Twilight-Forever
Chapter Seven
Tolerance
By Cindra
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters this is just because someone gave me a challenge and mostly for fun.
"No fair, Blondie, that was my first rebuild!" Jake growled at Rose as she directed Emmett to back Bella's favorite truck into the garage.
"You did the rebuild on this relic? You've got a lot to learn, junior. This is my selfless gift to my baby sister." Rose ignored his snarls. "I'm going to make this old relic purr."
"I'm making baby sis a greenhouse with a Zen garden. All I'm waiting on are the designs that Esme is working up for me." Emmett loved to make him squirm, he knew that Jake had yet to come up with anything, and that it was beyond bugging him.
"That's small?" Jake eyed him in disbelief.
"Yeah, for us it is."
"You gave us a challenge, so let us answer it our way." Rose looked back at the house. "She come out yet?"
"No. Edward's waiting her out by dealing with Nessie's food protest and Charlie. Well, that and tackling my challenge." Jake shrugged. "The guy's on automatic, just like Bells was…"
"What's it today?" Emmett arched a brow. "Yesterday was crocheting and knitting. He wasn't satisfied with anything he made. Esme rescued his rejects to give to Bella anyway."
"Sue was beyond impressed, but nope one flaw and its outta here. Seriously, he drops one stitch, doesn't even see it until his project is a masterpiece, and its junk. An afghan, hats, scarves, slippers…all in one day." Jake snorted in disgust, rolling his eyes.
"He strives on achieving perfection it's his one annoying flaw. Bella's approval means everything to him." Rose and Em systematically set to work at lightning speed until all that was left was the chassis.
"Whoa…you're good." Jake was beyond impressed by their mad skills.
"I'm just getting started. Make yourself useful or go."
"Are you gonna send off for the parts to rebuild the engine…it's not like you can get them retail."
"Please." Rose rolled her eyes insulted. "My rebuild. My specs. It's going to make you weep when I'm finished. If Bella misses her old jalopy then I'm going to grant her wish, even Edward will approve of the final result." She pointed to the design on her whiteboard. "It'll be a fitting Cullen ride."
"Bella driving around in a hotrod classic. Nice." Jake was nearly drooling at her setup. "Count me in."
"Fine. You can help, but this is my project. You have to figure out another selfless gift for Bella. I'll even make this part of your grade."
"I got mine covered." Jake lied. He had no idea what to make her. Nessie was getting a charm bracelet with a homemade charm, but he'd already done that for Bells. He'd given her a dream catcher during her dark times, so that was out too. Well, he could always snag one of Edward's reject projects. I mean, it's what Embry, Seth, Quil, and Leah were all planning on doing. Not that it was going to work, Esme was keeping them safely hidden away somewhere in the castle.
"Yeah, sure ya do, kid. Don't worry you've got time." Emmett smirked.
Jake stalked back to the house.
"He's got nothin."
"How can he when Edward is fixated on the goal, not to mention all of us as well. Now let's get the engine out, so I can see if I can salvage anything off it."
They set back to work, anything to keep their minds off the nearly three day stalemate occurring inside.
The black Hummer pulled onto the hidden drive. Jasper narrowed his eyes, so much unease when there should be relief and joy, and the feeling of challenge and frustration was thick as well. What had happened to his emotional Zen? It was all but gone now and they'd only been gone a little under three days.
"Jasper, what is it, son? You seem tense." Carlisle was surprised by his body language. Usually turning into their drive set him completely at ease because of the positive emotions he felt there.
"I don't know. It's as if all or the better part of the mood has changed." Jazz answered quietly as they pulled up to the house.
No one rushed out to greet them.
"See. Odd."
"We haven't had much success with our phones do to the weather and solar flares. We didn't give them a time of arrival, so perhaps they're out hunting." Carlisle turned in his seat to smile at Renee and Phil. "Welcome home."
Benjamin and Tia pulled up behind them in their Landrover.
The front doors opened and Esme, Ness, Alice, and Edward all stepped outside to greet them. Jake was still brooding and remained standing in the doorway.
Rose and Emmett stood outside the garage with welcoming smiles on their faces.
The missing piece to the picture was Bella.
"Jazz! You're back!" Alice flew into his open arms.
"What's going on?" Jasper frowned over her head at Edward. "Where's Bella?"
