DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Twilight :( Just the twins. Oh, and I don't own Crocs either. But that's okay, I never liked them much anyways.
EPOV
-Flashback-
My jaw just hung open. You have got to be kidding me. Of everything Rose and Emmett could come up with, this had to be the most ridiculous yet.
I looked up at the main entrance to Rosalie's latest fad. The large log awning stretched nearly to the bridge that connected travelers from the road to the resort. To add to its rustic flare, river rocks formed a base around each of the towering log columns. The doors of the resort were equally dramatic. Large wooden doors seemed to be woven out of dark mahogany branches, almost mimicking locked antlers. Stained glass filled most of the gaps save for the large semi circle portions on each door that was filled with traditional glass, a taste to the outside of the luxury within.
The towering strip of the log resort concaved slightly as it followed the gentle bend of the river that rested at its base. Two large boat houses jutted out over the water's edge as miniature replicas of the main entrance to the resort.
I almost wanted to laugh out loud. I couldn't believe this. Just then, a strong hand clapped down on my shoulder. I looked up to see Emmett, he was nodding with his lips in a hard line. "Yep, I know what you're thinking. 'Why?' Well, Rosie got tired of staying in luxury resorts and everything not being up to her standards, so I told her if she didn't like it, then she should start one of her own."
I gave him a look of horror. Why would he suggest this? He threw his hands up in admittance at my expression. "Honestly, I didn't think she'd take me seriously. It was just a suggestion. Next thing I know, she's asking Carlisle for this property and calling contractors and what-not," he absentmindedly scratched the back of his head as he reminisced, finally he shrugged his shoulders and just smiled, "And six years later, here we are. You got here just in time for the grand opening of the Sedna Luxury Resort and Lodge, experience the luxury of the frontier," we both chuckled at the last part.
"Is that really the slogan?"
"Hell if I know, that woman changes her mind so often even Alice has trouble keeping up." He smiled at me, his dimples standing out prominently as he stretched his hand out to me. "I've missed you, brother."
As I clamped my hand on his, he drew me into a hug, "I've missed you too, Emmett."
"Esme's going to freak," he shook his head smiling, he left the rest unsaid. Alice refused to look for me when she could help it. Emmett was the only one that knew I was here.
-End Flashback-
It was three in the morning. Vampires were everywhere. Well, three vampires seemed to be everywhere. The first guests would be arriving later today and Esme, Alice, and Rose were going to give them the show of their lifetime. This was the only time they could work without the humans.
I stood in the grand entrance. And it was grand. Rose did everything to the extreme. The vaulted ceilings let in the maximum amount of sunlight through large sky lights. We'd be greeting the guests in the shadier side of the entrance next to the large river rock fireplace and front desk. Esme thought it would be nice to personally greet the guests. There were only going to be about two hundred parties with us as a type of trial run. One hundred of the parties were citizens in the prime of their life or couples with no children, the other hundred were families with children ages zero to seventeen. Rosalie wanted to get an idea of how best to cater to both sides of the vacationing spectrum. I had to hand it her, she knew how to run a business.
Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett sat near the ostentatious fireplace on a leather couch just watching their women work. I could be one of them, married, watching my wife freak out about if everything was clean enough when it already looked perfect to me. But the only woman I'd ever want to make my wife probably hated me. I grimaced and walked back out of the resort. This had to be the worst part of coming home. I was the fifth wheel again.
The sky was overcast today, the prime reason for living in Alaska; that and the over abundance of wild life. The resort was located near one of the most active streams in salmon season. Rose did this for both the tourists and her husband. It allowed for an enormous amount of Grizzlies for tourists to watch and for Em to eat. I wasn't hungry, but it couldn't hurt to eat anyways. Alice wanted me stuffed since she and I were assigned to the children's area for the duration of the trial period, and children are always hurting and cutting themselves. The family decided to personally supervise the first two weeks, the length of this trial run. Rose and Esme were in charge of the spa while Jasper, Emmett and Carlisle were going to keep an eye on the adult activities like fly fishing and the new casino. Alice was stuck with me.
The first of the salmon were beginning to make their way upstream. A few bears had already gathered, a pathetic showing compared to what this area would be like in a couple of days. Rose expected at least twenty to thirty bears in this one area alone. I almost pitied the fish, it was a miracle any of them reached the spawning site.
