A/N: Family. You gotta love 'em. I, personally, have not yet recovered from visiting mine over Christmas.
Chapter 2
"Well, look who decided to finally come home!" Emmett boomed, opening the front door to reveal Jasper, Bella, Peter, and Charlotte. He made no move to step aside and let them through the door, instead letting them become gradually more bedraggled-looking in the steady drizzle while he called over his shoulder in a sing-song voice. "Moooom, Daaaad, Jasper and Bella are home!"
"It's about fucking time!" came a distinctly female shriek from somewhere inside the house.
"Tell me that's not 'mom'," Peter whispered, leaning in closer to Jasper.
"That is my lovely wife," Emmett said, smirking. "And you'd do well to stay out of her way. She's not happy with any of you. In fact, Petey boy, I'm questioning your sanity for agreeing to even show up here with Jasper and Bella."
"Huh," Peter said, standing back again. "I don't remember her being so...shrill."
"Yeah, well, she's not a big fan of stress. And you all have caused a lot of stress lately. So, she's got a lot of pent up anxiety, and it's got your names on it. Won't you come in?" He finally stepped aside and gestured for them to enter.
All four of them hesitated.
"You know, Jasper," Peter began, backing away, "maybe Charlotte and I can just...stay in the garage or something."
Jasper's hand shot out behind him and grabbed Peter by his arm before he could dodge it. "I don't think so, friend. Trust me, her bark is worse than her bite."
"I heard that, Jasper Whitlock Hale Cullen—or whatever the hell you're calling yourself now!" Rose shrieked, somehow even a little louder. "Get your ass in here right now! It will only hurt for a little while!"
"Now where have I heard that before?" Peter said thoughtfully, reluctantly following Jasper and Bella through the front door.
"Good to see you again, Petey," Emmett said good-naturedly. "How'd you enjoy that entertainment system I set you up with?"
"I enjoyed it just fine till about five days ago," Peter grumbled. "Then it all kinda got shot to shit."
"Yeah...sorry about that. If I'd known that was what it was for, I might have not brought it out to you. But you learn pretty quickly it's best to just go along with what Alice says. Things usually don't turn out well when you don't."
Peter snorted. "I'd hate to see 'don't turn out well' if that is what you call 'best'," Peter grumbled, holding Charlotte's hand and trailing the group into the large living room, where apparently the entire Cullen family was waiting for them.
"Jasper, Bella...thank goodness you're finally home!" Esme said, jumping up from where she'd been sitting next to Carlisle on the couch and crossing the room to hug them both. Carlisle was behind her, and he also reached out to draw them both in for hugs. Peter backed away nervously at their approach, pulling Charlotte with him.
"You're never leaving again, do you hear me?" Esme whispered into Bella's ear. "Never. You need to stay here with us, where it's safe."
"Um, yeah..." Bella said hesitantly. She looked over at Jasper, who merely rolled his eyes at her.
"Peter, Charlotte," Carlisle said, holding his hand out to Peter, who took it cautiously before shaking it firmly. "Good of you to accompany them. Thank you for all your help."
"Yeah, well, after we had to torch the cabin, there really wasn't much on our agenda. We figured Jasper here was in a spot of trouble, and since we, um, seemed to be a part of it, we thought we might as well just come along and stick it out with him. If you all don't mind, of course..."
"Not at all, not at all," Carlisle said. "I think you're right—this is going to affect all of us, and the more people we have trying to work on fixing it, the better."
Rose snorted from her position on the couch—next to where Emmett had seated himself—but offered no snide comment, much to Jasper's and Bella's surprise. "That's putting it mildly," she said.
"Before that, though," Carlisle continued, ignoring Rosalie, "if you wouldn't mind telling us everything that happened to you all down in Mexico, it would certainly help in making future decisions. The bits and pieces from Alice's visions gave us very little, and what you told us over the phone was bleak enough…but in light of recent events, it's even more important that we have a more detailed idea of what happened."
