A/N: I am so, so, so sorry for the long wait. Life sometimes catches up to you and writers block hits you. Although I can never confidently promise frequent updates, I can promise you that this story will be finished. I love the characters and I can not rest comfortably until Bella's story is told. I need to write the happy ending just as desperately as you want to read it! Expect the next chapter soon.

Chapter IV

The following morning was hectic because Bella slept through her morning alarm, only to wake up thirty minutes before her morning shift.

Bella had to skip her usual morning routine, which consists of shower concerts and her signature buttermilk pancakes. This morning Bella barely had enough time to change her underwear and brush her teeth. After helping Charlie with his medicine, leaving a plate of pop-tarts on the coffee table, and cranking the heater to the maximum temperature, Bella was out the door in her over-sized red winter coat. She couldn't even wait for the heat to kick in before having to pull out of the driveway.

Although it was impossible for Bella to make it across town in time for work, she nonetheless kept looking at the clock and tapping her fingers against the steering wheel impatiently at red lights.

If only time would stand still for just a moment, Bella thought on the verge of tears.

Bella was over thirty minutes late for her shift at Newton's and she felt awful.

As she walked in, with her face bright red due to both the cold and her embarrassment, Mrs. Newton was standing near the entrance. She caught Bella's eyes, her blue eyes narrowed and her thin lips pressed into a hard line. With a single look, Bella knew she was in a lot of trouble, she started towards Mrs. Newton, her apology ready.

Mrs. Newton held up her hands, stopping Bella before she started, "No one is more sympathetic or understanding of your situation than me, Bella. Charlie is like a son to me, I damn near raised him myself when his mother died. But I cannot let you take advantage of my kindness, the world will never be as kind to you. The sooner you learn this, the easier things will be," she sighed and pulled out an envelope from her pocket, "This was your third strike, Miss. Swan. You were slow to finish your basic training, you were short $40 during your last shift, and this is your second tardy in a month. It pains me to do this, but business is business, and I mean business. Please remove your apron, return your skates, and leave the diner without a scene." Mrs. Newton held out two hands, one empty waiting for an apron and another with Bella's last paycheck.

Bella wanted to protest, to beg for another, but the hard and determined look in Mrs. Newton's eyes stopped her. It was bad enough that Mrs. Newton thought of Bella as burdensome, she could not be pitied, too.

Bella lifted her chin, removed her apron, and took her check.

"Thank you for this opportunity," Bella turned on her heel and walked stiffly out.

Mrs. Newton looked after Bella with pride in her eyes while the rest of the diner looked after Bella with sadness, evidently listening in on the entire exchange. After a moment Mrs. Newton looked around at the quiet diner, frowned, and mumbled "You nosy people should have shame! Its best that you should all mind your business before I remove you from my restaurant, too!"

Bella successfully held back her tears until she got into the truck. In the comfort of her van, she allowed her tears to fall freely and she laid her head against the steering wheel.

What am I going to do? How am I going to support Charlie?

These thoughts caused her whole body to shake. Bella was glad the snow was so thick this morning, no one would be able to see her breakdown. She hardly noticed when she left, but now it was hard to ignore the large, white fluff falling from the sky in chunks.

The snow fell hard and heavy on Forks that night.

December 1st, 2007

It's been two weeks since Bella was fired from Newton's.

At first, she was optimistic about her future. Bella was confident she would find a new job before Christmas, but she underestimated the fragile economy of small towns. There were hardly any jobs available for anyone, the only openings involved fishing, lumber, and driving across country. And Bella had none of the licenses required for those jobs. The local lodges, which housed tourists during the winter months, had long filled up all their positions.