"She's fine. Just completely absorbed in something for the moment." He answered him cryptically then focused on Renee, Phil, Benjamin, Tia, and his father. "Before you become upset, Bella is fine. A great deal happened in a short span of time and she needed time to herself for a while."
"Momma put Daddy in a time-out, it's been days, so he's grouchy." Nessie chimed her take on the situation, as she jumped into Phil's arms.
"She's brooding. My daughter is a champion brooder." Renee surmised, completely relaxed because she could feel her daughter nearby and the rollercoaster of emotions emanating from her. "She'll cool off. It must have been one hell of a fight for her to freeze you out like this."
"I'd say that's an understatement, try flames with words and visuals." Phil's eyes were dazed, as she greeted him in her special way. "Slow down, Babydoll. I wanna get to know you too, but we've got forever to get caught up." He kissed her nose.
"Sorry, I'm nervous…" Nessie smiled up at him and he was hers. "It's how I show how I'm feeling."
"A special gift for a special angel." Phil shot Edward a sympathetic grin. "Been there, son. It's hell being shut out, but she'll thaw and be herself again."
"I've got time." Edward muttered under his breath. He hated being the center of attention. "Between watching over Charlie, developing a lesson plan for the pack, my daughter, and Jacob's challenge. I've got more than enough to wait out her emotional meltdown."
"Edward, your keeping secret all of your academic achievements caused most of the problem." Esme gently reminded him.
"She kept secrets from me as well…" Edward grumbled.
"Doc Edward trumps her nightmare visions and you know it." Jake jogged down the front steps. "Welcome back Carlisle, Jazz, Ben, Tia. Welcome home, Renee, Phil." He grinned at the stunned couple. "Yep, it's me. All grown up and everything."
"Jacob? You're…so…so…big." Renee finally found her voice.
"Yeah, it's the wolf gene." He grinned even wider when he watched Edward grit his teeth, as if hearing something he didn't like.
"You were his competition and lost? I mean, look at you and then him." Renee eyed them both with a critical eye. "I suppose truelove does conquer all…"
Edward clamped his jaw shut saying nothing.
The others wisely kept their faces stoic.
Nessie was not amused. "Grandpa Phil, let Grandma Renee hold me. I need to show her some things."
"Sure, baby doll." Phil complied with her request, he was only too happy to temporarily shut Renee up. He set Ness in her arms and stepped back.
"Grandma Renee, you really need to think before you say anything. Momma and Daddy are Romeo and Juliet. My Jacob is Paris. Daddy is really stressed right now, so be nice to him." Ness lectured her grandma before reaching up to place both her hands on Renee's face. "I'll show you how wrong you are."
"Goodness me." Renee gasped as images played in her head. She resisted the urge to flinch back, but then Ness had her face firmly between her tiny hands. Ness was giving her all sides of the story before progressing to the happily ever after forever part.
"Sorry about that, son. She's sharp minded as all get out, not scatterbrained at all. But, she's still Renee and she'll speak her mind." Phil shrugged.
"I've had experience with her daughter, more so recently than ever in our relationship." Edward thawed his expression to that of resigned patience. "Having already heard what she was thinking, I was waiting for that. You see, reading minds does have its drawbacks."
"Son, are you in for a lot of headaches. Her mind never stops. She's always thinking." Phil shot him a sympathetic look.
"I can choose not to listen, so that does help." Edward changed the subject off himself to Phil's favorite pastime. "Emmett has been itching for a game of Baseball and now that Ben and Tia are home perhaps we can have one tonight."
"You're on, little brother. It'll take your mind off what you can't have." Emmett called back. "Anything is better than taking up knitting, crocheting, and today it's needlepoint. Pathetic if ya ask me." He taunted.
Carlisle looked stunned, as did a the new arrivals, all but Renee who was under Ness's spell, and Jazz who was being distracted by Alice's kiss.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you all about it. Emmett is being a brat. It's for our missing daughter. Jake gave us all a challenge with several conditions. The two of them had one hell of a quarrel complete with words and visuals." Esme whispered with lightning speed into Carlisle's ear.
"This challenge involves knitting…" Ben choked back barely controlling his laughter.
"I'm bonding with my daughter." Edward bit out through clenched teeth, narrowing his eyes, ready to beat the tar out of someone.
"I see." Tia was also smothering her laughter. "Perhaps painting would have been a better choice. Knitting will get you tormented by the guys for eternity."