Jasper looked at Bella and then at Peter and Charlotte, who all nodded at him. Taking a deep breath, he began. Bella took over and told them what happened to her after she was taken from the hotel. Peter and Charlotte filled in where they could, especially about what occurred while Jasper was 'indisposed', as Esme preferred to call it.
When they were finished with their story, there was silence for a moment as the vampires processed what they'd been told. Then they all started talking at once.
"RPGs?" Emmett whistled. "Wicked, man! I had no idea they'd be so dangerous to us... That is, that's just..."
"I was afraid this would start being a problem as their technology improved," Carlisle said. "Especially once the arms race began in earnest. But to know that it's been actively used against us, by humans that seem to be aware of what we are and what our weaknesses are, is very disturbing."
"It just figures that, once again, we have to pack up and move because of something Jasper did," griped Rose. Bella managed to shoot her a glare before Jasper poked her and hissed, "Drop it," in her ear.
"Then it was even worse than I imagined..." Alice said sadly, shaking her head.
"Terrifying," Esme whispered. "That poor woman. The humans really destroyed her coven with bombs?"
Everyone turned to look at her, shock on their faces.
"I mean," she back-pedalled quickly, "I can certainly see why that would send her 'round the bend. I mean, if something like that happened to my family, I'd do just about anything for revenge. But it doesn't excuse what she did to Bella, though!"
"She was 'round the bend, as you put it, long before that happened," Jasper said. "But, yes, that certainly didn't help her sanity. And it's definitely something we need to take into consideration. As for the RPGs, Emmett, we never actually saw them destroy a vampire, having managed to escape them ourselves, but I'd have to say that, yes, if we were hit with one, we'd be toast. Something else to keep in mind."
"What about this Natan fellow? He's out there, loose?" Carlisle asked. "Any chance he's going to show up and want revenge?"
Jasper looked at Peter and Bella. "Either of you want to field this question?" he said, folding his arms across his chest and sitting back on the couch.
"Um..." Bella began.
"No," Peter said firmly. "I'm sticking with my assessment of him from what I've known of him in the past. I don't believe he was affiliated with Maria. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, that's all."
"And he helped me," Bella added, "as much as he could without endangering himself—which, from what I understand about us..." her gaze slid around the room, taking everybody in briefly, "…is really unusual in the vampire world, outside of mates...and family."
"Yes," Peter nodded, "he did help Bella. He's just curious."
"You know what they say about curiosity," Rose grumbled.
"Well, Natan certainly found that out when he came around to check out what Maria was up to. I doubt it's broken him of the habit, though," Peter replied.
"As long as he doesn't show up on our doorstep looking for revenge, I don't care how curious he is," Rose sniveled.
"No, I don't see that happening," Peter said, looking at Alice, who just shrugged.
"I've never met him, so I don't see him, either." She smiled a little bit. "I'd probably have some warning, though, if he ever actively decided to look for us."
"We do need to be aware that there could be others that might come looking for us. For me, anyway. Once word gets out that I—we—took down Maria..." Jasper trailed off.
"Ah, yes, another ripple we have to take into consideration—people wanting to prove themselves against us. Against you, Jasper. Alice will be watching for that, as well."
"Just one more thing to thank Jasper for," Rose sniped.
"Rosie, baby—" Emmett began.
"Enough, Rose!" Carlisle cut Emmett off. "We discussed this earlier," he said pointedly, looking at her until she dropped her eyes.
Bella wondered what, exactly, had been discussed. It made her feel better to know that perhaps Rose had been taken down a peg or two by their 'coven leader', especially if it meant she'd have to keep her snide comments about Jasper to herself.
"So, now that we all know what happened," Carlisle began, "we can move on to the problem at hand, which would be Jasper's little exposure issue."
"Yeah, about that—" Jasper began.
"Don't interrupt me, son," Carlisle said sharply, surprising Bella.
"Yes, sir," Jasper whispered.
"As I was saying, we have an exposure problem. While I understand there were extenuating circumstances, and nobody here is holding it against you, Jasper," Carlisle turned to glare for a moment at Rose, who glared back briefly before dropping her eyes again, "we are all going to have to be on the same page while trying to handle it. Now, Emmett has been doing his best to monitor the internet and take care of things as they pop up, but I'm afraid you and your little feeding frenzy have become just a little too popular for even Emmett to work his magic."
