Disclaimer: I do not own these characters..I am only borrowing them.

AN: So this is my new story. It has been in my mind for a while and I needed to get it down.

She sat at her desk going over lesson plans. She had been going back and forth on a project for her English classes. Teaching freshmen in high school was a challenge, especially in the advanced program. She finished organizing her notes and then put everything in her bag. She had one more trip to make before heading home.

Her heals clicked on the sidewalk as she walked to her car. Her late model Jeep Cherokee, thundered to life. Guess it's time to go to the shop again. She knew it was on its last legs, but she refused to let it go. It was the last thing her brother had given her before he left for Afghanistan. She hadn't heard from him in months. She shook off thoughts of Jasper, and put her car in gear heading to the local recruiting station.

She parked in the near empty lot and took a deep breath. Opening her door she slowly exited the vehicle and headed toward the door. Upon walking in she saw posters and a wall full of information. All screaming, Join Us. She cringed when she thought of all the young men who had lost their lives and the others who were fighting for our rights. Damn you Osama Bin Laden.

Thank God those SEALs had got him and taken him out. This was the best way she could think of to give back, other than the care packages she consistently sent to Jasper.

A voice broke her from her musings. "Can I help you miss?"

She looked to the voice and met the eyes of the man in front of her. He was tall with brown hair and intense blue eyes that looked as though they had seen too much. She realized that he probably had. She finally found her voice and responded. "Yes. I would like to speak with you, if you have a moment?"

"Are you from the press?" She shook her head. "Then what can I do for you miss..?"

"I'm sorry. I'm Isabella Swan." She held out her hand.

He took it in his large one. "I'm Sergeant Emmett Cullen. Have a seat and tell me what I can do for you." He indicated a chair across from his desk.

"I teach the advanced placement English classes at San Bernardino High School. I am working on an assignment and I thought you could help me." She explained.

Sgt. Cullen sat back in his chair and looked at the woman across from him. She was young and beautiful with brown hair and expressive brown eyes. Her full lips were cherry red and he watched as she bit on her bottom lip and blushed under his scrutiny. "Well Miss. Swan, what did you have in mind?"

"I would like to have them each write letters to someone overseas. I would be grading them of course, but I was hoping that I could have them write to one specific unit. What I would need from you is an address or whatever so that I can mail them."

He thought for a moment. He had heard of schools doing this, but had never been approached before. "How many students do you have?"

"I have five classes of fifteen students."

"So you want me to find you a unit that contains seventy-five soldiers?"

"No! Of course not. I would prefer that each class wrote to someone different. I would write a letter to each of the commanding officers to explain the project and to let them know that a return letter is not required. However, if the respective soldier chooses to write back I am certainly not going to stop them. The original letters would be the only one that would be graded." She held her breath and waited.

Finally he got his thoughts together and spoke. "Give me a couple of days to put together the information and find out what the protocol is and I will get back with you."

She let out a breath and smiled. "Thank you. Should I stop by here on say, Friday? Will that give you enough time?"

"Certainly." He looked up as the bell rang. He rose indicating that the conversation was over.

She stood and gathered her belongings. She shook his offered hand and left the recruiting office and made her way back to her small home. It was located four blocks from the high school in a quiet neighborhood. It was two bedrooms and one bath. Had a functional kitchen and a great yard.

Her phone was ringing when she stepped inside. Throwing her bag down she rushed to answer it. "Hello."

"Bella?"

"Hi, Mom." She sighed and slipped out of her heels.

"Where have you been, honey? I have been calling for an hour." Her mother whined.

"I had things to do after school, Mom. You could have called my cell if it was that important."

"Oh, well. I just wanted to see how things were going with Jacob. Has he proposed yet?"

She had been seeing her boyfriend Jake for a couple of years and knew that he wanted to settle down. She just felt something was missing in their relationship. "No."

"Well let me know when he does. I have found the perfect wedding dress for you and I can't wait for you to see it."

"Mom! He hasn't proposed and I don't know what I will say if he does." She was annoyed with her mother.

"Well you'll say yes, baby. You and Jake are perfect for each other. You 've been together this long. You will have a wonderful future and give me beautiful grandchildren." Renee was confident.

The doorbell rang saving her from any more assumptions on her mother's part. "Mom, someone's at the door. I have to go."

"Okay, sweetie. Call me soon." Bella disconnected the call and walked to her front door. She smiled when she saw the person on the other side.

Alice bounced through the door and plopped down on the couch. "Did you just get home, B?"

"Yes. Give me a second to change and then we can go okay?" She walked to her bedroom and pulled out her jeans and a blue sweater. Once she was changed, she took her hair out of her clip and let it flow past her shoulders. She ran a brush through the silky locks and slid on some baby doll slippers. She walked to the living room and rejoined her friend.

Alice lived next door and her and Bella had developed a close friendship in the year since they met. They had a standing date every Wednesday for dinner. Alice was single and Jacob understood Bella's need for some girl time. They piled into Bella's car and were off to their normal destination. The Wooden Nickle pub and eatery was their favorite Wednesday place. It was loud and entertaining and they had made a few friends there.

