Eighteen years later...
This is a future-take type sequel of Slumbering Swan. It is absolutely essential that you read that first, else the contents herein will make very little sense to you. This includes all of the Alice extras (and/or Becoming Alice).
We're going to see maybe 4-5 chapters (I think), the first two of which are done and ready to go. Working on 3 the second I post this.
I do not own Twilight, but I am working on some original fiction. You'll probably never read it. *sigh*
Clicking heels, flashing cameras, and the gentle hum of industry gossip drowned out the sound of impact as Alice Cullen slapped Michael Newton in the face.
"That's for being moronic enough to ask such a stupid question. And this" – she stomped on his toes – "is for what you were planning to do when I said no."
On one foot he replied, "Come on, babe, it's the perfect compromise. I get a little fresh meat, you get to participate. Nobody cheats. Everybody wins." It wasn't Alice's fault she couldn't find a mature lover with actual maturity. Not really. It's just that all of those men were responsibly married or dating women their own age.
Or gay, but that didn't help her much either.
"'Have a threesome willingly or I'll get you too wasted to remember it' is not a compromise, Mike."
"What? I-"
"Do you remember our first vacation to Mexico? I didn't want to leave work for a week, so we compromised by having one wild night. You poured enough vodka down my throat to give me alcohol poisoning. I woke up in Cancun with a monster hangover and serious plans to murder you. But for some reason I believed all your 'I just wanted you to relax, baby' bullshit. And now, three months later, you want a three-way with my new assistant."
"A little fun never hurt anyone," said Mike. "And she's is in it for you just as much as for me. In fact, if it makes you any more comfortable, I can just be there to watch, ya know, to start. You can tag me in when you're ready."
"Tag… You… In?" Alice's mind went blank for a full three seconds, struggling to understand what she had ever seen in this man.
With Alice lost on a futile errand, Mike used her silence to further argue his case. "It would be so hot to see you together. Making out on the bed…. Playing with some toys…. She's got this massive hot tub-"
"How would you know about her hot tub?" Alice didn't wait to hear Mike's answer; the brief flicker of panic told her all she needed to know.
One knee to the groin and a quick wrinkle check later, Alice was back at her chair, collecting her things and bidding farewell to her neighbors.
"Darling, don't leave now. You'll miss the best part." Alice's friend Tyler greatly enjoyed male fashions, most specifically the latest in undergarments. Normally Alice would be eager to preview the merchandise, as it were, but with no professional reasons to stay, she just wanted to go home and rest. Things were going to be hectic for a while.
oOoOo
"I'm sorry, Edward, I just can't pull away from work right now." Alice's brother had called to confirm their plans for the weekend, but flying out to Forks didn't seem like the smartest move. "I've lost one of my biggest accounts and winning over their competition is difficult without an assistant."
"Please, princess. We need you! Bella and I will only ever have one sixteen year anniversary, whereas you will likely get screwed over by the lecherous old men you insist on dating over and over for all eternity."
"If this is your way of buttering me up, you suck at it. Big time."
"I'm sorry, Al, but you know it's true. I never even met this last guy and I knew he was a creep. They're all creeps. Any guy in his late thirties who'd date a barely legal-"
"Edward, I'm twenty-three."
"Still a baby."
"I can legally drink and go to clubs."
"Maybe that's your problem. Instead of going out and looking for a normal guy your own age, you're hooking up with middle-aged Peter Pans at night clubs."
Alice let the accusation hang for a time. He was wrong. She knew he was wrong. He knew he was wrong. But was he really too far off? She had met Mike at work, a perfectly acceptable and "normal" place to meet someone. Riley had been a member of her gym. She'd caught him ogling her in the mirror one day while she was doing her stretches. He'd been appropriately embarrassed, and what woman didn't want to feel desired? Then of course there was James, but no one liked to talk about him.
Yet, while the circumstances may not have been exactly what Edward described, the theme was essentially the same: Older men who stayed young by keeping her as arm candy.