BPOV
"Come on, Mom!" Beth squealed at me, "We're going to miss the connection!"
"Elizabeth, a woman can only pee so fast," I growled through the bathroom stall. Her pink Croc covered feet stamped on the other side.
"Well, try and pee faster!"
"Mom! Hurry up!" I could hear the restroom door slam behind Mary as she too came to harass me about my peeing abilities. "Dad's already waiting. He says we're going to leave without you if you don't hurry!"
Ugh, I finished and flushed the toilet. I hated toilets on the airplane. With my clumsiness, it was not a good idea. I had to hold it for hours until we landed for our connecting flight when I could finally pee without worrying about my clumsiness.
I walked out to wash my hands. Three brown eyes and one green followed me. We still don't know how Beth ended up with one green eye and one brown. Genetics were crazy.
"Stop glaring at me like that! And get those scowls off your faces. One day your face is going to get stuck like that," I told them. Mary Alice stuck her tongue out through the gap her missing front teeth had made. She giggled and then both grabbed me and pushed me out the door.
"God, Bella, could you pee any slower?" Mary Alice relinquished her hold on my as Jacob took my hand. She had gone to latch on to his other side. I was really tired of being made fun of for my restroom habits.
"Sorry, I can't just whip it out you know, it takes time," I mumbled, not wanting the girls to hear me. They didn't need to know what really made Daddy different from us.
He glanced at me with a goofy grin. "Just come on," he chuckled, proceeding to drag us through the busy airport.
Watching Jake move through the crowds was like watching Moses part the Red Sea. People just automatically parted to make way for his massive frame. I doubt they even saw the wife and two girls he was practically dragging to the gate. All of us plopped down into seats of the waiting area. We made it with fifteen minutes to spare.
"See? We had plenty of time. I could have gone twice."
"I don't see why you just don't use the plane's restroom."
"Jacob Black, do you know who you're married to? Unless you want a pee soaked wife after we hit turbulence, you should be thanking me for going here and not only god knows how many feet in the air."
Snorting was his only response.
"Don't be angry just because I'm older than you so I'm always right."
"I thought we agreed I was older because I could fix cars," he said, remembering our 'age game' from our younger years.
"Yes, but that was before I gave birth. To twins. That's a hefty amount of age points right there."
"So, you're what, sixty now?" I didn't know if I liked the sound of 'sixty'. "You're a pretty hot grandma then." He leaned down and kissed my cheek, I could feel my cheeks burning. He might not have been him but he was still pretty good at the whole saying the 'right thing at the right time' thing.
Beth looked up with confusion from her Magic Tree House book. "I thought Mommy was Twenty-seven…"
"Section E and F now loading," the receptionist called over the loudspeaker as I shrugged on the backpack with the girls' entertainment.
"I am. Now let's go. This is the last stop before Alaska." I flashed the lady our tickets as we excitedly entered the plane for the last time today.
"Remember to chew, girls." I looked over to my left down at Beth as I held her hand and then behind me to Mary as we began our descent.
"Don't worry, Mom," Beth patted my hand, "We're not going to crash."
"Yeah," Mary's hands peaked between mine and Beth's seats as she craned her head, "We'll remember to chew, you just need to remember to breath."
"Har, har, har," I replied sarcastically, "Very funny." But it was true. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. I was fine with flying, just not taking off or landing. The rest of my family, well, they found it funny. Beth might be the only one with sympathy for me.
"Oh my gosh, Jake! This is going to be amazing!" I looked through the brochure for our resort: the Sedna Luxury Resort and Spa, Experience the Luxury of the Frontier.
He grunted behind me as he dragged our entire luggage.
"Sweetheart, I told you I could've gotten a dolly. You don't need to carry all of our stuff."
"I've got it, Bella. It's not heavy; I just don't have enough hands. That place better be good for the amount we're spending on it."
