Chapter 3 – Isle Esme

Disclaimer I do not own Twilight. All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. All songs used in this story belong to the writers, studios, and artists. No copyright infringement intended.

ESPOV

After Bella and Edward had taken my grandbabies upstairs, I heard Emmett making jokes about "The Mile High Club". I knew Emmett was only doing it out of fun and after the long decades of teasing Edward and the rest of his siblings, it was natural for him to include Bella in his harmless jokes, but I wanted to save her from this unnecessary embarrassment. Normally, I didn't get involved with their jokes and pranks, but the plane was too small for this; there would be no place for her to hide except the bedroom and that would have made the jokes worse.

"Emmett, you will not say anything to Bella and Edward about the Mile High Club."

"But Ma, they know I'm only joking," he protested.

"Yes, we all know that, but Bella is still getting used to not having much privacy and it embarrasses her."

"Okay, but you're taking all the fun out of this trip." He grudgingly gave me his promise, but I knew he would find a way to tease Edward at a later time.

"Come baby let's make our own mile high experience," Rosalie said and led him to the bathroom in front of the plane.

After that, Alice and Jasper disappeared into the galley on the pretense of preparing lunch for Bella. Carlisle and I looked at each other and smiled. Kids would be kids, and no matter how old they were in vampire years, they would always be teenagers.

Now that, we were alone, I decided to talk to Carlisle about our adorable grandbabies. Although, they were super twins, each one had their own personality.

"Carlisle, are we ever going to get accustomed to the idea of being grandparents?"

He smiled fondly, "maybe in a few years, but the novelty will never wear off."

"I'm thinking about how different they already are. I love walking into a room and seeing their eyes light up when they look at me, and the little sounds of contentment they make after I feed them or even if I just caress their tiny limbs. And when they smile, they're even more adorable." All the love I had for my human baby was manifested into the love I have for them.

"Darling, I know what you mean. In my line of work, I come into contact with lots of babies, but being around our grandchildren is a whole new experience. Knowing that they are our family makes being near them and taking care of them more rewarding. I couldn't love them anymore that I do; even if we were human, and Edward was our natural son. In fact, the depth of our emotions is much stronger than most humans, so this experience has been raised to new heights for us."

Although vampires are supposed to be frozen in time and their emotions remain stagnant. Since Bella came into our lives, she not only changed Edward, but their love has changed us all irrevocably – making us more of a family now. I treasured the opportunity to be a mother again, and our kids have indulged me in this even though their do not need mothering, but since Bella's pregnancy, there has been a new level of family bond between us all, and the birth of the babies strengthened that connection.

I love my grandbabies; they are always smiling, and are even tempered. They feed, play, and sleep easily, and don't cry when they wake up. They love everyone and everything. They had no problem adjusting to all of us, and when Charlie and Renee came, they took to them right away. Some babies would not like to be held by so many different people.

"Carlisle, is it normal for babies to be so well behaved? I haven't heard them cry, and they seem to be so even tempered."

He laughed. "Tell me when do they have a chance to cry? From the time, they're awake someone is changing and feeding them, playing with them or walking with them in their arms cooing and singing."

He was right. We would hold them all day and night if Bella would let us get away with it. They are all happy, and they love to be touched and cuddled, but there are little traits that are more prominent in one than the others.

"Little Eddie, reminds me of Emmett." I told Carlisle, wanting to explore my theory about their personalities.

"Is it because he's the biggest?" He teased.

I had to admit that he was right, "yes that, but also, he is the one who is in constant motion. He is always flailing his legs and arms as if he wants to start moving around on his own already, and he's also the one who babbles a lot more than the others. He seems to be storing up information in his head for when he could talk. He's going to be a Magpie and a ball of energy."

"I don't know if that is a good combination for a toddler, but you're right. He seems that way to me too."