"Alice, I'm sorry," said Edward after a minute. "I didn't-"
"It's okay."
"No, it's not. It's just that, to me, you'll always be my little princess. Glitter and tutus. I've seen you broken and hurt and… and…."
"Ewar…"
"Don't. Please. I just… I want you to be safe and happy." Edward paused to compose himself. "Did I mention I want you to be safe?"
Alice giggled and wiped a tear. "Once or twice."
"Once a knight…" Edward started.
"Always a knight," Alice finished. "Okay, I'll be there, you manipulative bastard, but only for Friday and Saturday. Sunday, you're on your own."
"We'll see."
Apprehensive, Alice asked what he meant.
"We'll see," he repeated. "Just don't make any plans you really can't get out of. You'll only be disappointed."
"Edward Anthony! You-" But he had already hung up.
oOoOo
It took Alice approximately fifteen seconds to remember why she'd avoided coming home the past three years. She had but to glance out the dusty porthole and take in her family—her loving yet wholly incomplete family.
Edward, as always, was the first to reach her when she got off the plane. "Princess!" he called and immediately set to spinning with her in his arms.
"I missed you so bad," she said as her legs swung through the air. When it was safe, the rest of the family approached.
"Ali-bug!" Emmett shouted and lifted her like an infant. He scrutinized her frame for a moment then said, "You're gettin' heavy, kid. Maybe you're still growing? Keep it up and you'll be able to see over the steering wheel soon!" His wife came up beside them and elbowed Emmett's gut, forcing him to drop Alice with a dramatic. "Oof!"
"Alice is tiny as ever," she said. "It's your flabby old man arms that have changed. My grizzly's just a big teddy bear now." Rosalie sighed and turned away from her husband. Within seconds, Emmett had thrown her over his shoulder and started beating his chest like a gorilla.
"Say hello and goodbye to your niece, Rosalie. You won't be seeing her for a few hours." He turned his back to Alice so that Rosalie could face her, but instead found himself face to face with his mother.
"Put. Her. Down."
Emmett made quick work of setting his wife upright and even spent a moment fussing over her hair, as though to undo his manhandling.
"Thanks, Esme," Rosalie said, swatting Emmett's hands away; they were doing more harm than good.
"Alice is home for the first time in over a year; you would do well to save playtime until after dinner at least." Esme was sure to make eye contact with each of them as she said this.
"Sorry, Mom," Emmett and Rosalie said together.
"Come on, Mom," said Alice. "Some things you just can't change."
Esme's face drooped for a split-second, but she recovered her tight smile quickly and hugged her daughter close.
"I didn't… I just meant Em and Rose, Mom. Not…"
Esme pulled away. "I know, sweetie. It's good to have you home. I love what you've done with your hair." She started smoothing hairs on Alice's head as an obvious means of distraction.
Alice shrugged. "Pixie-cut. Seemed fitting."
Esme spent a good five minutes inspecting Alice's face, touching her hair, and hugging her repeatedly before someone loudly cleared his throat. It was Edward, his wife Bella affixed firmly to his side.
"It's great to-" Edward started to speak, but Alice let out a high-pitched squeal and launched herself through the air and on top of Bella. Literally. The impact knocked the usually unstable Bella onto her back with Alice falling right along with her.
The pair giggled uncontrollably as they lay there, unable to stop long enough to stand. Their laughter doubled when Edward squatted down next to them and started asking Bella questions like, "Do you know what day it is?" while feeling for lumps on her head.
"Seriously, Edward?" Bella asked between fits. "I thought we were over this. It's been eighteen years."
"Edward get over something?" said Emmett from the sidelines. "Maybe she did hit her head."
"As long as you have a brain, I'll be here to protect it." Edward helped his wife and sister up from the asphalt and immediately started conducting tests. Bella, quite used to living with an overprotective neurologist, dutifully followed his finger from side to side without so much as an eye roll. Rosalie wasn't as tolerant.
