Hey guys!

I know, it took me forever to finally post this story ... but yeah ;-)

This story is Jamie's wish and I really hope you like it!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does!

"Maddie, we'll have blankets at the cottage. You don't need to take this one with you," Rosalie said with a sigh. They were currently standing in Maddie's room, going through her closet to decide which clothes she might need to bring.

"But I like it," Maddie replied and hugged the big, dark blue thing to herself. She would never get cold so she didn't really need it, but it smelled of home and felt so soft that she wanted to bring it anyways.

Rose nodded, then walked back into the closet, saying, "Fine. Take it downstairs and put it in the car so we won't forget it."

Maddie grinned like a Cheshire Cat and skipped out of her room.

She was so excited.

Emmett and Rose had told her a week ago that they wanted to spend a month away from Forks and the family and everything. They wanted her to join them, so she would have some real holidays after a more or less difficult year of school.

In addition Edward was dating Bella and since her leg was broken, he and Alice would spend a lot of time at her house. Esme had accepted a job as an interior designer, and so she would be working a lot during the next two weeks. And Carlisle ... well, Carlisle was working at the hospital and due to the holidays he was working overtime ... more than any human possibly could.

And that would leave Maddie at home with Jasper - not an ideal combination. They would probably claw each other's eyes out.

So right now Rosalie, Emmett and Maddie were busy packing Emmett's car, because they wanted to leave soon.

The trip would lead them to Minnesota where Esme had bought a house a few years ago. It had access to the lake and was surrounded by forest - perfect for a nice, calm holiday.

"Have you packed everything, dear?" Esme asked when she saw Maddie descend the stairs.

"No, I packed just a little. I'm not sure what I'll need, so Rose is going through my closet now."

"But you don't need to pack too much, there is a washing machine and a dryer," she told her before squinting her eyes at the blanket Maddie was holding. "Maddie ... why are you bringing your blanket? There are plenty at the house."

"I don't want any blanket, I want my blanket," she replied with a little indignation detectable in her voice.

"That's all right, sweetie, I was just wondering. You know you'll have a special room all to yourself," Esme informed her daughter. She and Carlisle had visited a few weeks ago to decorate the house and additionally prepare a room for Maddie, because they had already guessed that she'd want to join Emmett and Rosalie.

Maddie smirked; she couldn't suppress the joy she was feeling. It was so exciting to have holidays, and to be with Rose and Emmett only.

"Aw, you're excited, aren't you?" Esme cooed and approached her daughter, then patted her cheek.

"I think it's gonna be great."

Esme nodded. "I think so, too, sweetie. We'll come visit soon."

"You'll come visit in about two weeks, Mom, that's not soon." Maddie giggled.

"But two weeks isn't long, either."

"Uh! I need to bring my gameboy!" Maddie suddenly exclaimed and hurried into the living room, looking around feverishly. "Huh, where the hell is it?"

She had left it on the couch two days ago ... or something.

Esme cleared her throat to gain her daughter's attention once more. "Maddie. I told you countless times to watch your things and not let them lie around the house."

"I need it, Mom, where is it?"

Esme sighed, seeing that Maddie wasn't interested in getting scolded right now but only wanted to know where her precious gameboy was. "I gave it to Emmett, he put it on the back seats of his car."

"Awesome, thanks!" Maddie smiled, then turned around and ran into the garage.

She placed her blanket on the rear seats, right next to where her gameboy was. Phew, she wouldn't go anywhere without that one. Long car rides could get quite boring, but this little friend would definitely help make the time pass faster. Besides, the house they were heading for was a little secluded with no larger cities around and they couldn't leave the house much for the first couple of days. Alice said that the first few days would still be quite sunny, but then they'd have thunderstorms and rain. They were still hoping that a weather like that would keep possible vacationers away, so they could enjoy their peace and quiet.

Looking over the backrest of the seat, she saw that Emmett had already placed his own as well as Rose's suitcase into the trunk.

They really didn't need to pack much. It was summer, and therefore shorts and skirts and T-shirts were the main clothes.

"Here we go," Rose said when she entered the garage and put Maddie's suitcase into the trunk, right next to the other ones.

