Good evening my lovelies, I know it's been forever and I know I'm evil for leaving you hanging for so long. It's been a crazy number of months since I last updated and I have had a beast of a time getting this chapter banged out. I'm grateful to have finally been bitten by the FanFiction bug tonight and I finally have a decided direction on where to take this story next. On that note, I will stop rambling and let you read on!

A/N: I do not own Twilight or Stephenie Meyer's characters or themes. But this version of Jake and Bella's happily ever after is all mine. :D

Chapter Fourteen: Dear Diary

Bella POV

25th Day of December, 1947

Merry Christmas, my dear journal, I cannot believe that Christmas has come again. Our house was a flurry of activity all day yesterday. Mother came into my room early and surprised me with breakfast in bed. Her eyes were shining with excitement although she would not tell me why. We dressed in a hurry and very soon we were on our way to Macy's in Seattle. I'd wandered the store even as a child running my fingertips over the silken fabrics dreaming of owning even one piece of my own. I had no idea that yesterday would be the day. Mother combed the aisles until she found two of the most beautiful dresses I have ever seen. We hurried to the dressing rooms and a kind attendant helped me to dress while mother waited outside. The first dress was a light blue dress made of the softest silk that I'd ever worn, but it was the second dress which was my favorite. It was made from the shiniest deep red fabric I had ever worn and it fit me like a glove. The sleeves fell just off my shoulders and it made my waist seem so tiny! When I came out from the dressing room, mother's eyes filled with tears and I knew it was the dress she was looking for. After that, the sales lady helped us find a pair of shoes that matched my new dress perfectly. Lastly my mother picked up a beautiful pearl necklace and my look was complete. After we left Macy's, daddy took us home and my mother began cooking for a party we would have that evening to host our family and friends for Christmas dinner. Mother told me that we would have a special guest, which was the reason for my new dress. Yesterday evening so many people began to arrive, I had no idea where we would put them; but they just kept coming. As our party continued on, mother became more and more anxious; continuously fidgeting with my hair and dress…

Jake's voiced interrupted the silence, "Hey Bella, take a break hun. You've been buried in that thing for hours. Here, I brought you some coffee."

As I pulled my mind from its place intertwined within the words of my great grandmother's diary, I realized that the room had darkened around me. Time seemed to catch up with me and I welcomed the steaming hot cup with both hands, switching hands quickly as the hot liquid burned my finger tips through the thin paper cup. I brought the cup to lips and slurped lightly. My tongue was immediately seared by the coffee which tasted of burned coffee grounds buried in a half of cup of cream and sugar. None the less I was grateful. I caught his shoulder and tilted my head back as he leaned in for a kiss. His lips were warm and comforting and in seconds I was almost caught up in this little act of tenderness. Pulling back a bit he chuckled softly. "So, what have you found so far; anything interesting?"

I toyed with the tattered edge of a page which stuck out from the others in the book, "This makes her so real, so much like me. I had no idea of all that she and I have in common."

"Really, how do you mean?"

I sat up, pulling my feet up underneath me to sit Indian style in the chair. "Well for one, she was very stubborn. She was adamant about her feelings, whether or not anyone agreed with her. She grew up here with her family; apparently the Swans have been around Forks for a very long time. And get this, her dad was an activist."

"That seems interesting; did you find anything else about it? I'd be curious to know what he was fighting for."

"Well, from what I can tell, he was pretty dead set against the Quileute and he was hell bent on forcing them away from Forks. She writes about how embarrassed she is because of how hateful he is. It almost reminds me of segregation, he sounds pretty severe. She writes of how he was very open in his hatred of all things Quileute. Listen to this one, I couldn't believe it:

17th Day of September, 1947

Mother wasn't feeling at all well today. She tries not to let me see her struggling but today was one of the worst days she has had in a long while so it showed through her smile. I convinced her to let me stay home from school to help her today. That was my first clue, mother has always been adamant about my going to school. She says I will make a fine wife for James Willmon; she wants me to be able to teach my children so that they will be smart too. I don't want to marry James, he's crude and demanding just like his father, and Daddy is just like them both. That's probably why they like each other so much. I don't want any more days like today.

Daddy drove Mother and me to the store and we did our shopping. As we were leaving the store mother lost her balance and tripped, dropping the sack of groceries she was carrying out to the truck where daddy was waiting for us. A Quileute man standing near helped her to stand then gathered her groceries back into the sack. Daddy was there before we could blink, yelling at the man. He turned so red I thought he might have a heart attack. He told the man not to touch his wife or his daughter, that he should keep his filthy hands to himself. I tried to tell daddy that the man was only trying to help but he grabbed mother and me by the arms and practically drug us out to the truck. My arm still hurts where his fingers bruised my skin. He's in the kitchen yelling at mother now, I can hear her crying and it makes me hate him. He humiliated me and mother today. Why does he have to be so uneducated and close minded? I have to go now, daddy is calling for me.

