A small box arrived at the Cullen's residence addressed to Dr. and Mrs. Carlsile Cullen. A beautiful Christmas ornament had arrived in a hand carved ivory box. Inside, Esme found a unique gift. A pair of calling doves, so intricately carved by hand they would link together like custom made puzzle pieces. One was decorated with pink diamonds on it's wing,s the other tanzanite. They were carved of brilliant white rock, or stone, showing every shade of white to the vampires' eyes as they took them in.
Esme took them in her hand, looking over the fine details of them as Carlisle walked in the door. It was quiet in their home for a change; all of their children were off different places. Only Renessmee was there, taking a nap on the living room couch. He started to read the letter over her shoulder from twenty feet away, by the time he walked up to her, he they were both up to speed. "What on Earth could Aro possibly want from us? I haven't heard from him since he tried to destroy our grand daughter," he said his voice tightening in a very uncharacistic way.
They both looked over at the long white couch, where their beloved grandchild was asleep. Covered in a light pink blanket, clutching her stuffed swan. Edward sent Alice on a shopping trip to find it. A swan wasn't always easily found, it even took the almost professional shopped Alice a few days to acquire it.
Years ago, no one knew how she would grow. It had been four years since her birth. She was almost grown now, she would grow for 7 years. She was the size of a four year old presently, and by Alice's visions, and Carlisle's research and measurements, she would only grow to about seven years old. No one knew what to make of her immortal childhood, but Nessie was happy. It was all that mattered to everyone. Even Jake seemed to accept it, and move on. He was still ever-present in her life, just was letting go of the "somedays".
A short week later, Esme and Carisle were on Eme Isle, a place that had always been a source of great peace and happiness for the pair. It was her very own slice of heaven. If Carlisle couldn't bring her to heaven, he'd bring heaven to her. Aro stepped out of the shadows of the forest. Carlisle could hear the faint heartbeats in the background, and wondered who was there. His sensitive ears also picked up a soft humming of some type of motor. Why would anyone need the ac Edward installed for Bella?
"Peace," he said as he opened his hands to Esme and Carlisle. "I come to you with a problem. A year after the birth of your dear, dear Renesmee, Nhule's father's protege impregnated his last victim. We have seen how controlled two of these hybrids can be. The poor woman was killed, of course. She gave birth to twins. Joshua Caleb and Hannah Grace. She named them before the worst of the pain set in. We saw gifts in them. They could be powerful, oh, so powerful. We cannot seem to have them accept our way of ...life? Existence," he said looking sad.
As he spoke, they walked at a nearly human pace through the forest, and into the serene beach home. Inside, Esme and Carlisle's ears picked up two fluttering heartbeats. They found two sleeping children on the bed in the "blue room", as they still heard Bella refer to it, whispering to her husband. About the size of 3 year olds, were the twins. A boy with blond hair, and a girl with long strawberry blond waves. Their eyelids were the color of the sky when it was purple just before a storm, and when Esme looked very closely, she could see the most brilliant green eyes under them, with flecks of gold naturally.
As Esme sat on the edge of the bed and brushed a golden lock out of the little boy's eyes, and tucked in the girl a bit more snugly, Aro continued. "They won't accept human blood. They remember the death of their mother, and are repulsed by the scent of human blood. At least, when it comes to consuming humans. We've had them near humans, and they seem to be drawn to them. How confusing! Vampires who are disgusted with the idea of human blood. They survive on a small amount of, ahh, what is it called. Food? Looks so solid, so strange. We've debated over this for a year, maybe more. Time is pointless. The choices are......to be destroyed, or to see if you two, only the pair of you, can raise them. We're never sure how these half-breeds grow. Most are immortal children, reaching certain ages only. Who wants to be tied down like that, such responsibilities? You are the only two I can entrust them with, to keep our way of life secret."
A soft growl came from Esme as Aro started to discuss "destroying" the "half breeds". How could anyone look at the two angels before her and want to harm a single hair on their heads? Look at them, she thought. Dressed in horrible dark gray cloaks like the guard, their skin looked all the more pale, and the dark circles more pronounced.