"I'd say she's been brainless since the day she said, 'I do.'"
"Her MRI's would suggest otherwise," said Edward seriously. "Seems okay, but any pain or dizziness…"
"And I'll report it immediately to my doctor," she finished and kissed him. "Please try not to worry so much."
Edward huffed and scrubbed at his face. "No sense of self-preservation."
"If I wasn't such a mess, we never would have fallen in love," said Bella. "We owe our marriage to my recklessness."
"Untrue."
"Of course it's true. If I hadn't gone into that coma… Why are you shaking your head?"
"I didn't fall in love with you in the hospital," said Edward. "I fell for you here, well, there, in what I suspect to be the same plane they flew us in eighteen years ago." Everyone looked over at the plane Alice had just departed. It seemed probable. "I knew I loved you the moment I laid eyes on you on our flight from Seattle. I spent the entire flight thinking of things to say to you, but I couldn't because I'm a coward.
"I got my second chance at the grocery store. Our little duet was entirely unplanned, but it remains one of my favorite memories of all time. I asked you out that day and you said yes. I don't know why, but you said yes."
Someone huffed in the background—Rosalie, most likely—but the rest of the family stayed silently transfixed on Edward. It was a story they had heard many times, and even had their parts in, but the passion in his voice was mesmerizing.
"That accident was responsible for both the best and worst days of my life. Worst because I thought I'd lost you. Before you woke, before you spoke, even before, when I thought you'd stood me up, there was only one thing on my mind: I thought I blew it. I thought I'd never get my chance. My chance to do this."
Edward got down on one knee and produced a small velvet box. "Isabella Cullen, eighteen years ago you flew into my life and changed it forever. I would have done this the day we met if I'd thought you'd say yes. As it is, it took saving your life and two years of near begging. And even then, we had to elope.
"This Sunday, on our sixteenth anniversary, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife…again?" Edward opened the box and presented Bella with a thin platinum bracelet of linked infinity symbols sprinkled generously with diamonds.
She took the box from him gingerly, angling it various ways in the sunlight. Finally, she sighed and handed it back to him. "You're not gonna let me elope again, are you?"
"NO!" Everyone behind her shouted it in unison.
Edward simply smiled. "I guess not."
Bella held out her wrist for Edward, who immediately set to slipping the bracelet in place. He finished with a kiss of the clasp, then worked his way up her arm until he was kissing her lips with an almost reckless disregard for his family's presence.
Not to be ignored, Emmett kidnapped Bella directly from Edward's arms and threw her over his shoulder, much the way he had done to Rosalie moments before.
Edward began protesting immediately, whereas Bella had chosen the "punch first, ask questions later" path. When Emmett kept walking undeterred by Bella's assault, Edward looked to the rest of his family for support. He found none.
"You can have her back on Sunday," said Rosalie. "It's the only way to make sure we get to be there this time."
"There was no bachelor party!" Emmett yelled.
"I never got to be a flower girl," Alice said with a pout.
"There was no reception!"
"I didn't get to see Bella in a dress. I didn't get to help plan."
"You were seven, Alice."
"So? I'm not seven now! And I'm sure Mom wishes she could have been there to help." The family collectively turned to Esme, who had become nothing more than a mass of snot and tears.
"I… I would have liked that very much." She pulled out a tissue and cleaned her face. "I always hoped you would do it all again the… the right way. I always wanted to see that. And I know your… your… Oh, God!"
Emmett quickly dropped Bella and ran to his mother, but Edward had him beat. Esme blubbered and mumbled incoherently into Edward's chest for several minutes, staining the fabric of his jacket. When she had calmed enough to realize this, she started futilely wiping him with a soaked ball of tissue.
"I'm sorry, Edward. I'm so sorry."
"Mom, it's all right. Don't. It's just a shirt. Please don't cry."
"I was only kidding, Esme, I promise," Bella said quietly. "We won't do that to you again."