"It'll just blow over, Carlisle, if we give it some time. They'll lose interest. Humans always do..." Jasper began, but Carlisle was shaking his head.
"Maybe under normal circumstances it would, but not this time. That video was sent to multiple outlets, Jasper. We don't know who or why—an enemy of Heriberto's, perhaps? Heriberto, himself, as a last act of revenge? His dying words to you seem to indicate he had something up his sleeve. We just don't know right now. And while it may not have been aimed at us personally—after all, nobody had any way of knowing you were going to be there that night or what would happen if you were—the fact remains that it's out there. And after putting on that little show, you proceeded to blow up the compound, which really attracted the authorities' attention on both sides of the border. I fully agree with the decision to destroy the compound, but the act has had some consequences we didn't anticipate."
Carlisle stopped to take an unneeded breath and to look at Alice, who nodded back at him. "Now, the FBI has become involved. A pair of agents is heading to Laredo right now. Alice can't tell what will happen next for sure, since there are too many variables, but she does see that if they decide the 'persons of interest'—you three—are from the U.S., those ripples your little show caused are going to move even wider, starting with a probable appearance of your photos on America's Most Wanted."
From the shocked looks on the rest of the Cullens' faces, this was news to them, too. "Woohoo, Jasper!" Emmett whooped. "You finally made the big time!"
"Us, too?" Peter asked, shocked.
"You, at least," Alice confirmed with a nod. "I don't see them having a clear picture of Charlotte's face. She's considered an accomplice right now. You, however, Peter, are listed as a partner."
"What about me?" Bella asked, looking a little shell shocked.
"You and Maria are merely listed as persons of interest," Alice said, almost apologetically. "They think you, at least, were a...um, a prostitute that Jasper picked up...since, you know, they only have video of you at the first hotel on that first night."
"Told you you looked good in that costume, babe!" Jasper said, poking her in the ribs with his elbow. Bella glared at him and scooted down the couch away from him.
"Partner? Why does Jasper get top billing and I only get partner?" Peter asked, sounding a little offended.
"You think that's bad? I don't get Jack Schitt!" Emmett whined. "I had to stay home and answer the phones. Again. I never get to do anything fun because Carlisle thinks I'll fuck it up. I can't see as how I could do any worse than getting my face plastered on national television while I indulge in a little sumpin'-sumpin'."
"Well," Rose said with a growl, "Jasper is obviously the serial killer here. You, Peter, were merely the schmuck that didn't stop him."
"Can he be a serial killer if all the killings happened in the same place at the same time? Wouldn't that make him a mass murderer?"
"I don't think four people count as a mass murder, Peter," Jasper said, looking pained.
"Yeah, but if you figure all those people in the basement into the equation, plus the guards in the house—"
"You know what? Shut up! I think it's pretty well been established a long time ago just what I am," Jasper said, looking even more pained. Bella quickly scooted back to his side and took one of his hands in hers, stroking his face reassuringly with her other hand.
"Nobody blames you," she said softly.
"I blame him!" Rose snarled.
"You always blame him!" Alice snapped back.
"Well, this time isn't any different, is it? We're in a mess, and it starts—as always—with Jasper eating somebody. At least when he was with Alice, we had a little more opportunity to stop him." Rose turned to glare at Bella.
"Shut up!" Carlisle yelled. Silence descended on the group. "Now, what Jasper did is history. It's passed. We're moving on."
"Damn good thing, since I wouldn't change anything," Jasper whispered. "They took Bella. You all see what you would do if somebody stole your mate!"
Carlisle's eyes softened and he crossed the room, putting his hand on Jasper's shoulder before crouching down in front of him. "I'm not questioning you at all, Jasper, and I'm not chastising you. You got Bella back, and in the end that is all that really matters to me. You're right, to a certain extent—all of this will eventually pass. But," he looked around at everyone, daring them to interrupt him, "until then, we will do as much damage control as we can. Because while I may be a little concerned with the repercussions in the human world, I am much more concerned with the reactions from the vampire world—above and beyond the possibility of people coming and looking for Jasper personally, as we discussed earlier."
