DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters associated with the Twilight Universe. I'm just playing around. The only things that belong to me are my original characters and the plot. No copyright infringement is intended.

WARNING: This chapter discusses rape. It's not in great detail, but it does brush over the event and after affects. If this bothers you or you are triggered by such topics, please skip over it. Thank you.

CHAPTER 02
Meet The Cullens

The ride back to the Cullen Estate, as we liked to call it, took our entire four hour time limit. The extended trip wasn't because of the distance; it was because Jasper always took extra precautions. We wove through the city, circling the edges and dropping off of the radar so the incident couldn't be traced back to our name. That, combined with a quick stop to fuel up, and we made it back with moments to spare.

Maria was winding down on her platform at the edge of Nan and Pap's as Rosalie and I began unloading the back of all our gear. I slung my black cargo bag over my shoulder and turned around just in time to be jolted where I stood as a tiny body collided with my legs.

I glanced down and smiled at the full head of blonde curls my legs disappeared into. "Princess!" I exclaimed. The little girl tightened her hold on me and met my gaze.

"Uncle Eddie!"

I groaned at the shortened version of my name and shot Jasper a death glare as he chuckled lightly under his breath. The noise must have caught my niece's attention because she turned her stare towards my cousin and quickly moved on to give him the same treatment with a high pitched "Uncle Jazz!"

When I say niece, I use the term loosely; the Princess, whose real name is Riley Grace Cullen, is actually my second cousin because Rosalie is her mother. That story is not a happy one…

Rose was twenty years old and a sophomore in college when she was cornered by a group of guys. From what I understand, it took four of them to hold her down as Royce King, a low guy on the Volturi's payroll, forced himself on her. She managed to inflict a good bit of pain on her attackers, but the damage was still done. Five versus one isn't a fair fight no matter who you are.

When I came home from school that day, I found Rose in her shower, still clothed, and scrubbing her skin raw. The sight of it knocked the breath out of me. All of the women in my family took shit from no one and Rosalie was the toughest of them all, next to Nan, of course. I ended up calling Jasper while I climbed in with her, ruining my phone in the process. I managed to get her out and dried off by the time Jasper burst through the door looking for his twin in sheer terror.

After calming bothof them down, we managed to get a choppy story from her of the night's events. The first week we spent as a trio, helping Rosalie heal despite the rage the three of us felt boiling under the surface. After that we began planning revenge, but before we could take action, Rose discovered she was pregnant. I remember how my cousin struggled with the decision of whether to keep the baby or not. We even broke down and told our parents and grandparents about what happened.

A lot of talks, plenty of tears, endless nights planning, and I will never forget the sight of Rosalie walking towards a tied up, tortured, bloodied, and starving Royce King. Her protruding belly didn't take away from the fierce glint in her eyes as she stopped in front of him with one hand on her stomach and the other clutching her Glock at her side.

I don't know what she said when she bent over and whispered in his ear and Jasper swears he has no idea why the slime ball shuddered, but it was a startling sight to watch my heavily pregnant cousin pull her gun up and put a silenced bullet through the skull of her attacker who also happened to be her unborn child's father.

She still hasn't told anyone what she said to him, but one good thing came from Rose's horrible situation and that was my little Lee. She was the Cullen Princess and even though it was just a granted title, I loved being called uncle.

Riley had moved from Jasper to her mother and was prattling on about something or another as she helped Rose situate and stack bags on the ground. "…should have seen it, mommy! There was glitter and flour everywhere! But Nan and Pap said it didn't matter because it was the bestest cake they'd ever tasted. And it was! It was so good and I saved you guys a piece, but Nan says everyone has to eat their lunch first, so we have to hurry! Come on!"

The little blonde bottle of energy was starting to grow impatient with us. I marched up behind her, snatched her around the waist and let out a deep belly laugh at her high pitched shriek as I swung her over my shoulder. "You heard her, Rose! The bestest cake ever is inside and we need to hurry up and eat lunch."

Rose and Jasper laughed in return as they abandoned the cargo and followed me and my prisoner into the back door of the house. A combination of screeching and giggles filled the massive hall as we made our presence known. "Nan!" I yelled into the extravagant home as I put my red faced niece back on her feet. "We made it just in time!"

Riley huffed in annoyance and stomped her foot as only a five year old could. "Uncle Eddie! You know Nan doesn't like it when we yell. Use your inside voice." Her little face was scrunched up, eyebrows knitted together in disapproval.