"What did you pack for me?" Maddie asked curiously, climbed down from the rear seats and leaned against the side of the car, watching her sister push the suitcase further into the trunk to make sure it couldn't tumble over.

"Clothes. Everything you'll need, Maddie," Rose replied and took a step back, then looked at her little sister.

"But … you didn't pack the clothes Alice bought for me, right?" Maddie asked while making a face. Alice had been so excited when she got the vision of Maddie going on a vacation with Emmett and Rose, that she had immediately jumped into a car and then driven to Seattle where she had spent a whole afternoon buying summer clothes for her.

"We'll take them with us just to make her happy, okay? You don't need to wear them if you don't like them."

Maddie sighed. "Okay ..."

Alice was a little controlling at times and she sometimes overstepped a line without actually noticing. Yes, this was only about clothes, but still – Maddie wanted to be left alone when it came to clothes. She knew what she liked and she knew what she didn't like, so Alice should learn to accept that.

Now finally everything was packed, the car was fueled to the brim and they had already said Goodbye to Carlisle before he left for work. Yes, it really seemed like he was always working, and it annoyed the crap out of Maddie. But she didn't want to complain too much, because he enjoyed being a doctor and it was important to keep up appearances. Plus he was father to six children, he definitely wouldn't be able to feed them all with only a part-time job. Appearances … sometimes they lost themselves just to maintain appearances.

But alas, Carlisle had promised to spend two weeks of the holidays with them and Maddie was looking forward to that.

However, right now she was only giddy with excitement to have two whole weeks with only Rose and Emmett until their parents would come join them.

"Do we leave now?" Maddie asked and smiled at Rose.

Rose let out a light laugh, then patted Maddie on the head.

"You're not even wearing shoes yet."

Maddie frowned. "So? We'll be sitting in the car, what do I need shoes for?"

"We'll be gone for four weeks. You'll need some sooner or later. Besides, we'll stop for a hunt today," Rosalie remarked and went to the open passenger door of the car, checking the glovebox for a map of the area they were heading for.

"We do? Why?"

What a stupid question.

"It's a new place we are going to so it's better to be full when we arrive," Rosalie explained, suddenly a brand-new map in hand. She looked it over, then placed it onto the passenger seat.

"Okay." Maddie nodded then walked up the flight of stairs into the house to get some shoes. "Hey, you didn't pack too much weird stuff for me, right?" she asked carefully before she would be leaving the garage.

Rose smirked. "I didn't pack any weird stuff for you."

She knew why Maddie asked. When Alice had gone shopping for Maddie because she knew they would go to a lake and be doing a lot of swimming and just lying around doing nothing, she went a little overboard. Maddie hadn't been too enthusiastic about the amount and especially the type of clothes Alice had gotten for her.

Skirts? She had been forced to wear a skirt for a whole year already so she actually didn't want that stuff near her now.

"Go put on some shoes and I'll tell Emmett that we are ready to leave."

Maddie nodded and walked inside with Rose following her. She then watched her sister ascend the stairs before heading for the closet in the foyer. Opening the closet door and grabbing her favourite pair of sneakers, she quickly put them on her feet, not even bothering to tie the laces.

"Tiny!"

Maddie turned around and looked up. "Emmy!" she mimicked his tone of voice.

Emmett was standing at the bottom of the stairs, smiling broadly. "Hurry, let's go!"

"Yay!" she exclaimed and bounced over to him, hugging him around the waist.

"Excited?" he asked while walking with her towards the kitchen.

"Nah … it'll be boring, for sure," she said and giggled when he let out a playful growl.

Before they reached the kitchen however, they saw Esme leaning against the backrest of the couch in the living room. She smiled at them, but her eyes seemed sad.

"Oh Mom," Emmett said and approached her with quick steps before burying her in a big bear hug. "Don't be sad ... two weeks is only half a month."

Esme chuckled, wiping at her eyes once Emmett loosened the embrace.

"Yes, it won't be long," she affirmed and nodded her head, trying to hide the dash of sadness that was making her unable to keep the venom from welling up in her eyes.