"Oh it sure sounds like it!" I caught the twins running circles around their father as he tried not to step on them. "Girls, stop making this harder for your father. Get over here and leave him alone." Slowly but surely we were making our way to the front of the airport. "Look!" I pointed to the brochure that I was sure no one was looking at. "They have a day care center for the girls, where they can go on hikes and swim at the indoor water park. They have a one to four counselor-kid ratio! You know what that leaves us free for," I gave him a mischievous wink over my shoulder. "Oh! And I can't wait for the spa! Since it's the opening we get complimentary massages! We should probably schedule though, I bet its going to be packed."
We made it outside to our rental car and I opened the door to the little red sedan and shooed the girls in. Jake already had the trunk open and was almost done loading it by the time I got back there to help. "I'm so excited!" I told him as I put the last bag in the trunk, "This is going to be awesome." I put my hands on his hips and pulled him close. Which wasn't that close. Even though it was August, the temperature was sixty-four degrees. Too cold for me, I was bundled up in a sweater while Jake was only wearing a t-shirt. Stupid, hot werewolves.
"Two weeks of family time, with breaks for us time," he said as he kissed my temple. "All while exploring the great outdoors."
I giggled, "Personally, I wasn't thinking of exploring the outdoors. I wanted to explore something else." I dropped the keys into his jeans pocket and went to the passenger side of the car.
The drive to the resort wasn't long from the airport. Luckily, like Forks, everything was located right off the highway and the side road was easy to find.
Jake let out a low whistle as the resort slowly grew larger. "Damn, Bella."
I smacked him in the thigh, "Language!" I hissed.
The man back tracked, "I mean dang Bella. This place is huge!"
"Mommy! Look at the horses!" Beth chirped and pointed out the window.
The gently winding road slowly made it's way past the resort's stables. I'm pretty sure Jake slowed down to let us take it in. It was beautiful. Being summer, the wild flowers were in full bloom, carpeting the surrounding area in a menagerie of yellows and reds. Light brown logs fenced in multiple pastures were horses of all types were grazing. The flowers were in such abundance, I was fairly sure the animals could no longer see the grass. Every now and then, one would lift its head and watch us pass, flicking its tail or ear lazily before resuming its favorite past time. Passed the pastures and barn, the large curved resort was nestled on the banks of a narrow river, connected to the road by an arched stone bridge. The resort was accented by its amazing backdrop. Large, jagged mountains rose up behind the resort and flanked it to either side. I pointed to the tops of the peaks were the clouds had cleared, showing my daughters the white snow that covered each.
"I think Alaska was a really good idea, Jake," I barely whispered as I placed my hand on his thigh. He removed one hand from the steering wheel and covered my own.
The rest of the short ride was made in silence. All of us were too in awe of the surrounding beauty to speak.
"Daddy, please can we ride the horses?" Beth began begging about the horses as soon as we pulled into the parking lot. I had already issued my verdict, so now she was attempting to get Jake take her side.
I love horses. I think they're beautiful animals. But they're big. Not just big, huge; huge animals with a tendency to freak out at their shadows. Call me overprotective, but I was not letting my baby on a half ton animal that I don't even know and could go hay wire for no good reason.
Elizabeth started huffing in the back seat as her whining escalated. Mary Alice soon joined her sister's cause as well.
Jake sighed, and I internally panicked. Sighing was always a sign of resignation. I glared at him as he dared to glance at me. The look that flashed across his face told me he had rethought what he had been about to say. Apparently I looked scarier than I thought.
"Um, girls, listen," He began only to be interrupted by a chorus of 'But Daddy!'s. Jake looked at me, pleading for my consent. Stubbornly, I shook my head. "We'll see." He told them. The girls flopped back into their seats with a muttering of fine and Jake just shook his head to himself. I know he hated to be the bad guy, but I'd find some way to make it up to him.
Beth and Mary Alice were awfully quiet as Jake began to make his way to the front door of the resort. I hoped they weren't too upset. "Hey girls," I turned in my seat to look at them. Both were staring out their windows, arms crossed over the chest, with the same face Jake made when he was pouting. "Instead of waiting for Daddy in the car, how about we go into those shops over there and try and find a snack?"
The side of Mary Alice's mouth twitched as she tried not to smile, attempting to hold the scowl for as long as possible. Elizabeth was much more forgiving. "Sure, Mama! That sounds great!" Elizabeth clambered out of the car, the polar opposite of Mary who continued to sulk.
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