"So, what is your decision? Do you adopt them into your coven, or must I destroy them?," he asked as if there was any question in the Cullens' minds. Esme's motherly instincts kicked in, as she lunged towards Aro, her teeth bared. She felt Carlisle's hands on her shoulders. As he pulled her back, she calmed down.
"Not in front of our children, angel. You might scare them," he said as he looked at Aro, answering his question. In 2.1 seconds, they could hear Aro dive into the water, swimming into the distance, the first leg of his journey to Italy.
Esme was shocked when a delivery man showed up at their front door. Hearing the thump-thump of the human's feet walking through the rough terrain, they wondered who it could be. Two large packages awaited them. "I saw you needed this. Have fun! See you next Tuesday, no Thursday. All our love, Alice, Jasper, Bella, Edward, Ness, Emmit and Rose. But mostly Alice!"
Esme left her husband to deal with unpacking after she saw the note and smiled, and went to sit by her newest children once again. Inside were clothing and somehow, Carlisle wondered how she got this past customs, some of the blood that he had stockpiled for Bella. Thrilled she has sent it properly cooled, he set it in the fridge and was pleased to see teh cleaning crew stocked the fridge. Or did Aro, he wondered.
Once Esme couldn't peel herself away from the twin's side just yet, so Carlisle sat in an overstuffed chair in the corner of the room after he put the clothing on the window seat. She climbed into his arms, unable to comprehend exactly what had happened.
"I love them already," she gushed. "But.......", she asked with worried eyes.
"But what, angel?", he asked her as kissed her.
"Won't Rose just hate us? Can we do this? I mean, she used to want babies so badly. You saw her with Bella's pregnancy and Ness."
"I do not think it is possible to *hate* you, Esme. Humanly possible or otherwise," he said in his firm, calming voice. "Besides, she and Emmitt adore being an Aunt and Uncle. They love babysitting. They like a weekend with her all thiers, true. But they're always ready for their freedom back, too. She and I have talked about it, a lot. As she told Bella once, she assumed when she had children, someone else would care for them, someone else would clean her home," he said reminding his wife of the truth. "You just think of everyone's happiness before your own".
The week and a half on the Isle seemed to pass seamlessly. The twins were relieved to be rid of the Volrti. They were histendnt to drink the human blood, but Carlisle and Esme ensured them that no humans were hurt in the process. The two recalled their mother's passing, and heard stories of their father's destruction. They'd been in such a weakened state when Aro left them, Carlisle was shocked. Edward hadn't even been this weak when he refused to leave Bella's side when she was re cooping from, well, he thought, from too many human injuries. There always seemed to be something wrong with Bella. Until she was changed. It was like she was destined to become a vampire.
Esme was in her glory. Years of raising her "teenagers" was all she had coming, she'd accepted it. Her Nessie brought a new level of happiness she had never expected. Looking at her two new children, her love for her other six never wavered, or for her Nessie.
Carlisle's mind was constantly going, wondering what the twins would develop like, how fast they grew, how fast Nessie grew in comparison, how much she had grown in their absence. How they would all fit together as a family, what diet they would prefer and make him happy. The physician in him was insisting the twins, and Ness too for that matter, he added, needed nutrition in the form of food, not just blood.
The twins spent their days swimming in the ocean, or trying to. They had resisted every single traits in them that was characteristic of a vampire, they would panic in the water and sink. They managed to swim a little after a few days of splashing in the shallow waters. Carlisle was surprised at just how long the kids could go without coming up for air. Much longer than a human, but not indefinably like vampires. A diet of human blood, donated of course, and some food started to help them look far healthier and stronger. Color returned to their faces, the tinest bit. They sparkled in the sun, but only a subtle shimmer. Nothing like Esme and Carlisle sparkled. After playing all day, Josh and Hannah were happy to dive into bed to fall asleep. Leaving all night for the parents. The one day it happened to rain all day, Josh was set to go play outside, but his sister wanted nothing to do with it. It would wreck her hair and soak her clothes, Esme couldn't help but laugh at how alike her newest daughter was with Alice.