"Then there is Anthony. He takes everything in, and I can almost picture his little forehead wrinkling as he analyzes everything he sees and hears. Elizabeth seems more excited about everything around her; while the other babies smile she seemed to giggle from the beginning. She always raises her hands first to be picked up. She's last to fall asleep and first to wake up in the morning as if she doesn't want to miss anything. While all of them are happy and affectionate, Antonia seems to exude more loving feelings. It's almost like Jasper's gift for manipulating emotions; when I'm holding her, I get a feeling of wellbeing. Do you think that's part of her gift?" I was looking forward to seeing more of their personality development, but I knew, it wouldn't all be fun and games.

"It may be. It could be another way for her to communicate; she's happy and content, so she makes you feel that way too." He looked at me with a big, goofy grin, which reminded me of one of the kids.

"When the time comes, we have to set limits and be strict with them, so they don't misuse their gifts."

"Carlisle, how fast do you think they're growing?"

He didn't even have to think about it, he must have come to a conclusion already. "I think for each week since their birth, they have developed at least three times as fast as a human baby."

I breathe a sigh of relief. That wasn't too bad. It meant that they wouldn't be growing as fast as I feared.

"If we continued giving them blood, they would have developed at a much faster rate. By this time, they would be almost like a one year old."

"Then I'm glad Bella and Edward decided to wait until they were older to give them more blood."

"Me too; as much as I would have loved to study their rate of growth with the blood, I understand that they would want to enjoy the experience. Bella may not want to put her body through the stress and trauma of being pregnant again."

I knew her body healed itself after the birth, but we never spoke about the possibility of her getting pregnant again. "Is it even possible for her to have another child?"

"Yes, her body is functioning like a normal human. We decided to give her the shots again so she wouldn't have an unexpected pregnancy. They know that if they wanted to try again, she has to stop the shots and let nature take its course."

"Good, else we'd have to buy a bigger island." I teased. I knew our island could hold over a thousand people comfortably, and even if Bella and Edward had four kids every year, it would take decades to overpopulate our island.

It was a pleasure talking about the babies, and I could continue this conversation for the rest of the flight, but I decided to change the topic.

"Who have you invited to the island and how soon are we going to be receiving visitors?"

"First to arrive will be our family from Alaska. Tanya, Kate, Carmen and Irena are all eager to see the babies. Even Eleazar has been calling for updates on their growth. I'm not sure about Laurent, but he may be curious to see the babies also."

We were all looking forward to seeing the Danali family too. They were the ones who went to the jungle to speak with Nahuel and Huilen when Carlisle had to cancel his trip.

"Of course Nahuel and Huilen will be here soon after Tanya's family if not before. I've already sent a message through my friends on the outskirts of the jungle so as soon as they get it, they'll be here. For Nahuel, Bella is unique because she survived the birth. His mother and the mothers of his sisters, all died during the delivery, so the fact that she is still alive is a novelty to him. He already knew a vampire and human could reproduce, but the fact that Bella is alive makes him wonder if his mother could have survived too."

"I hope this does not make him hate his father more." I was worried about him.

"He'll be sad that he could have had an opportunity to grow up with his mother and didn't, but I don't think it will develop into him hating his father more then he already does."

I was relieved to hear that.

"Then there's Amun from Egypt and he may bring Tia, Benjamin, and Kebi, Alistair, Charles and Makenna from Europe, our friends from Ireland Siobhan, Liam, and Maggie, and the Romanians Vladimir and Stefan. These are the vampires I reached out to get information on human-vampire pregnancy and the best way to go about taking care of Bella when she got pregnant. Bella's conception and safe delivery of four half vampire babies are phenomenal, and our friends consider themselves fortunate to have lived this long to see such a miracle."

"I'm worried about too many people knowing, and the Volturi would hear about the babies. We don't want them involved in our lives."

"Don't worry. These are my close friends. They knew about the possibility of Bella and Edward having a baby for a while now, then they knew about her pregnancy and the birth of the babies. They would give up their lives before they betray us."

I pulled up a map of the island and tried to find the best spots to build guest houses. There were lots of coves around the island with private beaches so it would be a good idea to build around those. There was enough land to put enough space between each house, giving everyone some privacy in case we have more than one coven on the island at a time. We have to start with at least two, so if Charlie and Renee came together, they could both have their own house. I added a few clusters to different parts of the island, trying to find the most secluded coves.