"Are you any good at it." Jazz ended the kiss so he could rib him a little, barely controlling his own laugher. "Or did you lose a bet with Jake?"
"I challenged him, well, all of you to create…" Jake turned his head towards the house. "Is the basement soundproof, even to our ears?"
"Depends on if she's playing music or not, if so then yes it's safe to talk." Edward squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth as he concentrated on his love and got nothing. Nearly three days of silence was killing him like slow torture."
"Wait a sec. You don't know? She's blocked you completely. She's that furious with you over keeping your academic portfolio a secret or is there more to this than that?" Carlisle narrowed his eyes at his son.
"Alice?" Jasper could feel her guilt as well as Edward's.
"C'mon, Jazz. I'll tell you everything, just not here." She took his hand and they both raced into the forest.
"We were both keeping secrets and all of them were key parts of our lives. Hers shocked me to me core. Alice as well and we handled it clumsily." Edward's voice was pained as were his eyes.
"I said something out of sheer frustration and it's costing me dearly more than any of you could ever know. I got all of my wishes, all of the questions answered, and all in the matter of an hour. End of discussion." He stalked back into the house.
"Jacob, what is going on?" Carlisle growled, the boy looked guilty as hell, and his wife was saying nothing.
"She showed him everything. Charlie was set up on the couch and he added to the conversation. I got pissed about his infantile crack and gave him the rest. He got visuals. Everyone else got words." Jake eyed him warily.
"Go on."
"Then after it was over I came up with Project Selfless Gift. It's all I've ever given her, something made by hand. Or hands, as Em and Rose are set on a rebuild and build project."
"And so the new hobby?" Ben arched a brow.
"He's taking on the homemade challenge, not that it does any good. He's too much of a perfectionist, one tiny flaw, and he tosses the masterpiece. Nothing but perfection will do for his Juliet. Esme has his rejects stashed away in a trunk. There isn't anything he can't master, except his obsession with perfection." Jake paced in front of them.
"The guys are all begging to take his rejects, because they have ta meet my challenge too. It'll keep Embry and Seth grounded, as Nahuel's sisters are their soul mates and all they have on their minds. If I ever get that bad shoot me." He headed back into the house.
"Don't worry, Grandpa. I'll catch you up after I finish with Grandma Renee." Nessie turned to smile at him.
"I'm going to look in on Charlie first, precious. Then just you and me time. Promise." Carlisle winked at her.
"We've got him settled in your office. He should still be resting. Edward has the TV that we put up there on timer. It was the only way to keep him in bed." Esme wrapped her arm around his waist as they walked towards the house. "Sue's already handling the legalities in Florida. Billy, Sam, Emily, Nahuel, and Leah are helping with that. No stress for our Chief Swan. Edward's orders. He's just like his father."
"Did he run any tests?"
"That's part of the problem. He didn't like any of the results and has Charlie on indefinite leave."
"This is partly my fault. I have been trying to get him in for a complete physical, but he hates hospitals."
"Now he doesn't have a choice, it was either stay here or be admitted to the hospital. He chose here."
"Let me see about Charlie first and then I will see if I can coax our daughter out of the basement." Carlisle kissed the top of Esme's head.
"I'm so happy that you're home." She snuggled against his side.
"So how do we play baseball?" Phil asked Ben curiously.
Ben laughed, giving Tia a long kiss. "See you in a bit, my love."
"Go on. Em's biting at the bit to show Phil the lay of the land. I'll watch over Renee and see if I can soothe Bella." She kissed him back, before giving him a playful shove. She was happy to be home.
"Follow me, Phil. Em and I will catch you up." The two men jogged over to where Em was waiting and then took off around the house.
"Bring her here, Tia. Nessie is showing her everything, so it could take hours." Rose called from the garage.
"New project?" Tia led Renee over to a seating area in the garage and sat her down in one of the overstuffed chairs. "Seems ancient for your tastes."
"That's because it is ancient frame wise. This is baby sister's old truck, her first car. She loved it, so I'm rebuilding it as a surprise for her birthday. It's my selfless gift, but I was going to cave eventually. She only asks once every few weeks for me to rescue it." Rose grinned.
"So what happened. Tell me everything." Tia, also mechanically inclined, set to helping her dismantle the relic. "Starting with Caius' lesson…"
Next
Chapter Eight- Eyes open
Cindra © 2010
