The plane flew up and down with the turbulence and a pregnant woman in front of her groaned and retched into a paper bag. Esme looked away. She had never been able to stomach illness. And the sight of the woman pained her, as pregnant women always did. This was not the blissful return she had pictured. But then again, she thought as she leaned back in her seat and sighed, when did anything ever go the way she pictured that it would?

*

Esme stood outside Forks High School, slightly nervously. She was wearing jeans and a stunningly ugly red anorak, with the hood up and covering her pallor and hair. She was early, she knew she was, but she still stood and waited nervously, hoping that she wasn't wrong.

At exactly one minute past four, Renesmee came out of school, with a slight frown on her face. Since she had stopped developing and growing so quickly, she had been able to attend high school like normal children, although she wasn't, of course. Esme straightened up, her eyes bright. Nessie almost walked straight past Esme, due to her disguise. Then she saw her. Her eyes narrowed, then widened with shock and happiness. Dropping her bag, she ran straight into Esme's outstretched arms. Jacob, who came to pick Nessie up a few minutes later, saw the two women locked in each other's grip which no vampiral, human or wolf force could separate. Esme opened her eyes for a second and then outstretched one arm to Jacob too, for she suddenly realised she had missed him too. After a few minutes the three of the separated, with tears in Nessie's and Esme's eyes. Jacob wandered off towards his truck, leaving the two females to talk.

"How are you? How's everyone else? Are you all ok? How've you been without me?" Esme fired questions.

"I'm fine; everyone else is fine too, just missing you. Wait 'til they all see you again, they'll be so excited..." Nessie broke off when Esme sighed and disengaged herself. "What?"

"I'm not going to see the rest, Ness love. I can't face it." Nessie's face fell.

"But you have to! They will be so annoyed if they realise you were here and didn't come to see them" Nessie's face had never been so earnest.

Then Esme asked the most important question, to her. "How's Carlisle?"

"He's ok... I guess. He misses you too, a lot. More than any of the rest of us, I should say. More than us put together! He stays in his study most of the time now, apart from work." Esme nodded.

"Do you think, maybe, if I give you message, you could get them all to come and see me somewhere? One at a time? And not Carlisle, obviously, I know he'll want to come, but please ask him to respect my wishes. " Nessie nodded. "Ok."