With all of us working together, we should have at least one house built in a week. After all, we were only building two bedroom houses. The nomads wouldn't care about a house, but it would be a lovely gesture to offer them one anyway. We would have to build a bigger house for the Danalis or have them use two houses. Alice had a brilliant idea to build tree houses, so I have to look into that. It would be something different, and when my grandbabies get bigger, they could play in the tree houses. The nomads may even like a tree house better than a regular house or cottage.

I added a few buildings in the taller stronger trees in the forest, and I liked the way they looked. We could try different styles to make each one different. I think the older kids would get a lot of fun out of them until the babies are old enough to take over. Maybe we'll build more tree houses than actual bungalows. Eventually everyone could have our own tree house – someplace private to escape if we ever wanted to get away for a while.

I was surprised when I heard the babies stirring upstairs. I thought they would have slept longer, but maybe the excitement from everyone was being transmitted to them even in sleep. Bella and Edward brought them down and eventually Alice and Jasper came with her meal and Rosalie and Emmett joined us. I showed them what I was working on and they were all excited about the tree houses and decided to use the rest of the flight looking for ideas for their houses. I smiled as I thought of the crazy structures they might come up with.

BPOV

"Esme, the house looks spectacular!" I exclaimed when the house came into view. All the lights were on inside, so it looked bright and inviting.

"I had most of the downstairs walls replaced by glass and used glass upstairs too. This way you can enjoy views of the ocean from almost every room."

The house was beautiful, and it looked magical. All the lights reflecting off the glass and the house was silhouetted against the Royal blue of the early evening sky while tall palm trees swayed in the slight breeze, blowing off the ocean.

"It reminds me of the structure Alice set up for the wedding," I said. At night, I'm sure it will have the same effect of being inside and looking up at the moon and stars and feeling like you are out there that you are part of nature; the new house was more in tuned with its natural surroundings.

The closer we got the bigger and brighter the house looked and the more excited I became. I couldn't wait to see it up close and walk through the rooms so before Carlisle finished securing the boat to the landing, I jumped off the boat with Beth in my arms, but Edward stopped me in my tracks.

"Sweetheart, let me take the baby."

"Are you afraid I'll drop her?" I asked indignantly. I was not a clumsy human anymore.

"The thought never crossed my mind. Without the baby, you would be able to move around more freely. Plus, Rose and Alice could give them a bath, so after you complete your tour, you could feed them, and we could put them to bed."

"Where are they going to sleep?"

"Our rooms are on the ground floor. The spare room was expanded to make one spacious room for the babies. Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper and I are going to take their stuff off the boat and get their room ready."

"That's perfect. They must be tired. They only took a cat nap on the plane."

"How could they sleep when they parents were being naughty in the bed right next to them," he whispered, his lips brushing my ear and sending shivers through me. I shook my head and got my mind back on the matter at hand.

I remembered how quickly Edward and the guys had put the nursery together the first time, so I was confident that before I was ready, the cribs and other furniture would be assembled, and arranged as if they had been there for years.

"I'll have Rose put some lavender in their bath to relax them." Edward said, and that convinced me. I handed over Beth and continued my mad dash to the house with Esme at my side.

I stopped on the deck, looking around at the changes up close. I was not prepared for the magnitude of the work which was done, but one thing in particular shocked me.

"Why do we have a pool when the beach is right here?" I asked in confusion.

"The pool water is pumped from the ocean. I thought it would be a good way to introduce the babies to the beach. The pool has the same water, there is no sand to get into their little crevices, and the pool will be more controlled. I know there are enough of us to keep them safe in the ocean, but until they start walking and talking, we could use the pool." Esme explained. "Plus, I have a soft spot for pools since your pregnancy."

One day, Esme surprised me by taking me to a pregnancy swim class at the YMCA. We had a wonderful time in the pool and afterward at lunch, we had a heartfelt mother daughter talk. We became closer after that day. I don't know how I would have made it through my pregnancy without her kindness. In fact, the whole family made my pregnancy as stress free as possible. A picture of my siblings drawing on my large stomach in the pool at my baby shower, made me chuckle. I can only imagine what mischief we'll get into in this pool.