Esme waved dismissively. "I know, dear. It's just…" She turned to Edward. "I know your father would have wanted to be here. He was so upset about the first one, and now…"
Edward let his mother cry on his shoulder for another small while. Eventually, Emmett came and all but carried her back to her car so he could drive her home. He made sure to elbow his brother as he passed. "Nice going, dipshit."
Rosalie ushered him away quickly, offering Bella and Edward some surprising words of encouragement. "It'll be okay. We need something good to focus on, and there's nothing better than a wedding. Maybe Emmett and I will have another one too."
Alice suspected Rosalie's enthusiasm had less to do with her brother-in-law's happiness than her desire to hold a lavish ceremony of her own every five years, a tradition they had abandoned recently.
"Do you really think this is a good time?" she asked Edward once Rosalie and Bella had walked away. Rosalie to follow her husband to the Cullen home, Bella because she always had a healthy respect for "brother-sister time".
"What do you mean? It's our anniversary. What could be better?"
"How about your twentieth anniversary, so maybe Dad will be there, and Mom won't be having a nervous breakdown? If you do it now, it's like your saying… It's like you think…"
"Alice…" Edward sighed and shook his head slowly from side to side. "We all want to believe Dad's coming home, but the reality is that it's been over three years. He's not…"
"Don't you say he's not coming home, Edward! Don't you dare! Dad will always come home! He promised. He promised…" She finished with a whisper and a sob as Edward pulled her close, careful to avoid the wet patch left by his mother.
"Shhh. This isn't like when you were little, Alice. He's not at work. There is no 'home after Mickey.' Dad always kept his promises; don't you think he'd be here if he could?" Alice nodded into his shirt. "We both know Dad would rather die than let you and Mom down. He'd rather die, Alice, than let the women in his life suffer needlessly."
"How can you do this, Edward? How can you just… continue on with your life like none of this ever happened? Like Dad never disappeared? Like he never existed?"
A tear rolled down Edward's cheek as he considered Alice's questions. "I haven't forgotten our father. I will never forget, but in living the way we are—walking on eggshells, wasting our time with grief—I think it's disrespecting him. I have a wife and child, a home and a career. I have a life, and I think Dad would want me to live it. He wouldn't want our lives to end just because his did.
"In a way, this wedding is in his honor. I'm taking control and re-committing to my family, the way I know he'd want me to. And I know that wherever he is now, he'll be there with us. He'll be standing next to me, watching Bella walk down the aisle toward us."
Bella hugged her husband when he got to the car and whispered to him, "That was beautiful, baby."
"You heard that?"
"Yeah, and I think you're right. I wasn't sure at first, especially after seeing your mother's reaction, but now I know we're doing the right thing with this. Carlisle would want us to be happy, and a wedding would make everyone happy. Rosalie was right about that too."
"Did you just say the words, 'Rosalie was right'?" asked Alice.
"Don't tell her."
"Don't worry, I won't. The consequences would be dire."
Bella laughed, but Edward cast her a wary glance. "She's not kidding. Remind me to tell you what happened when I thanked her for trying to get us together. My biggest mistake to date."
Bella continued to laugh, and Alice considered telling Rosalie what she'd said just to teach her a lesson, but decided it just wasn't worth it. After all, this wedding was meant to be a joyous and healing milestone; involving Rosalie's pride would only be counter-productive. Besides, her sisters would need to be on pleasant terms if she was going to pull off the second best wedding of the century. The best, of course, she reserved for herself.
oOoOo
Bella warily eyed the package that had just been delivered; it looked suspiciously like something one would use to store a dress. But how could Alice have made arrangements so quickly? To have ordered a wedding dress for overnight delivery, on a Saturday no less, would have cost something close to a fortune—unless it had been cheap to start with. Bella doubted this somehow. When she lifted the lid, Bella knew she'd been mistaken on the boxes origin. This dress wasn't a recent purchase, it was made, just for her.
"When?"
