"Aunt Alice can I ask you a question?" I heard a young voice ask as I came into the room. I smiled seeing the girl. I maintained that with her darker skin and deep chocolate eyes she looked like her father, Jacob maintained that with my delicate nose and glossy hair she looked like me. "Of course, why do you ask Hailey?" Alice asked as she sorted the color swatches. After Jacob graduated we both went to college, he was a mechanic and owned his own shop and I had an interior design business with Alice and Rose.
"You are my mother's sister? Right?" Hailey asked. I made a face, it was an unusual question. "Yes why do you ask?" she asked looking up. "Well you are a vampire, Rose, Bella, Edward, Jasper, Emmett, Grandpa and Grandma you are all vampires." She was motioned with her hands as if it all made sense now. Jacob and I hadn't intended to tell Hailey as early as we did but by the time she was five she figured that our family wasn't exactly normal. A year later she knew everything about our world.
"Yes honey we are." Alice said going back to her work. "Well then why isn't Mom?" she asked. I coughed and shook my head. Alice nodded as if getting the cue. "I am going to go home, see you guys later at the party." I nodded. She stood up and winked at me, as if she knew how the talk would go. Who are we fooling here Alice did know how the talk would go, she is Alice after all.
"You see, Hails when I was your age things started happening to me, like they are to you." I walked to my daughter and took her small hands in my own. "You found out you were a witch?" she asked. Already at six Hailey Astran Black was turning out to be her mother's very magical daughter. "Yes, your middle name was my last name before I married Daddy. It is a very important name." I was trying to find a way to tell the story without being to ugly about it.
"I know that, when ever we need to buy new stuff for the potions the people always whisper about you." She grinned. Not only was she her mother's daughter she had tons of Jacob's wolf traits, a sign of what her teenage years would bring. "Exactly, Mommy is a powerful witch." I smiled. "No you are the most powerful there has been since anyone can remember. That is what they say." she said her tiny face scrunching up as if she wasn't happy with my explanation. "Well ok." I paused taking a deep breath.
"Before Daddy there was another man that I loved a lot. He was attacked by bad a vampire. I was attacked too, and I was a vampire for a while. Then some bad people tried to kill me for my magic. For that to work I had to not be a vampire." I explained. Her face scrunched again this time in displeasure. "So you were just a witch again. After you were a vampire?" She asked. I nodded smiling at her. She was so smart for a six year old.
"Do you miss being a vampire?" she asked. "Yes, I do. I miss being faster and stronger then Daddy or even uncle Emmett." I smiled. "No way, no one is stronger then uncle Emmett. He is the strongest man in the entire whole wide world." I laughed and shook my head. Humans while attracted to the rest of my vampire family knew there was something off kilter for them, but Hailey was fearless and admired them. "I could we used to wrestle and I would win." She looked at me in awe. "Really Mommy?" she asked to which I nodded. "You must have been the best vampire in the entire world." she hugged me and I wrapped my arms around her. "Go get you school bag. Did you grab your homework from the table after you did it." I asked. She nodded.
I smiled and ushered her out of the office taking her back pack from her. "Do you think you could let me drive again?" She asked looking up at me. I shook my head. The last time I let her steer in my lap the only person more mad then Jacob had been Embry who had imprinted on Hailey when he visited the day she was born. "No remember last time?" I asked. "Yeah when Daddy's face turned all purple and Embry almost shit a brick." she laughed. "Hailey Astran Black, where did you hear that?" I asked. "Uncle Sam said to Daddy that Uncle Quill nearly shit a brick when Embry imprinted on me. I was supposed to be asleep." "Well shit is a bad word you aren't supposed to say it." I said opening the door letting her crawl into the child seat of the Shelby. "You mean like fuck?" she asked. That one had been all me. "Yes, buckle your belt." I pointed and got into the car.
I drove us home from Seattle where our shop was. Hailey went to a private school there and I dropped her off and picked her up everyday. The way back we listened to the mixed cd Edward had given here. His love of punk music rubbed off on her. She thrashed her head around as we made our way back to our house in La Push.
We had completely remodeled last year. Hailey's room had changed from a little lavender nursery to something else. Her walls were a darker purple now that peaked out between fashion photos and bunk band posters. Her room was tidy like I kept mine but her closet was a mess torn between her designer labels and dirty grease monkey clothes she worked in with her father. Carlisle had made it clear after we thought we had conceived again that Hailey had been a miracle baby. Apparently when I had my first child ripped from my body my ovaries were not that functional. Faced with the fact that we would probably never have children again Jacob and I repainted the third room from a hopeful new baby room to a guest room. All of the appliances were brand new everything from the toilets to the fridge. Jacob had paid for it some how spending as much to remodel the house as it cost to buy it helped Jacob eel more manly after Alice had brought it for our wedding present.