Just as I was about to retort and start a childish bickering match with my niece, the woman of the house entered the grand hall. "You heard her, Junior; inside voice." The silver haired woman gave me a big grin, accentuating the laugh lines around her eyes and lips. I groaned, unsure of which was worse, Eddie or Junior.

Despite my annoyance at the names my family had given me, I grinned in return and waited patiently as my cousins received their hugs from our Nan until it was my turn. I walked up to her and wrapped her petit five foot one frame in my massive arms, towering over her. She squeezed me fiercely before pulling back and giving the three of us a once over. With a quick shake of her head and click of her tongue she pointed up the master staircase, silently telling the three of us that we looked unacceptable for lunch and to get cleaned up.

We trudged up the stairs faithfully and went about cleaning ourselves up to passable standards before returning to the dining room. The table was already set in a massive buffet style lunch, filled with everything from salads and breads to sandwich meats and fresh fruits with our parents, grandparents, and Riley already situated.

"Finally," Riley proclaimed, sounding extremely put out that we had to shower before sitting down for lunch, "now we can eat." And with that, everyone began to dig in. Lunch, like usual, was a boisterous affair. My parents, Edward Sr. and Elizabeth, were chatting with my uncle and aunt, Carlisle and Esme, about some sort of family vacation they were planning. Down the table, Nan and Pap were happily indulging Riley in whatever fantasy story she was going on about while Jasper, Rose, and I literally piled our plates full. I wasn't sure about my cousins, but our close call had me nearly famished.

And Riley's cake really was 'the bestest' cake I've had in a while.

After lunch wound down and we cleared the table, the entire family made their way out to the expansive back yard that held Riley's custom built tree house and play area. She took off like a bat out of hell and I was slightly worried for a moment that she would make herself sick after such a large meal, but figured Rosalie would have stopped her if that were the case.

The adults made themselves comfortable on the lawn furniture, chatting lightly and watching as the Princess did extremely impressive moves on her jungle gym in the corner of the lot before the conversation started taking a more serious tone.

"Edward, you don't think that's possible, do you?" Jasper's softer voice cut through my pleasantly spaced out mind. I glanced towards him, slightly confused. The expression must have been easily read on my face because he sighed heavily. "That Aro intentionally withheld important information about the Congressman's security detail?'

I took a few minutes to think about what he was asking. We touched on this topic lightly on our trip home and I had to say, as unnerving as it was, it was a very good possibility. I gave a one shouldered shrug, which seemed to be my go to response. "I'm not sure. It's very plausible and Aro always saw our family as a small threat."

"I never understood why." Rose commented. "We take contracts. Our main goal is money, not power. I, personally, could care less who ran what as long as they stay away from me and mine." Her gaze then intentionally cut towards her daughter.

I nodded in agreement. "True, Rose, but the brothers don't see it that way. All they see is a family with power at our disposal and a means to destroy the very rocky foundation that their power is built on. Would we? Not without just cause. I'm not particularly fond of starting a war in the middle of Chicago."

My father, Edward Senior, decided to join in on the conversation at that time. "Junior's right. I've seen war in my time, and I'm not talking about a nationally known one. I remember when your father and I were kids your age and Aro's father started expanding his territory. Chicago's streets were bloody for years, even after everything calmed down."

A silence settled over us, only broken through by Riley's giggles as she pushed herself higher on her swing set until a loud clap startled us. It was Nan, grabbing the attention of her family in the only way she knew how, in an over the top manner. "Alright, kids! Enough of the serious talk. Either way, if the Volturi wanted us gone, they would have gone with a more direct approach. As for now, I've missed all you strangers. Never here, too good to come and visit your beautiful Nan." She clucked her tongue in a tisk noise and shook her head. "Everyone stays here tonight and we'll have a hearty family breakfast in the morning."

Uncle Carlisle was just about to open his mouth to object, probably wanting to take my aunt home to an empty house, but Nan flicked her finger against the top of his ear. A muffled shriek followed by a gasp fell from his lips instead. I laughed out right as Nan gave everyone a large smile. "Any objections? No? Perfect!"

Grandmother of the year.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, you got to meet little miss Riley and Jasper, Rose, and Edward's Nan. Hope you enjoyed it. Keep in mind that this and the next few chapters will be about filling in the missing background information and setting up the characters and scenes. And remember! Reviews are food for a writer's soul!