"What?" several people asked at once, looking puzzled.
Carlisle looked at Peter. "Peter, do you have any insight you'd care to share with us in this area?"
All eyes turned to look at Peter, who was clearly uncomfortable with the attention.
"I don't understand..." Bella whispered. Jasper squeezed her hand and put his finger to his mouth, shushing her.
"Yes, well, I haven't actually seen anybody since we got back, you know, but...well, I don't know that folks'll be all wound up about it like you're worried. I mean, most people know what you're about, here with your family. But most folks know about Jasper, too. I don't think anybody'd be too surprised to see him chowing down like that, assuming they even see him on the TV. Most of us don't watch TV, you know, so it might not even be a problem..."
"My main concern, I guess, is that if people see him feeding like that—in public, as it were—they'll get the idea that it's suddenly all right to do that."
"And this is your problem how?" Peter asked, sounding amused now. "I thought you didn't have any leanings towards a leadership role in our world, Carlisle..."
"I don't," Carlisle said, sounding flustered. "I just...others' actions will have an effect on the safety of my family, and that does concern me."
"Don't sweat it, Doc. I really don't think they will. Word had already started spreading about Maria's coven's demise at the hands of humans, and I plan on spreading it even further, along with my and Jasper's encounters with those damn RPG thingamabobs. I think you'll find, if you'd just start talking to folks a little more, that most vamps don't really want humans to know they're out there. Anyway, that's sort of a 'cross that bridge' kinda thing at this point, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is. I just like to plan ahead on these things, especially when it involves my family. But you're right—the immediate problem is figuring out our next move. There's a good chance that these humans will eventually be able to identify you, Jasper, and if they do that, they'll trace you to me. I think, in all honesty, we're going to have to plan on disappearing for a while."
Rose groaned and threw herself back against the couch cushions. Everyone else ignored her and focused their attention on Carlisle.
"Wrangell?" Jasper asked.
Bella looked between Jasper and Carlisle, clearly puzzled, as did Peter and Charlotte. The rest of the Cullens were nodding. "Yes. I'm thinking it's time to withdraw for a while."
Jasper nodded and sat up a little straighter. This was something he could handle: strategic planning. "All right. Well, Edward and Bella are already dead, so that's taken care of. I suppose Alice and I are out of the picture, too, since it was me on the television—and last anybody knew, Alice was with me. That just leaves you, Esme, Emmett, and Rose. Plane crash, maybe?"
Carlisle nodded. "Yes, that would work. Let's give it a while and see what happens first. I hate to be hasty. I don't mind the thought of a few decades of peace and quiet—communing with nature, as it were—but I think certain members of the family would be less than happy to accept that decision unless it becomes absolutely necessary."
"Carlisle Cullen, drug lord. It has a nice ring to it. Maybe you should let them trace you down, then go out in a blaze of glory or something. It could be fun!" Emmett said thoughtfully.
"I can assure you, Emmett, that that sort of 'fun' is not something I am interested in pursuing. And if it comes to the point of them tracking me down before I can 'die', I will be disavowing all knowledge of Jasper's activities," Carlisle said stiffly. "No offense, Jasper."
"None taken," Jasper said, almost cheerfully. "I took off after high school and you haven't seen or heard from me since. You all knew I was a bad seed to start with, anyway." This was said with a sneer in Rose's direction. "So some of you won't even have to act."
"I guess it's a really good thing the Volturi are gone," Esme said thoughtfully, standing up and crossing over to where a family portrait hung on the wall, "or we would have a lot more to be worried about right now than just humans on a manhunt." She took the picture down, revealing a locked safe. Pulling a key out of her pocket, she opened the safe and pulled out several packets. Looking through them, she selected one and put the rest back in the safe, shutting it and locking it before returning the picture to its place on the wall.