When they walked in they smiled at people they knew and found a table. Paul saw them and came over with their usual beverages and place them in front of them. "Ladies, are we having the usual tonight?"

Alice giggled, "What else would we get?" Paul smiled and walked away to go place our food order. "So tell me, what's going on with you and Jacob?"

She sighed, "I don't know Ali. My mom called and asked me if he proposed yet. I think he is planning on it. What am I going to do?"

"Do you love him, B?"

Bella took a swallow from her bottle of Bud. "I care a great deal for him. But I don't think I love him like that. Don't get me wrong the sex is great, but to me, that's all it is. Sex. I want someone who lights me on fire. I want some to make love to me. With Jake it's more, wham bam thank you ma'am. I need more than that."

Alice took a moment and drank her beer. Before she could speak Paul walked up with their food. He smiled and left. Alice took a bite of her burger and moaned. She swallowed and finally spoke to her friend. "B, I think you need to tell him. There is no point dragging this out when you could both be happy with other people."

"I know, your right. I just hate to let go you know. Other than you, he is the only person I can talk to. You guys are the only ones I can tell how worried I am about Jasper. I haven't heard from him Ali. What if something has happened to him?"

"Then I am sure your parents would tell you. You can't keep worrying about him like this, B. You'll go insane." They finished their meals in silence and signaled to Paul for the check. Alice bought last week, so tonight this was on Bella. After they paid, they rose and were walking out when Bella saw a familiar face.

Sgt. Emmett Cullen was seated at a table with a very pretty blonde woman. Bella tapped Alice's shoulder, "Doesn't that look like Rosalie?"

Alice followed the direction of Bella's finger and squealed. "Rosie!"

Bella and Alice soon found themselves wrapped in a tight hug with a friend they hadn't seen in several months. Rosalie had disappeared for a while when her relationship with Royce King had ended abruptly. No one knew the whole story, but there had been a lot of speculation.

"Rosie, we missed you. When did you get back?" Alice was off.

"I missed you guys, too. I've been back for a month. Emmett got assigned the recruiting station here. So I came home with him." Bella's eyes shifted over to the hulking man that she had met with earlier.

"Nice to see you again, Sergeant." She spoke.

"You as well, Miss. Swan." He replied politely.

"You two know each other?" Alice questioned.

Bella looked at her friend. "Sgt. Cullen is going to help me with my class' projects."

Alice just nodded her head. She was struck with an idea and turned to the man that remained seated. "Is it possible for you to find out the whereabouts of soldiers?" She asked.

"Alice!" Bella hissed.

"The only thing I can find out ma'am is if a person is deceased or MIA. Was there a specific soldier you were looking for?"

Bella was shaking her head as Alice said, "His name is Corporal Jasper Swan. He is Bella's brother and she hasn't heard from him for a few months."

Sgt. Cullen looked at the woman that was different from the one he met earlier this afternoon. Gone was the professional teacher and in her place was a vulnerable young woman. He thought of his brother Edward and thought that she would be perfect for him. He wondered if she was single. He would have to talk to Rose about it. He wasn't going to push since Edward still had two years left on his tour. He knew first hand how hard it was to have a loved one across the ocean and he wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Rosalie watched the exchange and knew where her boyfriend's mind had gone. He had been in a relationship prior to theirs and she had cheated on him while he was serving his country in Afghanistan. He was risking his life every day and she didn't care. Kind of like Royce had never cared about her. If he had him and his rich buddies wouldn't have gang raped her. She knew that Bella was dating someone she just wasn't sure how serious it was. Having not been around for the last few months.

Bella waited for the answer to Alice's question. She didn't want to get her hopes up that Sgt. Cullen could tell them anything. But she longed to hear how her brother was. Her parents wouldn't talk about it. It was like, as long as his name wasn't mentioned then he was alive. Of course, Bella didn't know if he was.

"I will see what I can do. I don't think I will be able to get any information for you though. Miss Swan, If I find out anything, I will let you know on Friday."

"Thank you. See you then." Bella said goodbye to Rose and grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her from the restaurant. Once they were safely in her car Bella let her have it. "Alice you are unbelievable. How could you do that? You know that I have explored every avenue to find out about Jasper. That was so embarrassing."

"Chill out, B! If he doesn't find anything, then there is no harm done. He can make discreet inquiries and not have to go through all the red tape that you do." Alice was satisfied with her explanation.

Bella drove home the rest of the way home in silence. She pulled into her driveway and she and Alice parted ways. As soon as she was inside, she sent Jake a text letting him know she was home and heading to bed. She had an early day ahead of her tomorrow and didn't want to be tired and dealing with students. They were having a pop quiz and she needed to get up early and get the copies made. She crawled under the covers and hugged her pillow tight. She said a prayer for her brother and the other serving men and women and drifted to sleep.

Somewhere on the other side of the world a lone figure was staring at a picture of a young brunette with expressive brown eyes.

AN: Well? Love it? Hate it? Leave me your thoughts. I promise I am going to complete A Good Thing, but I have been thinking of this one for a while now. If anyone wants to Beta this please PM me. I could use some assistance with this one..Thanks for giving it a chance.