cliff, with nothing but icy water below. Water and ice. Blood on a pale white arm, dripping into the snow, not her own. A voice that was practically a growl, screaming, "They'll be mine whether you like it or not Swan, who's going to stop me?! You?!" A face pressed into the ground, bruising and forcing it into the dirt.

Alice gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. "Oh Carlisle, I saw her! I think she is in trouble!"

Carlisle rushed to her side, as did everyone in the house, save Rosalie who took her time gathering with the rest of the family. "What did you see?" Esme asked.

Alice recounted everything she saw, and the faces of the Cullen's were grave.

"Do you think she jumped?" Esme asked the question they were all thinking, "What does the rest mean?"

"I don't know, but when Edward finds out, I doubt he will stay here in Alaska." Carlisle responded. "I think it is best we prepare for the worst possible outcome, but if Alice is seeing more than just a possibility of a jump, then there is a good chance that Bella is still alive."

"But I haven't seen her in months," Alice stated quietly, "what if this is all in the past?"

"There is only one way to find out," Carlisle said gravely.

OoOoOoOoOo

Author's Notes:

Hey there, it's your friendly neighborhood TheQuillDragon here. Please enjoy this chapter and review! Want to give some suggestions on more job ventures the reservation could do, that aren't Casino related? I really doubt the reservation would appreciate too many strangers on their land. Let me know your thoughts on the subject, or any other subjects. I have disabled the option that requires me to review your reviews before they post, so please those anon readers, make my day.