"Jazz, what's going on?" Asked Alice.
"You tell me, you're the future seer."
"All I saw was you curled up in Esme's arms, crying. Forgive me if I didn't hit the proverbial panic button."
Sighing, Jasper looked down at his mother for guidance. Esme nodded encouragingly.
"Alright Alice, come sit down while we let you in on our little secret."
Smiling triumphantly, the pixie made her way to the couch.
"Everything that happened yesterday really got me thinking, and until that point I didn't realize how badly I wanted a mother. Esme agreed to that, but there's a bit more to it... You know I never got to be a kid, so I asked-"
"You asked her to treat you like a little kid." She finished.
"Yes. I assume you saw something of that nature."
"Jazz, you scared me half to death! None of those visions were solid but they were all of you with Esme and being really upset! I thought something terrible had happened!" She admonished. Jasper looked down, feeling guilty.
"Sorry." She kissed his forehead.
"I forgive you."
"So... you won't tell?" Jasper asked quietly, looking scared. Alice's eyes softened.
"Of course not. It's not my secret to tell." She said, kissing him chastely.
"Thank you." He whispered.
"Always." Came her sweet reply.
Suddenly Alice's eyes glazed over, and she stood up. "You two better control your thoughts- Edward's headed back to the house."
Jasper and Esme glanced at each other, and gave a small nod. There would be time for their play later. Esme turned her thoughts to Carlisle, and Jasper took Alice's hand.
"Bye, Momma." He whispered. Esme smiled.
"Bye sweetheart." She replied. Jasper smiled at her before taking off with Alice.
Just as Alice predicted, Edward and Bella arrived at the house. "Hey Mom." Said Edward casually. Now in hearing range of her thoughts, he noticed that they had a much more pleasant tone than earlier.
"Feeling better?" He asked, slightly more optimistic. She smiled and nodded, carefully guarding her thoughts.
"Much better. Thank you." She said, politely.
"Good." Commented Bella, "I hate seeing you upset. I know Edward does too."
"That's very kind of you to say. Where's Nessie?" She asked.
"Jake swung by the cottage and took her out for the afternoon."
"How fun. Did he say what they were doing?"
"I think he was taking the new recruits cliff diving and wanted to teach her." Bella shrugged.
"That's nice." Esme smiled.
"Are you okay, Mom? You seem distracted." Edward commented.
"I'm fine, dear. Thank you for asking." Edward quirked an eyebrow in curiosity before dropping the subject.
Not too long after that, Carlisle arrived home from work. She got up and kissed him when he came through the door.
"Hello darling, how was your day?" She asked.
"Good. Saved three lives today, so that's always good. I think the real question is how was your day?"
"My day? It was... full of surprises." She said quietly. He smiled.
"That's great." He replied. Esme smiled, masking her quiet unease. Not five minutes later, Alice and Jasper returned, presumably from hunting considering the honey-gold color of their eyes. She and Jasper locked gazes, and she knew they shared similar thoughts. The need to get out.
"I think I'm going to go for a walk." She announced.
"Can I come with you?" Jasper asked.
"Sure honey, let's go. We'll be back." She called to her husband before she darted out of the house with her son at her side. When she was convinced they were far out of Edward's hearing range, she sat with him under a large willow tree with roots that by themselves could be benches.
"What do we do now?" He asked. "With everyone in the house we'll never have time to do this, and at some point our thoughts are going to slip up."
"We'll figure something out, don't you worry about it, honey." She said, tousling his blonde locks.
"I'm scared, Momma." He admitted. She let a sigh escape her.
"Me too. But we'll make this work. We're going to get through it together." She said, and kissed his forehead. He looked at her with a gaze that was so innocent and frightened that she didn't want to believe the look belonged to him. He looked like a terrified small child, and she immediately reached out to comfort him, scooping him into her lap and hushing him. A muffled sob worked it's way from her throat, and her grip on him tightened. It was in that moment that she swore to protect him from whatever fears he had about this.
After all, it was a mother's job to protect her children.