"I didn't know if you'd ever give us a proper wedding, but I wanted to be prepared."
Bella stroked the deep blue satin tenderly. "It's beautiful, Alice. Thank you. I just hope it isn't out of date. We waited so long… and your bridesmaid dress will have to match." Bella frowned. "You'll never find something on such short notice."
Alice laughed and jumped up to kiss Bella's cheek. "I was so hoping you'd say that! Not the depressing parts, but my dress is already being delivered to my parents' house. I can assure you it matches perfectly. And as you can see"—Alice unfolded with a flourish—"I went with the timeless approach."
Alice had to hold the dress up over head in order to keep the fabric from the floor, so she missed the look on Bella's face when she saw it, but her verbal reaction was more than enough to make up for it.
"Oh. My. God. Alice. Oh, my god. Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod! It's… it's… oh, my god."
Floor-length with a small train in a subtly sparkling deep blue with pale accents around the waist and sleeves, the dress was simple, elegant, and timeless. It was a gown fit for a princess—Aurora, to be exact.
"Where did you find it, Alice? A real one, I mean. The only ones I've ever seen are costumes or exact replicas with those ridiculous wings on the front."
"And most of them are pink," said Alice. "I pictured pink myself, but Edward wanted blue. It's funny the things you remember." She re-packed the dress carefully, lovingly, then closed her eyes. "I can still see you in that bed, with Edward looking on. You were a princess to me, Bella. Always. And Edward was your prince. You wore this"—she patted the box—"every day in my imagination.
"My first design, at the tender age of five." Alice grinned sheepishly at Bella. "The sketches weren't exactly refined at the time. They got better, more detailed over the years, but in my mind, it was always this. The only thing that changed was the color. I eventually realized Edward was right about that, if only because you'd like it better. Pink was great for Sleeping Beauty, but blue is just right for a Slumbering Swan."
oOoOo
Once the dress had been approved, the wedding came together beautifully, thanks in large part to Alice. The backyard of the Cullen house already had a garden path with a latticed archway, and plenty of space to share with the reception. She and Edward were able to find a local party store with the necessary equipment available, namely a small dance floor and two round tables: one for the adults and a smaller version for their children.
Emmett and Rosalie did most of the decorating—according to Alice's instructions—while Alice herself hemmed dresses and fielded questions from Edward, who was supposed to be head of purchasing. She didn't know why her brother couldn't manage to find the exact colors, fabrics, or flowers she asked him to, but secretly found it hilarious that a certified genius could fail so miserably at her daily job.
Annoying, but hilarious.
Bella did virtually nothing, as instructed. She had the tendency to get in Alice's way, so she was relegated to keeping Esme company throughout the process. Esme had wanted to help too, but often found herself reminiscing about her own wedding day or a romantic moment she and her husband had shared in the garden. She would be bright and chipper one moment only to explode spontaneously into tears the next. After about three hours of this, Esme joined Bella on the bench. Together they hatched a plan to be useful.
Edward didn't like the idea of his bride cooking for her own wedding, but she told him it was what she wanted. Emmett jumped on the idea, always eager for home cooking, and Rosalie fueled his enthusiasm; Bella cooking meant leftovers meant less cooking for Rosalie. Not that she did much of that anyway. It would give Emmett one less thing to whine about at least. Alice approved, however reluctantly, which left Edward face to pitiful face with his mother.
"You want to deny your own mother a chance to participate in your wedding?" Esme asked, tearing up a little. "How could you do that to me, Edward? How could you do that again?"
"Oh, Mom. You know I didn't mean it like that. Of course I want you to participate."
Esme smiled instantly. "It's settled then! Bella and I will cook for everyone." She winked and patted Edward's cheek. "I hope you've already ordered the cake though, son. Those take days to sort out."
Bella and Esme set off immediately for groceries while Edward stood dumbstruck.
"Dude, you just got played…by Mom!"