Everyone gathered around her, with the exception of Peter and Charlotte. Bella saw the words Wrangell-St. Elias written on the packet. Esme opened it and started handing out sheets to everyone, and soon all the Cullens had something except for Bella.
"Sorry, sweetie," Esme said. "These were all made up long before you joined us."
"All right..." Bella said, truly puzzled.
"They're moving plans," Jasper said softly. "We've got them set up for several different scenarios. This is the Wrangell National Park and Wilderness one."
"The 'we're seriously going to disappear for a few decades because some serious shit has happened' one," Emmett added helpfully.
"The 'we're going to be forced to live in a mine and only come out at night for the next 30 years because somebody fucked up beyond all imagining' one," Rose said, wadding up her sheet and throwing it on the floor. Esme growled at her, and Rose leaned over to pick the paper up, shoving the wad in her pocket.
"Emmett will be going into town to arrange for moving vans to take everything to storage. One trunk per person for right now, please, people. I know it's a lot to ask, but try to deal with it," Carlisle said, staring pointedly at Alice and Rose. "Peter, if you don't mind, could you go along and help Emmett? Charlotte—"
"Charlotte stays with me," Peter growled, drawing her close to him.
"Yes, of course. Of course she does. If you could both go with Emmett and assist him in town, that would be great. Jasper, obviously you aren't going anywhere in public, so get with Esme and help her. You've never been to the cabin at Wrangell, but she'll tell you what we need, and you can place the orders online for pick-up in Anchorage. Emmett and I can pick them up later."
Jasper nodded and followed Esme out of the room, heading for the stairway to the second floor. Emmett gestured for Peter and Charlotte to follow him to the door that led to the garage. Carlisle turned to look at Alice and Rose. "All right, ladies, now we pack. Boxes are in the basement." Alice and Rose turned and headed for the door to the basement, leaving Bella and Carlisle alone in the living room.
Bella looked around, feeling more than a little lost. "You can go help them, Bella, if you'd like. Alice can show you what we do," Carlisle said gently.
"Yeah...okay..." she said, crossing the room slowly and looking longingly at the steps up which Jasper had disappeared a moment ago.
"We'll do my room and Carlisle's and Esme's things," Alice told Bella, handing her a stack of collapsed boxes. "Then we'll move to the kitchen and dining room. Remember, pack only the things we're keeping. We'll put all the boxes in the garage for when Emmett gets back, and he'll take them to storage, then we'll go back through the house, and everything that is left will get donated. Rose will do her and Emmett's stuff, then take care of the vehicles. Carlisle does the study himself. We'll do the living room and game room if Esme doesn't get to them first."
"What about my and Jasper's things?" Bella asked, staring down at the empty boxes she was holding.
Alice paused, looking at her with what looked like pity. "Oh, Bella, honey...yours and Edward's things got put into storage when you didn't come back from Europe. We didn't want to lose anything at the time, in case we had to make a hasty move, you know? That was before we knew you were still alive. And Jasper's things were put in storage when we moved here to Seward, when we all came back and you and he went on your vacation. We just never brought any of them back to the house here. He can retrieve what he wants later, and he'll be happy to take you with him so you can get some of your things, too, but there isn't time right now."
"So, I don't have anything for the new house?" This made her feel more lost than she was already feeling, and she didn't like it.
"It's not like you need anything, do you?" Rose asked. "I mean, you've been living wild for years now—surely you can get by for a few more weeks without...whatever it is you feel is so necessary. In fact, you'll probably love living in a mine shaft."
"Don't be like that, Rose," Alice said reproachfully. "And you know it hasn't come to that, yet. We'll be at the cabin."
"Oh, like that's so much better. You've never seen the 'cabin', Alice—not in person. It was a shack in the 40s, and I'm sure it's not much better now!"
"Well, you and Emmett will be renting a house in Glennallen, at least through the summer, so it's not like you're going to be forced to be at the cabin with us. It won't be so bad, Bella, really. You'll see..." she said, turning back to Bella and taking her hand. "I think you're going to like it there."
