* All Twilight references and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, all other characters, plot changes, etc. are just fun things that I like to play with.
* This story is rated M for some future mature scenes.
"Come on Edward... it's going to be a great storm and there aren't any other vampires in the area! Please!" I turned my full pout on him, knowing that he couldn't resist it; he had never been able to tell me 'no' from the first day that I had found him and Carlisle.
"Alice... I'm sure you can understand why I'm not comfortable taking Bella to another baseball game... besides she still has the cast on her leg, it won't be comfortable for her." Edward replied cautiously and I immediately felt guilty. It had been me that had been in charge of keeping her safe while the rest of the family hunted down the sadistic vampire that was after her. But unfortunately she had managed to evade me and my visions and get hurt anyways, something that I would never stop feeling guilty about.
Please Edward! If you ask Bella, she'll want to come. I told him mentally, keeping the pout plastered on my face until I saw his eyes shift, he didn't need to tell me, I knew that I had already won the debate.
"If anything happens this time Alice..."
"I know! I promise Edward! Nothing will happen this time! The game will start at three-pm, we'll meet you at the clearing!" I bounded out of Bella's room, knowing that I had to get the rest of the family on board still. It wouldn't be too difficult now that Edward had agreed to play, I knew that the rest of the family would be fine once I explained that he was coming, and this was exactly what we needed to lighten the mood in the family again after the incident in Phoenix.
Not only did I want to lighten the mood of the family again, but I wanted to feel a part of it again. Since our return to Forks after Edward almost lost his mate, all of the couples had been spending every spare minute they had alone, appreciating their partners and the fact that they could lose them if they weren't careful. It was lonely though without having a mate and I missed the time that we had previously spent as a family and was hoping that another baseball game would help to solve that, help bring us all closer together again – not just close to our mates.
For years Edward and I had been the two single members of the Cullen Family. We had 'grown up' in this lifestyle together, Edward having been turned by Carlisle in 1918 and me waking up from the change in 1920. I had no memory of my past or who changed me, but visions of the Cullens which had caused me to find my new family only weeks after waking up. Carlisle and Edward took me into their family right away, and Edward and I bonded instantly, both of us understanding the burdens of the talents that the other possessed. As the family grew larger, Carlisle finding Esme, Rosalie, and then Emmett; both Edward and I remained single and best friends. But now that Edward had found Bella I was finding it increasingly difficult to be alone.
"Baseball game in the clearing at three-o-clock!" My voice chimed out louder than was necessary as soon as I entered the house. I could hear Carlisle chuckle in his study at my obvious excitement, Emmett and Rosalie barely paused their activities when I spoke, Emmett muttering a quick 'yeah' before Rosalie pulled his attention back to her.
"I'm not sure that's the best idea Alice." Esme's voice was filled with concern as she came down the stairs and moved towards the kitchen.
"Esme, we haven't played since... well since the incident with the nomads, it'll be fun. I miss playing games as a family." I told her honestly and saw her think it through, my visions flashing at the different possibilities that Esme was considering.
"Edward and Bella are coming... I already asked them." I smiled brightly at her and she relaxed as soon as I mentioned Edward. There was no way that anyone would have agreed to play without Edward and Bella being perfectly fine with it.
"Alright... you're sure that there is nobody in the area? No surprises?" Esme asked and I shut my eyes, now that everyone had agreed to play it was easier to get a solid vision on the game.
"I'm sure!" I answered and gave her a quick hug before bouncing out of the kitchen and up to my room to change before going back to Bella's house.
When I got back to Bella's house she was already up and dressed, Edward helping her hobble her way down to the kitchen table. I let myself in and could barely contain my enthusiasm for the afternoon baseball game, nearly vibrating in excitement.
After I got there Edward excused himself to go and hunt – he had been leaving it far too long since the accident – and I made it a point to stay and keep Bella company. As she ate her breakfast I asked about the baseball game and she told me that she and Edward had talked about it and were fine to go, but if she wanted to leave I had to let them. I agreed completely, confident that nothing was going to interrupt the family day that I had planned.
The time seemed to creep by even slower than usual as we waited for Edward to return from hunting and I tried to pass it with a make-over which Bella turned down, threatening to cancel coming to the game if I tried to force the issue. It was a hard decision to make on my part but I wanted family time and knew that I would have many opportunities to make over Bella in the future – my visions still assuring me of her eventual transformation into one of us.
"Alright guys, teams are as follows: Edward, Emmett, and Esme against Carlisle, Rosalie, and me." I called out as we approached the rest of the family in the clearing. Emmett had already set up the bases and Edward had helped Bella to get settled on a pile of blankets that we had brought from her house. Quickly Carlisle and Rosalie took the field while I stepped up to the pitcher's mound, Edward grabbing a bat and hitting first.
The game was going the way I had seen in my vision. We had broken multiple balls and bats as we usually did, Emmett and Edward were teasing each other relentlessly, and we were all laughing and having fun – even Bella who was sitting off to the side and heckling some of us herself as she tried to see each play that was made despite the fact that we knew most of it was too quick for her to catch.
"Oh crap." I was up to bat myself when the vision hit me and I knew instantly that this was not good, Edward was going to kill me himself.
"Alice!" he growled as he raced to Bella's side, picking her up and supporting her weight while she leaned against him.
"They're already here..." my voice tapered off as the three figures approached the clearing quickly, entering immediately, the stances casual but on guard as they stopped dead in their tracks, each of them eying us warily.
The entire family immediately went into protective mode forming a tight line in front of Edward and Bella, our demeanor not exactly inviting as we returned their stares, their wariness.
"We mean you no harm, we come in peace." the female voice spoke loudly with a southern accent and I let my eyes drift across the three figures, taking them in before my mind was vaulted back in time, back to the first few days after my change.
"Alice, what do you see?" Edward asked as I was pulled back out of a vision. I had only been with him and Carlisle for about a week and I was finally learning to control my visions, not seeing things unless I called them, aside from a few visions that seemed to be more firm than the rest. They were things that didn't seem to be as dependent on someone's choice.
"A man... a bunch of different things... I don't really know." I told him and I didn't... I couldn't understand what I had seen, the steady flashing of images seeming much too random and too fast to catch much of anything, let alone understand them.
"Did you understand what any of that was?" I asked Edward, hoping that if he had watched through my mind, he would be able to sort it out.
"No, the images moved too fast for me to catch most of the. But it seemed that there was that one gentleman who seemed to appear in most, if not all of the images. Judging from the attire of those in the vision it seems that it might be something that won't occur until sometime in the distant future. I would think that the number of images of that one gentleman also means that he may be important in your life eventually." Edward answered and I shook my head, trying to forget what I had just seen. It was complex, so many things I didn't understand about the images themselves, the fancy automobiles, the clothing... and that man.
"It's him." I whispered to Edward and saw him look at me curiously. I opened up my mind, repeating the original vision from so many years ago. It was just one of the perks of having perfect memory recall in this life. Combined with having Edward for my brother, it often made life so much easier to explain things that otherwise would have been inexplicable.
As we all stood in silence staring at the newcomers, waiting for them to make the first move, I felt suddenly calmer, my defenses going slack, although my nervous energy came bouncing back as I remembered Edward's words from after my original vision. He had told me that he thought that this person was somehow going to be important in my life. Edward was now taking turns looking between myself and the three strangers and I couldn't help but try and understand how, but I knew he was right. This stranger – this man – was somehow going to be an important part of my life.