Rosalie laughed along with her husband and added her own opinion on the cake matter. "I'll bet you didn't even think of that. I hope there's room in the freezer, looks like Bella's getting a DQ."
"Thanks, Em, Rose. Don't you have some flowers to arrange?"
"Edward's right. We only have one day, people! Anyway, it's already done, and perfectly lovely." Alice waited until Emmett and Rosalie had walked away to ask, "You did order a cake didn't you? And not from Dairy Queen?"
"Yes, Alice, I ordered a cake. And a caterer, which I am now going to lose my deposit on. This isn't my first wedding, you know."
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize they had professional bakers on staff at last-minute chapels in Vegas. Called ahead, did you? Got the number four special with butter cream and chocolate?"
"I'm sorry, Alice. It's just… between Mom and Emmett and the whole… Dad… thing…"
"I know, knigh'. It's okay. Now go try on your tux. I think you've gained a little weight since I ordered it."
"Probably. It's been in your closet since 1992."
"I wasn't even alive in 1992. And you can thank me when you see it next to Bella's dress."
Edward bent down and kissed Alice on the forehead. "I thank you now, princess. Without you, we'd just be in our Friday night clothes, saying vows in Mom's backyard. We needed you."
"I know, I know, best sister ever. Scoot!"
The fitting was coming along nicely. And though Edward would have made a dashing Prince Phillip, Alice had stuck with a classic tuxedo in the appropriate color scheme for the wedding. It was slightly more old-fashioned than anything found in stores, but it suited him perfectly and, by extension, his wife. They really were a fairy tale couple.
Alice swallowed down the twinge of jealousy that had been accompanying the lightheaded swoon of late, and stuck a pin a little too roughly into Edwards cuff.
"Ow! What'd my ankle ever do to you?"
"Oh shut up, you big baby. I didn't even break the skin."
Edward responded maturely, sticking his tongue out at Alice when he thought she wasn't looking. She caught him, of course, and stuck him again, this time resulting in blood. Before he could retaliate, Edward's phone began to ring. He wouldn't have answered, but it was his work ring, and though he wasn't on call, he couldn't very well ignore the hospital.
He hopped over to the dresser on one foot, nursing his ankle gingerly. Edward answered and as time ticked, Alice grew impatient. They only had a few hours in which to finalize everything; she would need the entire morning to set out the flowers and get Bella ready the next day. At first, Alice worried they would try to rope him into a shift at the hospital, which was completely unacceptable on this of all weekends. But the longer Edward stayed on the phone, the paler and more stoic he became. Alice's fears changed.
What if there was a patient only Edward could help? What if something had happened to one of his coworkers? One of his friends? Then Alice remembered her mother and Bella; they had left for the store less than an hour ago. Could they be in the hospital now? Hurt? Dying? Dead? Why wasn't Edward saying anything? He'd only spoken four words in the entire five minute conversation: "Hello", "What?", and "Thank you". And now the call had apparently ended, but Edward still stood, frozen, with his phone at his ear.
"Edward? What is it? Is everyone okay? Is it Mom and Bella? … My God, Edward! Did somebody die?"
At the mention of death, something stirred in Edward. His hand fell limply to his side, his phone fell to the floor and came apart in all the usual places. Without seeming to see her, Edward turned to Alice and shook his head.
"He's alive."
So... What do you think happened to Carlisle? How will Alice react? And, what will become of the wedding now?
Tune in next time.
Thank you so much for reading!
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank ALL of my readers, past and present, for this and also for Snowed. I now have a home computer and internet and should be much faster (and therefore more gracious-seeming) with my replies and posting schedule. I do have an extra or two for Snowed and the original Slumbering Swan, which I am hoping to get motivation to actually write (as well as a completely new, completely depressing New Moon re-boot).
OH! ANNNDD... the slash-fic I promised after Fage 4 when my recipient didn't quite get what they were looking for. (Not that she said that, but I know I'm too fluffy for her. MUST. FIX. FAILURE.)
Reviews would probably help. ;P