"I almost wish the whole family were her, today," Carlisle said looking outside. He could only imagine the baseball games. And he finally allowed his mind to wander back to Forks and only hoped a houseful of teenage vampires could behave themselves.
Back in Forks, Renessmee missed her grandparents. A lot. They'd never gone off for long without everyone! She didn't like it one bit. She had become the center of the Cullen family, after all. As Rose rocked her to sleep one night, Ness pouted. She listened to her Aunt's singing and put her hand up to Rose's neck and showed what she missed.
Alice helped her mother pack for the two of them, perfectly aware of the fact Edward was sitting on the window's ledge with Ness in his arms. Esme and Alice had already heard the argument between father and daughter when he refused to let her jump into the window alone. Renessmee was certain she was capable. "You're packing *old* clothing, Esme?" she asked in horror. To Alice, anything worn more than three times, max, was old. To pack "used" clothing on a vacation was simply wrong. The newer, the more, the better for vacation wear as far as Alice was concerned.
Esme smiled at her daughter, shaking her head as she laughed lightly. "We don't have time for you to get us ready, sweetling. Next time. I still have no idea what is going on, really. What have you seen? If anything?" Esme hated putting pressure on Alice. She knew how unrealable the future was, for anyone. Human, vampire, even warewolves. *Shapeshifters*, she heard her husband's voice correcting her in her head. She shook head head and closed her eyes and thought silently, I guess Edward isn't the only one who hears voices.
Edward and Nessie climbed through Esme's window into her and Carlisle's bedroom. "Hey, watch it. What you heard is hardly the same thing. I'm the only crazy one in this family," her son greeted her as he finally released Renessmee from teh safty of his arms.
Ness leaped into Esme's waiting arms. "I am going to miss you so, soo, much little lovebug," she told her beloved granddaughter as she gave her tiny kisses all over her face. Ness reached up to her Gram's neck and showed a scene of Carlisle, Esme, and Ness playing on the beach with Esme building the most intricate sand castles imaginable. More like sand sculptures. "Noo, baby, you can't come this time. Besides, your Mommy and Daddy would miss you too much," she gently explained. A warm tiny hand was back at Esme's throat, and the scene suddenly had Bella and Edward in it, in a hammock between two trees watching them and intermittedly making out too while Ness, in the scene, would make faces at her "gross, yucky" parents.
As Rose rocked in the rocking chair, Renessmee finally gave into sleep, holding her stuffed swan. Rose played with the idea of putting Ness in bed, but there was not much more than she wanted to do than what she was doing now. Besides, Alice could handle everything that needed to be handled.
It was the second week of October, Colombus Day. Only Alice could agree with Jasper that it was a perfect idea for a party. Of course, Kate and Garrett were only too quick to agree. Leave it to a Patriot and a Civil War Major to agree that anything in American history was a holiday. It was also Seth's birthday as well as the supposed holiday. She heard Alice stringing red, white, and blue twinkle lights around trees. An arbor of the same colored flowers were going up in the backyard. A grill was cooking some chicken and burgers with plently of fixings to go along. One of the worst things about the "dogs", Rosalie mused, was how much and how grossly they ate. At least when her niece ate, it was a normal amount and usually with far superior table manners.
Emmet was the first to open the bottle of Southern Comfort and take a drink. Bella looked at him in shock. "What are you.....doing?" she asked.
"Oh come on, little sister. You mean no one explained that we can drink? Wow Eddie sure has you fooled," he drawled. His accent certainly shone through when he drank.
"Yes, we can drink,as the fool told you," Edward explained to his bride through clenched teeth. He hated being called Eddie. They'd just returned from a local hunting trip, thankful Rose was willing to take care of Ness. "But it still impairs us. Our reactios aren't as quick. Our vision not as sharp. We may even be compared to you, the human you anyways," he said with a teasing light in his butterscotch eyes. "Clumsy," he added with a smirk.
The music was loud and the food, for those who ate , was delicious. Bella, who had never had a full drink in her life, was excited. The Wild Turkey Honey Jasper insisted she try, was amazing. It was nothing like the few sips of champagne she'd had at a few weddings with her mom. Or like the time she and her best friend had sneaked some really bad beer when they were thirteen in Phoenix.