"Mom, we bring our phones!" Maddie exclaimed in what she hoped was a soothing tone of voice and walked over to her.

"Keep it with you at all times, dear," Esme said and held her arm out, inviting her daughter in for a hug.

"I will."

"Charged, Maddie," Esme reminded her.

"Yup."

Esme watched Maddie nod her head, then turned to look at Emmett. "Take good care of her, you hear, Emmett?"

Emmett smirked. "I'll guard her like gold, Mom, don't you worry."

That made Maddie snort and roll her eyes - Esme was still treating her like a five-year-old with ADHD.

"And you be good for your siblings, all right? Do as you're told, don't give them any trouble, angel."

"I won't give them any trouble ... and I hope they won't give me any trouble, Mom," she countered and eyed her brother suspiciously when all he did was grin.

At that moment Rosalie descended the stairs, her purse in one hand while she pushed a pair of sunglasses up into her hair with the other one.

"You're worried, Esme," Rosalie remarked when she came to a halt right in front of the three. "Don't be."

Esme sighed. "Call me as soon as you arrive, all right? Not a moment later."

Rosalie laughed. "Sure."

Then she turned towards Maddie and fished a mobile phone charger from her purse. "You forgot something, Maddie."

"Oops," Maddie said and couldn't help but laugh at the stern look her Mom gave her at seeing that.

"What did I just tell you? How can you forget something like that?" Esme asked while putting her hands on her hips.

"Sorry Mom," Maddie replied in between giggles and wound the cord of the charger around her wrist. "I thought it was in my suitcase."

Esme held up a finger. "Remember: Keep your phone with you -"

"- at all times," her three children finished for her.

She sighed at hearing them say that, but then smirked. It was a ground rule, and they had probably heard it more times than they could count.

"We need to go now, I don't want to lose time in the evening rush hour traffic," Rosalie explained after checking her wristwatch, then looked in between the others.

"Righto," Emmett said, then gave his mother another mighty hug. "We're off, Mom! I'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you too, Emmy." She smiled, but venom was clearly visible in her eyes again.

Then she grabbed Maddie by the hand and pulled her in for a hug. "I'll see you in two weeks, honey. Enjoy your holidays."

"I will, Mommy." But then she pushed her bottom lip out when Esme loosened the embrace and turned towards Rose. "So you'll only miss Em?"

Esme gasped. "Oh sweetheart, I'll miss all of you!"

"That's better," Maddie rebuked and eyed her mother with narrowed eyes ... she was just messing with her in hopes that it would distract her from being sad.

Esme placed a hand on either side of her face and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Two weeks, baby."

Maddie nodded, then skipped over to the kitchen to make her siblings get a go on. She was growing impatient, because she really wanted to leave and start her holidays.

"Rosalie, there is a list of all the important phone numbers on the fridge. The spare key is in the toolbox in the garage. If you need more washing powder, you'll also find it in the garage. We bought -"

Rosalie smiled and nodded. "It's all right, Esme." They hugged and Esme gently stroked her blonde locks.

"Lock the doors at night and -"

Lock the doors at night ... That made Rosalie laugh out loud. "We'll be fine, Mom," she said, then went with Emmett and Maddie into the garage.

They quickly got in the car so that Esme wouldn't be able to hurry after them, then drove out of the garage with screeching tires.

But Esme was standing at the front door now, watching her three children leave. "Buckle up and drive safely!" she called, then waved after them, an uneasy look in her eyes.

And then they disappeared from view.

They drove on for hours and hours, until Emmett suddenly pulled onto a little path in the woods after Rose had given him a curt nod.

Maddie had been playing with her gameboy, so when she noticed the car slowing down, she looked up from her game with a confused facial expression.

"Huh?" she asked. Her attention had been diverted, so she had nothing brighter to say at the moment.

"Hunting!" Emmett said, reached back and patted the side of Maddie's calf since she sat right behind him with her feet propped up against the back of his seat.

"Are we close to the lake yet?" Maddie asked and bent forward to look out of the windshield.

"Two more hours," Rose said while taking her eyes off the map in her hands. She looked over her shoulder at Maddie, smiling brightly.