Bella wakes up every morning around six, in order to beat the morning rush, and head into the town to ask around for potential jobs. Webber's Foods would occasionally hire Bella for the day because one of the cashiers, old lady Betty, would call out if the snow got too bad. If Webber's Food did not need Bella, she would sit at Forks Library till mid-afternoon, reading or writing. She loved to mooch off the free internet. She would write to her mother, glossing over her hardships and fears, and focusing on the weather or Charlie's condition. Renée expressed her absolute compassion and sympathy for Charlie, claiming to love him more dearly than anyone could know. A stranger would read Renée's emails and swoon at the romantic words, perhaps call her a saint for caring deeply about an ex-husband. But Bella knew Renée, and her words were empty. Renée would never visit Charlie and if Bella were to return to Phoenix, Renée would not think about Charlie twice. Moreover, when Bella requested some financial assistance to help with Charlie's medical bills, she sent seventy dollars in the mail with a letter attached saying that Phil is uncomfortable supporting Charlie and this is all he would permit.

As much as I adore my Charlie, I am first and foremost a wife to Phil. I cannot disrespect my marriage by going behind his back and force him to support an ex-husband of mine. Phil works so hard, my dear. Up at the crack of dawn and home long after sun-set, for an income meant to support me. One day I pray you will understand the sacrifices necessary for a healthy marriage. All I can offer to Charlie in these coming months is prayer and love.

That letter frustrated Bella, so much so that she hardly calls Renée anymore and only writes when she's free.

When Bella got home that night, Charlie was having one of his better days. Still confined to the couch, he could reach for the television remote without any assistance and chew more solids.

"Hi scout," he called as she closed the front door, "You're home a bit early. How was the diner? Mrs. Newton treating you alright?"

Bella was a horrible liar, her cheeks flare up and her voice cracks. But Charlie is a considerable distance away from Bella, which made the words easier for her say, "The diner is great, not too many customers tonight. Mrs. Newton let me pack up early because Angela offered to stay the night."

The rest of the night went by normally, Bella cooked and Charlie ate two servings of the chicken broth. She helped Charlie into a new pair of pajamas and put him into a comfortable sleeping position before retiring to bed.

When Bella opened her eyes the next morning it was four-thirty, she did not wake up so early because of her alarm today. Rather, it was her teeth that woke her up, they were chattering so hard and her body trembles were so intense she could be convulsing. Bella tried tightening the blankets around her and burying her face into the pillow, begging for the warmth to hit her. It took her a few moments to process the severity of the coldness and what it meant. When it did, she threw her blankets off and ran downstairs. Charlie was still sleeping, but when Bella felt his forehead the blood drained from her body, he was ice-cold and his breathing ragged. She immediately ran back upstairs, tore her blanket off the floor, and went back downstairs with a hat in her other hand. She laid the blanket over charlie and the hat over his forehead. Bella cranked the hot water on in the sink and laid a towel under it. The hot water refused to come out, the pipes and air were too cold. So she had boil some water.

While the water boiled, she went into the electricity room and tried to turn on the heater. The heater thumped and croaked but would not turn on. Bella had to pull out the small, portable heater from the shelf and hook it up in the living room near Charlie. Afterwards, she ran the boiling water over a hand towel, which she put on Charlie's forehead. Afterwards, she bundled up and headed into town.

The town square consisted of five shops surrounding a small park, these shops were all family owned: Webber's Foods, Moe's Equipment, Forge Bar, Elizabeth's Salon, and Newton's Diner. One side of the street held only the post office and the mayor's office. For many locals, a night out in Forks consist of a visit to Forge Bar and eating beef jerky by a nearby lake, all before retiring back home before ten. Throughout the week, the town's square is quiet with the exception of a few mother's with their children at the supermarket or Elizabeth's salon. Newton's Dinner is the only place in Forks that has any sign of civilization at all hours, even the young town-folk gravitated towards the diner.

Bella parked in front of Moe's Equipment and walked into the small, warm building. As Bella walks into the shop, her eyes have to adjust to the dim lights and the pungent of polished wood and live bait. The bell above the entrance door rings when the door is opened and a young, black guy with a thick beard and shaved head looks up from his magazine. He stares at Bella for a second before he offers a toothy-smile, "Well, well, well, if I'm not mistake'n, Isabella Swan is here. Flesh and blood and all!"

Bella laughed awkwardly and waved weakly, "Hey Tyler."