Edward, well aware of what alcohol could do, made one drink and sipped it slowly all night. Someone would have to be responsible, after all. He wanted someone perfectly aware of his daughter's every move, every breath she took in her sleep. But, he wanted Bella to have some fun too. The potency of alcohol, he explained, was different than medicine. It would mix with vampire's venom and make them feel it. Pills would just sit there and do nothing until coughed up later on. Thankfully, vampires don't get sick.
He watched Bella dance with Garrett as the music blared on. Alice and Jasper did a great job picking out a playlist, he thought to himself. As he'd come back from the cottage checking on his daughter, he laughed at his wife's dancing. Not as bad as at the Prom. But nothing compared to the new way of dancing Bella aquired after she was changed. He smiled and walked over to Garrett, clearing his throat. "May I have this dance, Mrs. Cullen," he asked as the music changed to a new slower song. He easily took Bella into his arms and they moved to the music as some of the other couples joined them.
The party went on till the early morning hours. As the wolves all argued over the last piece of cake, Alice fixed the problem with her vision. "If Ness doesn't get a piece for breakfast, she won't let us forget it," she said as she snatched it away.
Edward groaned. "Who on Earth let him near a fireworks store?" he wondered aloud. *The finale, bro, Emmett thought as Edward heard him. The first boom in the forest woke up Renessmee with a jump. Edward was at her side in a half a second. Bella took almost three full seconds to follow, the affects of her Bourbon showing. "It's just your idiotic uncle," Edward told her. She reached up and was in Edward's arms and pouted as he tried to get her back to sleep. A little hand was at his throat. "I wanna play too,", she decided. Bella shook her head, "it's early too for you to be away, Ren, mee, Ness," she said her words blurring a bit. A hand on each of her parents showed what she wanted- seeing Mommy act funny and seeing her Uncle Em's pretty stars, as she called fireworks.
"Come on, Edward, let's take her for a bit. She can just wear her pj's" Bella said a bit too loudly. Alice just about screamed back and was there in mere seconds. "Over my pile of ashes," she almost snarled. In a much gentler voice, she looked at her precious niece. "Who should get you dressed today, me, or your mom?" Ness was in Alice's arms in a nanosecond. Alice picked out pretty dresses much more often than Bella did. "Oooooooooout," Alice said as she shooed the parents away.
"Annoying little thing," Edward muttered as he scooped up Bella and put her on his back like the old days. "Come on spider monkey, he said using his old nickname. Let's go back. Our daughter will be joining us soon," he said reading his sister's thoughts.
The brillant colored filled the air, with all of the ohh-ing and ahh-ing from thr crowd. The vampires drunk were much more easily impressed, Emmet thought as Edward laughed. He held his Bella in his arms and their daughter sat in Rosalie's lap eating her piece of leftover birthday cake with her fingers. She was, of course, dressed in a perfect white sundress with red and blue stars embroidered all over it. Her curls were in two high ponytails and she looked perfect. Her eyes were looking a bit dull, a bit lackluster, Edward noted. He planned a hunting trip soon, once the alchoal wore off. He couldn't risk not being 110% aware when he took his princess hunting.
The yard was a sight. Streamers everywhere, Silly string littered the yard looking like confetti. Plates here and there. There was time for cleaning tomorrow, after all. Esme and Carlisle weren't due home for 37 more hours, Alice said. They all wandered into the big house, and Ness was back sleeping. Edward easily carried Bella in one arm, and Ness in her arms to the cottage. They tucked her into her bed for an early morning nap while guests who slept found beds or somewhere outside to snooze. He wrinkled his nose in distaste when his siblings went to their respective bedrooms upstairs, hearing more than he cared to.
"Bedtime, for you too, Mrs. Cullen," he told her with a playful look in his eyes.
The alcohol made Bella a bit slow on the pickup, so she whined, "I don't sleep anymore, Edward. I'm not tired-" she complained confused as he silenced her with a kiss, kicking their bedroom door shut.