I parked in the garage and turned the car off. By the time my belt was undone and the door opened Hailey was ready to get out. She grabbed her bag and ran inside through the connecting door. "Embry!" She yelled jumping into the large man's arms. I couldn't but help smile, now that Clair and Hailey were the same age Quill and Embry were in the same boat. My view was blocked by my own large man. "Vander." he breathed as I walked into his arms. I knew the feeling, it was as if that when I was away from him I could hardly breath. "Jake, I missed you." I kissed him softly and let him deepen the kiss.
He let me go and we went inside holding hands. It only lasted a few seconds before Hailey turned from Embry and opened her arms. "Daddy get me." she demanded. He dropped my hand and scoped Hailey up. She was to big for me to pick up now but Jacob could still sweep me off my feet so it was nothing for him. "What did you learn today?" he asked. "That shit is a bad word." I started to laugh and shook my head as I took my heels off. Embry looked at me questionable. "Not me this time, little wolves have big ears. Particularly when Pack leaders are over." "Oh, Sam should know better, little Sam will start talking soon enough." he growled. "If it will make you feel better I'll start saying fuck around him as much as possible." I offered Embry smiled at me. "Mommy!" Hailey protested. Embry shook his head. "Sorry Hails." I apologized. Jacob grinned at me as he spoke. "You know your Mom has always had bad manners."
I shook my head and moved further into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "So we are expected at for dinner at six." I took a bottle of water out and opened it. Jacob made a face setting Hailey down. "Did you do your homework?" he asked. "Yes, at the office. It was easy, we are doing cursive letters. Esme taught me last year. I hate it." She made a face and I sighed. Hailey was extremely bright and she was far above her peers level. I wanted her to skip ahead to the fifth grade but Jacob didn't want that. He felt he had already compromised on the private school and he wanted her to be normally socialized. I had argued that her family was vampires and werewolves she wasn't going to do normal. We were at an impasse on the matter. Embry coughed at the awkwardness of the moment and bent down. "Say Hails how about you go get out of that stuff uniform and lets go swing." I nodded gratefully, I loved Jacob, and he loved me but we still fought. Italian lovers syndrome was what they had called it in college. We fought and got it all out and then made up. Apparently it was healthy.
With Hailey outside I faced Jacob my face set. "We need to do something Jake. Her work is painfully lower then her level. She needs to be challenged." I said. "That is ridiculous! She is challenged with the magic you teach her. Can't she have one thing that is normal for her?" He asked. "Jake she is a witch. We can't change that She is already manifesting fire, just like I did at that age. Most witches don't get that until they are almost at puberty. I mean after that she will be a full blown witch just like I was. She need to be able to express her magic in a healthy way or she might hurt herself or someone else. The spells and potions help her focus her powers. She has to learn these things." I let my fire come to life. It was not as kind as the one hit kill of lightning, I rarely used it. "Do you really want her to be able to do this and not focus, not know how to use it?" I asked. Jacob looked away and sighed. "Ok point she needs the magic lessons but school, that should be normal."
"Why? We aren't normal! I mean her family is made of vampires and wolves, or and a witch. Not only that but she knows about it and is cool with it. I mean she asked why I wasn't a vampire like the other Cullen's. Out of all the things in her life that is what she doesn't get, why her mommy ages but her grandpa doesn't. That isn't normal, why does she need something like that?" I asked. "Because we aren't normal that is why. She needs some part of her life that isn't about being different." He answered back. "I mean people her own age to be with. People she doesn't have to be different from." he continued. "Trust me that doesn't help. I mean you are with me and I am older then you." "Not that much, and when you are older those things mean less and less. She needs some normalcy. I let you send her to that school, I am not giving on this." He said. "Normal doesn't work for us. I tried normal and it got me killed and broke my heart." I screamed. I bit my lip, and sighed. "I am sorry, I shouldn't have said that I am using him again for an excuse, and now for our daughter. It wasn't right." I apologized.
Jacob sighed and brought me into his arms. "It is ok. I get it, but she won't ever have to face a loss like that, ever not with a breath in Embry's body. But your right normal isn't for our family including our daughter. If it is what she wants then we can arrange something." He whispered into my hair. I nodded and closed my eyes taking in his earthy smell. "I love you Jake." I said quietly. "I love you too Vand." He rubbed my back but didn't let me go. "Jake I need to shower before the party tonight." I said softly in his ear. "Well you are the birthday girl." he chuckled. He swept me up in his arms as if I were no bigger then Hailey. "Someone has got to was that sexy back for you." He said kissing my neck and taking me through our room to our bathroom.