Tyler Crowley was part of "The Trio," a group of three good-looking boys who engaged in a lot of mischief during their teen years. Although Bella only spent a few weeks at a time in Forks growing up, she knew the infamous Trio well. Her dad hated them because they were oftentimes the source of all nightly problems in Forks. She vividly remembers her dad coming home from work angry and frustrated by these boys, never sparing Bella from his rants. "No self-control! It's embarrassing. The only one who is scared senseless by my threats and presence is the Newton boy. But I would be fooling myself if I thought it was only me that causes that deer-in-the-headlights look from him, it's Auntie Newton that does that! Those other boys could do with a firm hand like her's."

Mike Newton was the youngest child of Mr and Mrs. Newton, a rambunctious, blue-eyed boy who was captain of the baseball team. Whenever he found out that Bella was in town, he would always find a reason to drive up to the secluded Swan house. Charlie would never allow Mike in the house, or any boy that was not related to him, so he'd lounge around on the porch and boast to Bella about his baseball records.

Tyler was more aloof and only briefly liked Bella, quickly loosing interest in Bella after discovering that she enjoyed reading and staying home and wanting no part in his shenanigans. Eric Yorkie was the third member, but he hardly ever talked to anyone.

"I saw you working at Newton's, never had the chance to talk to you because you always seemed busy," Tyler laughed and stared at Bella from head to toe, "Looked a little spaced out, too."

Bella blushed from embarrassment.

"Yeah, uh, it was hard sometimes."

"I bet, Mrs. Newton is a force to be reckon with. Always scared the shit out of me, I can't imagine working for her." Tyler then closed his magazine and stood up, "Anyways, welcome to Moe's! What can I help you with, Bella?"

"My heater. It stopped working and I'm not sure how to fix it this time. Orif I need a new one."

Tyler nodded and asked for the model of the heater, when Bella told him, he erupted into a roar of laughter.

Bella's blush returned and her eyebrows came together, "I don't understand what's so funny."

Tyler's laughter increased when he noticed Bella's cheeks. He went around the counter and stepped in front of Bella, he wrapped his arms around Bella and gave her a hard hug. He smelled like dirt and cologne. Before Bella could push him away, he let go of her and pinched her cheeks, "I forgot how cute your blush was. No wonder Newton was starry-eyed over your Bella. Listen, hun, that heater of yours is very old and I'm honestly surprised it took this long to give out. That old bitch should have been replaced like twenty years ago, if I'm perfectly honest. You're going to need a new one pronto."

Bella wanted to kick Tyler on the shins for laughing at her and pinching her cheeks, but she had to restrain herself because she really needed this heater.

"Sorry but I haven't been in Forks long and this is the first time it's broken down," she spat at him.

Tyler rolled his eyes, not believing a word she said.

"Sure, sure," He raised his hands in defense, "All the same, you're going to need a new one and it's going to cost you a pretty penny or two."

Tyler opened up a catalog sitting on the counter and flipped to a page, he pointed at a few models ranging from a thousand dollars to five. Bella's mouth fell open and she stared blankly at the magazine, unsure how to respond.

"I know, these babies are not cheap. You can always drive up to Pork Angeles and look for some, but I can guaranteed you the prices will be about the same. Plus, there will be instillation fees because I imagine you have no idea how to do that."

"I...I...I don't know what to do, I can't afford this."

"What can you afford?"

"Maybe $300," she whisper. She was being generous, too. This would require less chicken meals and more fish and bread.

Tyler shook his head, sympathy in his eyes, "You're not getting anywhere near a new heater with that number. But what I can do for you is give you the number of Workshop in Port Angeles, they'll drive up and look at your machine. I hardly doubt they'll fix it without an additional few hundred, but they'll probably let you know what's wrong and how to fix it yourself."

Tyler grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a name and number on it.

Bella took the paper and thanked Tyler. As she was walking out Tyler called out to Bella, "If you ever have any free time, you should come to Forge's Bar. The boys and I like to kick it all night and I'm sure they'd love to see you again."

Bella smiled but offered no promises to stop by.

When Bella got into her truck, she read the name on the paper.

Edward and Son's Services.

When she got home, she called the office. They offered to send someone out in the morning to look at her heater.