Beyond Time by TKegl

Official Description: After the Cullens leave Forks, a twist of fate lands Bella in Chicago in 1918. She thinks it’s a second chance to build a life with Edward, but when she finds him, he’s not quite what she expected. Can Bella create the future she’s hoping for?

I admit it— I harassed Kassiah into reviewing this fic on Fictionators. It’s truly one of my all-time favorites and I want the fandom to explode every time it updates, mostly so that I have people to obsess with over it.

Here’s the thing: since I joined this fandom early last year, it’s safe to say that I’ve read a lot of fic. When you’ve read as many stories as I have, it’s inevitable that some things become predictable. Yes, I can pretty much guess how most fics will pan out after a handful of chapters. Not that I don’t still enjoy the ride, but you get what I mean. Beyond Time is currently 34 chapters long and I still have absolutely no idea what will happen next. Do you have any idea how remarkable that is?

At every juncture of this story, there have been a dozen paths the story could have gone down, and somehow, each turn it’s taken has surprised me. Tkegl has crafted a complex, intricate plot that starts in canon, then veers wildly off-course, but then, oddly, keeps coming back around to canon again. It starts off with your basic “what if Edward never came back in New Moon?”, but where she takes it from there is so inventive, so interesting, and so well thought-out. While the time-travel aspect of the story might turn off some readers, trust me, Tkegl does it right, and you will be more than willing to suspend your disbelief and jump on board for the ride.

One of the best parts of this fic is seeing how thoroughly modern Bella encounters 1918 Chicago. No one would ever accuse canon Bella of being a liberated woman. And this Bella, at the start of the story, is fairly canon. But even non-radical Bella finds herself chafing against the chauvinism from an earlier era, even coming from Edward himself. This Edward is stubborn, smug, and a little hot-headed. As the story progresses, you can see how all of his personality traits eventually mold him into the canon Edward we know from Twilight. Here’s another great thing about this fic: when Bella finally finds Edward, alive and still fully human, she doesn’t exactly like him. Seeing their relationship develop and blossom as the really get to know each other is one of the delights of this story.

There are a whole host of original characters, and they’re all handled very well. They’re fully-realized and I found myself really caring about how their stories end. I hope we find out before the story completely wraps up. Add to that, a wonderful, sweet and sad Carlisle and one of my favorite Alice’s ever, and this story hits just about every right note there is.

If you’re looking for a complex story that’s well-told and fun, you can’t do better than this one.

It’s true. Spanglemaker harassed me ::rolls eyes:: I absolutely love this story. There’s only one reason that I haven’t told all of you about this story yet: even almost at the end, I still don’t know what I think is going to happen.

TKegl is one of the most brilliant writers that I’ve ever encountered. I love the way she weaves a tale. This story has everything that you want it to have, and more: it’s funny, it’s swoonworthy romantic, it’s hot.

“Bella, I want… to be with you,” he murmured, his tongue licking the perspiration along my collar bone. “I want to touch you,” he added, his hand leaving my hip and stroking up my side before gently kneading my breast.
He stood, letting me slide to the ground until we were pressed up against each other. He continued to stroke my breast and nibble at my throat, while his other hand stroked down my back swiftly to the curve of my waist… and lower. I gasped as he pushed me even more firmly against him and his erection twitched against my stomach.
My hands tangled in his hair and when he threw his head back, I attacked his neck with wet, open-mouthed kisses.
“Bella,” he moaned, holding my hips with both hands and thrusting against me unconsciously. He bent forward to take my mouth again, and I thought I would explode.
I literally thought my blood would boil and my body would explode all over Maggie’s petunias.
Or peonies. I couldn’t remember at that moment.
“Take me to your room,” he said in a low voice.
“What?” I asked, dazed and a little stunned.
He looked into my eyes. “Take me to your room,” he repeated, emphasizing each word.
“Edward, are you sure?”
Why did I ask that? What the hell was the matter with me? Take the man to your room, you stupid idiot!
Edward did the strangest, hottest thing right then. His green eyes – darkened to almost black – swept from my eyes, down my body slowly, and right back up again. I could almost feel the trail of heat and electricity they left in their wake. When his eyes met mine again, he just raised an eyebrow, licked his lips and smirked.
Sweet Jesus.
So I did the only thing I could.
I grabbed his hand, and I dragged him up the stairs to my room.

This is truly one of my favorites. I hope you’ll check it out.