But Maddie just sighed and rubbed at her eyes.

Sitting in the car was boring, she wanted to go swimming! There would be a lake, yay!

But to be honest, their hunt was quite nice and indeed a good idea to make the drive seem less boring.

Maddie caught a mountain lion, and after all three of them felt full and satisfied, they returned to the car. Rosalie made Maddie change into a clean hoodie - not just because she wanted the car to stay clean and stain-free, but because they didn't know if people might see them when they'd arrive at the house. It would be dark outside, but they still didn't want to risk someone seeing bloodstains on Maddie's shirt.

It was indeed dark when they arrived at the lake house, but with their enhanced eye sight it didn't make any difference if there was daylight or not.

Emmett parked the car in the driveway and after he got out, he couldn't help but whistle when his eyes fell on the house Esme had chosen for them.

It was one of the biggest lake homes in the area, and it looked perfect. Northern white cedar half-log siding, red cedar shakes and a beautiful front yard with a few trees all around to offer them shade and more privacy.

"It's a pretty house, isn't it?" Rosalie asked and rounded the car to stand next to her husband. He put an arm around her waist and gave her a kiss on her temple.

"I love it!"

They heard Maddie shutting the car door, and then she gasped. "That lake looks so awesome!" she exclaimed.

"Tz. Mad, hello? Turn around and look at the house!" Emmett told her in a fake chiding tone of voice.

"Huh?" she asked, then whipped her head around and a big smile formed on her face. "Wow, that's ours?"

"It is," Rosalie affirmed, then stalked up the wooden stairs and onto the front porch. She fished the keys from her purse and opened the entry door for them to get in.

"Shall we look around first?" she asked, but Emmett and Maddie had already pushed past her and were running around the house to look at everything.

It was a four-bedroom home with a beautiful open dining kitchen, loft living room and a big master bedroom with a balcony on the upper floor. A big smile spread across Emmett's face when he noticed that the master bath upstairs had dark marble tiles and a jacuzzi.

The garage was big enough to hold three cars, and the house had its own jetty. And luckily they wouldn't need to go shopping or anything anytime soon, because Esme had stocked the house with everything they might possibly need for the duration of their stay.

"Where's my room?" Maddie asked and pulled on her sister's sleeve. "It's not upstairs."

"That is for a very simple reason." Rosalie smiled and indicated for Maddie to follow after her. She walked through the living room and further to the right until she came to a stop in front of a room to which the door was ajar.

"Go on in," Rose told her and took a step to the side so Maddie could enter her room for the next four weeks.

Pushing against the door, Maddie immediately started smiling like Christmas came early. Esme knew Maddie had always wanted to have a room in the basement, but she didn't really like the thought of her daughter practically living underground. That's why she chose a room on the ground floor for Maddie, with a huge glass window giving her a beautiful panoramic view of the lake. Everything was made of light wood in this room and the walls were painted in a very light blue. There was a shelf full of books, a littl desk and comfortable looking bed in the middle of the room with a turquoise coloured bedspread that immediately caught Maddie's eye. It was one of her favourite colours and Esme hadn't forgot. And then - oh! - Maddie ran past the bed and let herself fall into a huge purple beanbag chair.

With a happy sigh she looked around again and delight shone in her golden eyes.

This room was remarkably smaller than her room at home in Forks, but she somehow liked this one a lot more.

Seeing that her sister was obviously more than just content with her room, Rosalie laughed and dropped down next to Maddie, poking her in the side. "You like it, hm?"

"I love it!"

"We should call Esme and thank her, don't you think?"

Maddie nodded, then quickly reached into her jeans pocket. A slight frown appeared on her face, which grew more and more prominent as she patted down her pockets but obviously couldn't find what she was looking for. She stuck her hands into the front pocket of her hoodie, but after less than a second they came out empty again. "Rosie?" she said with an apologetic smile and bit her lip. "I think I forgot to bring my phone."

And that was the first chapter! Don't worry, it'll get more exciting soon but first they needed to arrive at the lake!

Now please REVIEW and let me know what you think!