"That's a terrific idea. I just assumed we'd wait a few months before taking them to the beach, but now, we could have them in the water as soon as tomorrow." I said as I continued looking around. "Tell me about all the other changes."

"I wanted to expand the deck and incorporate that with the interior space. When the glass sliding door in the living room is opened, the two spaces would be combined into one large family area. I also had the garden area expanded to make a bigger lawn so the kids would have somewhere to play – that's not covered by sand." She thought about everything. It was not just about renovating the house; it was making it a good home for us with the kids.

"I like the changes you made. The combination indoor-outdoor living space is fantastic." Besides the expansion of the deck, the living room was expanded to include a smaller room which was separated by a half wall and half sliding glass door. This smaller room would replace the game room we had at the house in New Hampshire. The huge TV from the house would be put on the wall in the living room for our family gatherings.

"As Edward mentioned, the spare bedroom was expanded and will be used for the nursery. Later, the room could be closed off to make two rooms, so the boys and girls will have a separate space," Esme explained as she showed me the room. It was painted white with built-in white cabinets and cupboards. The cupboards had cherry yellow doors, which added a splash of color to the room. Like the other rooms, one of the walls was glass, with vertical blinds and light gossamer yellow and white curtains. I knew Alice would waste no time painting clouds on the ceiling and drawing a beach scene or fishes on the walls.

Edward and my room looked the same as I remembered it. I thought of all the fun we had in that room, and all the other rooms on the ground floor – which was all that the house consisted of during our honeymoon. At least I'll be able to walk through the rooms upstairs without blushing – I could blame my red cheeks on the heat.

"The other bedrooms are upstairs," Esme said as she led me to the wooden, open staircase leading to the top floor. Part of the roof was glass, creating a skylight. The wood used to support the roof and the beams were bare and stained the same dark brown used through the house. One side of the house had two bedrooms with connecting baths, and the other side had another bedroom with full bath and an office or study room. The study/office had a white built in desk against the outer wall, which ran the length of the room with black chairs waiting for us to sit and start our homework. The wall opposite the desk was half glass and half bricks, and the area rug was made from a blend of browns and creams which matched the bricks perfectly.

Esme told me about the shutters which would protect the glass in case of hurricanes. She didn't say it, but I'm sure the shutters would act as a defensive mechanism, like the house in Forks. Hopefully we wouldn't have to use it for severe weather or as protection against anyone.

Besides the large family areas, there were several smaller places for more intimate gatherings. Like the little deck upstairs, just off the study which overlooked the pool. In the kitchen, under the stairs, was a small wooden table with four white chairs that could be used at snack times or for a quick meal, instead of using the dining room or as a place to sit if you wanted to keep the person who was cooking company. There was a small round table with chairs between the couches on the deck and the pool. Although the table was made of wood, it had a glass top, so it would be great for cold drinks. The other cool thing about that table was that it was under the overhang of the extended roof used for the outdoor sitting area so it would offer a welcome respite from the sun. Then there were the hammocks and deck chairs and other little personal touches, unique to Esme's designing skills. These special touches made it more than a show place; they made the house into a comfortable home. I loved the changes and all the glass will fill the rooms with natural light. Esme's idea of incorporating the indoor and outdoor, worked beautifully and the glass, the wooden floors and beams, the perfectly selected furniture, the bright white paints and all the little accents, worked in harmony to create a perfect setting for our family and unless we went to the mainland, there was no one for miles and miles and miles. We could be ourselves here. I was excited to see how it looked during the day and at sunset. My heart felt lighter. I almost skipped, to the stairs, to make my decent to my precious little angels. Another home. Another new beginning.

A/N:

Pictures of house taken from (www.) boimcapcus.c o m /reconstruction-of-houses-in-brazil

I can never get these links to work. If you want to see where my inspiration for the house came from, check the Happily Ever After Google site link on my profile.