Maggie Swan

Tears streamed my cheeks as I read her name, running my fingers lightly over her softly scripted signature. I wished so much that I could reach into the page and pull her out if only just to hug her for a moment. Something to say that it won't stay bad forever, but then again I didn't know that for sure. It very well may get a lot worse; which only brought on more tears.

Jake suddenly appeared beside me pulling me up into a hug, rubbing my back lightly has he crooned softly. After a bit when the tears had slowed he pulled away pulling my face up to his and pressing his warm cheek against my own wet one. "It's alright Bella I know that was tough to read, believe me, but it just tells us more about Magdalena. Sit down; let's piece together what we know, here."

He ranched into a bag I hadn't noticed him carrying when he'd come in earlier and pulled out a notepad. "I thought you might want this, for I don't know, notes or something." He grinned sheepishly as I took it and smiled back.

"Thanks Jake, I definitely need it. It's perfect for keeping track of important notes."

He sat down again, and I set the diary aside after carefully marking my place amongst the pages. "Okay let's do this."

I quickly penned "Magdalena Swan – Important Notes" along the top line of the page. After a quick study, I struck a smooth line through Magdalena and write simply "Maggie" above it. I knew her beyond a formal first name now, and it just didn't seem to fit. I knew her as Maggie.

Finally I held my pen above the page thinking carefully on what to write. After some consideration, I wrote out a couple of bullet points.

Father – Activist, Anger issues, hates Quileute people.

Mother sick – What does she have?

I paused; my pen poised above the page, and turned to Jake. "So I have activist father with anger issues and sick mother. Is there anything else you can think of?"

Stroking his chin thoughtfully he considered my question. "What about this James character; who is he? She talks about her mother thinking she'll make a good wife for him, do you think it could be an arranged marriage? How old was she at this point?"

I picked up the diary and flipped to the front cover, ready a faded signature with the year and her age underneath. "According to this, she was sixteen at this point. Do you think it could be?"

He nodded, "I do, in fact, it probably is. Apparently arranged marriages were all the rage back then, especially with a nut job extremist of a father. Who would have thought it, huh?"

"Who would have thought what?"

"I don't know, maybe that her dad having the case of the crazies would drive her into the arms of a Quileute man after all." His eyes held a spark of humor at the prospect.

I almost threw my pen at him but hesitated and then found that I agreed with him; which added another item to our list:

Arranged marriage to James Willmon?

I sat staring at the list until the letters blurred before my eyes trying to make the items make sense. I had no idea that her life was a filled with drama as mine was.

We were interrupted by Dr. Cullen coughing softly at the door. I immediately stood, although he tried to encourage me to stay seated. "No Isabella its fine, please sit. I'm only here to check on Charlie. The nurses tell me that while he is still stable there have been no major developments. That isn't entirely abnormal as we have him in a comatose state by choice for at least another 72 hours."

His smile was an attempt at reassuring me, but I stilled worried that I would never see my father open his eyes again. When I responded my voice was really nothing more than a whisper. "Be honest with me Dr. Cullen, will my dad be okay?"

He came over and clasps his hand gently on my shoulder, "I have no reason to doubt a full recovery Bella, he just needs some time; trust me." With that he made a few small notes on Charlie's chart, and after checking over the machines and fluids hanging from the I.V. stand he made his way out. I moved over next to Jake on the small couch and curled into his side and opened the diary again.

Just before dinner, I learned the real reason for mother's excitement and the party itself. Daddy introduced me to James Willmon, and our parents announced their intentions that we would be married. Mother had been mentioning his name; however I had never had the occasion to meet him. He looked every bit like his father, and like mine for that matter. I know from the stories that I've heard of him that he is everything that I hate about my father and I dread the very thought of ever being his wife. For the sake of not embarrassing mother and daddy, I smiled and danced and pretended that this was the best news; while that cannot be further from the truth. I tried to pull mother aside and tell her what I was feeling but she was so very happy that I couldn't bear the thought of causing her pain.

So until I can think of a different plan, I guess this one will have to do.

Maggie Swan

Hugging the diary to my chest, I leaned back, "Hey Jake,"

His eyes drifted open and only then did I realize that he'd fallen asleep. The only response I heard was a barely audible, "Hmmm?"

I whispered softly, "You were right, an arranged marriage; I can't believe it."

As I settled back in the diary fell open a folded piece of paper, yellowed with age, fell onto the floor at my feet. Intrigued, I leaned down and scooped it up, carefully unfolding it over the cover of the diary. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to read.

To My dearest Maggie,

Last night was amazing and I can hardly wait until next we meet.

Forever yours,

Alexander

I sat in shock, staring down at the letter as if it had grown a second head. "Um Jacob, honey, you are not going believe what I just found."