"What, don't you see it, Alice? You can't actually tell us that it's going to be all sunshine and rainbows and grizzly bears dancing up to the front door, begging for us to eat them?" Rose sneered, dropping her boxes and pointing a finger at Bella. "You know, if you had done a better job of supervising Jasper, we wouldn't be in this predicament right now! Being his mate comes with certain responsibilities, and you have done a piss poor job of meeting those responsibilities so far!"
Several hisses and a growl could be heard from upstairs.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Bella demanded.
"Jasper needs a handler, Bella," Rose said. "And it's never been clearer than right now, after what he pulled in Nuevo Laredo. And you just don't seem to be up to the job. It's not like that's the first incident since you two have been together, or have you already forgotten that stunt at the Empire State Building? If anything, in fact, you seem to bring out the worst in him. At least when he was with Alice, we had some warning most of the time and could take steps to prevent situations like this from happening!"
Bella dropped her boxes and took a step towards Rose. "Keep your nose out of my and Jasper's relationship, Rosalie Hale," she growled. "It's none of your business. And my Jasper doesn't need to be handled!"
Alice dropped her boxes and stepped between them. "Don't fight!" she pleaded. "We need to finish the packing! We don't have time for this!"
They both ignored her.
"That's where you're wrong, Bella. It is my business. It's all of our business when it affects the whole family. If you're going to be part of this family, you're going to have to learn we all have responsibilities to each other and to the family. Part of that is making sure that we don't do anything to attract unwanted attention from anybody—even the humans! Especially the humans! Jasper has a short fuse, we all know that, and he's your problem now! If you don't like that or don't want to accept that, maybe you should just leave and take him with you!"
The growling from upstairs increased, accompanied by the sound of running feet, but it was already too late. Bella launched herself at Rosalie, managing to get a good hold on her, and her teeth sank into Rosalie's shoulder before Jasper could arrive and begin to attempt to pull her off. Rose was shrieking and yanking Bella's hair, attempting to dislodge her—at the same time trying not to inflict too much damage herself on the younger vampire. Jasper had been right when he'd told Peter that Rose's bark was worse than her bite. But this time, she'd bitten more than she could chew in trying to pick a fight with Bella. Rose was used to verbal sparring, screaming, and yelling; Bella was not.
Jasper sighed and tried to whisper reassurances in Bella's ear while simultaneously trying to pry her mouth open. She wasn't open to that suggestion, and she growled louder and bit down harder when he grabbed at her jaw. She managed to land a couple of kicks in his direction before he let go and settled for just trying to pull her off entirely, which only made the bite hurt worse, based on Rose's screams.
"Get her off! GET HER OFF!" Rose shrieked, writhing around and only making it harder for Jasper to get a handle on Bella. Esme and Alice danced around the edge of the trio, wanting to help but not wanting to make things worse by aggravating the younger vampire. Carlisle appeared at the bottom of the stairs, quickly assessed the situation, and took charge.
"ENOUGH!"
Everybody froze except for Bella, who continued with her biting. She wasn't deepening it and she wasn't tearing—both points that should have made Rosalie feel a little bit better, if she'd been of a mind to notice it, but they didn't. Carlisle stepped closer to the two girls, and Rose whimpered when Bella's growl deepened.
Carlisle put his hand on Bella's shoulder. "Bella," he said firmly, his voice carrying the deepness of a vampire coven leader issuing a command to a coven member. "That is enough. Let go of your sister. Right now!"
The others in the room tensed even more. This could be a problem if Bella didn't—at least in some part of her mind—acknowledge Carlisle as her leader, all feelings she might have of him as a father figure aside.
Jasper wasn't the only one to sense the immense relief of the group when Bella's growling stopped and she slowly released her bite, backing away from Rosalie. Carlisle pulled her to him and engulfed her in a tight hug, and after a moment, she relaxed into it.
"Good girl," he whispered, stroking her hair. "Good girl. Jasper?" he said, looking at the younger man over the top of Bella's head. "Why don't you take her for a hunt? I think we all need a break from the tension around here. But when you get back, you and I need to talk."