Disclaimer: The author does not own any publicly recognizable characters herein. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Wow, it's been a while! So, where were we? Oh yeah, Angie…
Chapter 9
"That's a mighty uncomfortable place to take a nap, isn't it?" commented Jasper, craning his neck to get a good view of Angie where she was sprawled on the ground.
"Shut up, Jas. She's knocked out cold. Did she hit her head?" wondered Edward, helping Eleazar straighten her sprawled limbs, while Ben stood behind them looking oddly hopeful.
"Nah, Edward. I think that happened years ago. Probably when she was a baby. Ow, mom! That hurt!" Rose whined, rubbing the spot where her mother had pinched her. She glared at Emmett when he snickered.
"Stop making wisecracks and do something useful then, Rose," Carmen said sternly.
"Fine. Hey Dad, where are those smelly boots of yours? We should wave those under Aunt Angie's nose, right? I swear, that stink could wake up the dead."
"Or we could just hit her on the head with them," muttered Edward in Bella's ear, making her giggle.
"How about a bucket of cold water?" countered Bella, thinking back to all the times in the last few days when she had wished she could dunk the older woman in a well.
"How about we just leave her there and wait for her to wake up?" suggested James. When everyone's heads swiveled towards him in shock, he gave a nervous laugh. "Ok, that was a little creepy, the whole everyone staring thing… I mean, she fainted, so she'll just wake up in a bit, right?"
"That's your mother, James," said Victoria sternly, though the smile on her lips showed her amusement with the entire situation. "Isn't your dad a doctor? Maybe he can check her out? And in the meantime, is there somewhere I can put Annie down to rest for a bit?"
"Of course, dear," said Carmen, immediately coming over to lead her inside, sidestepping her sister-in-law's prone body. As she led Victoria indoors, she tossed out staccato commands over her shoulder. "Ben, you check her out. The rest of you, scram!"
Nobody moved.
With a slight nod and a wink to Rose, Jasper quietly pulled out his phone and surreptitiously snapped a picture of Angela's face. Bella rolled her eyes and took Edward's outstretched hand, moving to give Ben more room to examine his unconscious wife.
It didn't escape anyone's notice that Ben didn't seem overly enthusiastic about the whole affair. He huffed a bit, then quickly and efficiently assessed her. "Nothing to worry about, she's definitely not broken anything. A little water might be a good idea."
"Right, if that's all, I'll be off. See you at your place, Ed," said Jasper.
Rose and Emmett exchanged a meaningful look, before she skipped inside to get the water and he sauntered off after Jasper, whistling.
Edward lifted his head from where he had been lightly kissing the soft skin of Bella's neck. "Oh, everyone's gone? What're we doing here, then, chérie?" and he swung her up in his arms, ignoring her protests.
James and Ben looked at their departing figures, and then at each other. Eleazar shrugged and sat down on the porch step with his brother.
"Go check on your daughter, James," he suggested. "Ben and I will wait for Angie to wake up."
…_ _ _ …_ _ _...
Dinner that night was an interesting affair.
When Angela had finally come to, she had played the invalid with a vengeance. She staggered to her feet and then reached out to her husband with a weak fluttering of her hands.
"No, I don't think that's a good idea, with my heart and all, you know," mumbled Ben, taking a step back.
Annoyance flashed in Angie's eyes for a split second, before she sank gracefully against Eleazar's side. Ben threw his brother a pleading glance, to which Eleazar merely rolled his eyes.
Angela's die-away airs abruptly disappeared the moment they entered the living area. James was standing next to Victoria, with his arm around her shoulders. The expression on his face was hopeful and excited, as though he couldn't believe his luck. Victoria was laughing quietly at something Carmen had said, while Annie lay sleeping like a little angel, tucked up in a fuzzy blanket on the couch.
"Argh!" screeched Angela, outraged. "You… you floozy! You corrupted my baby, and you're still here!"
"Mom, calm down," said James in a hushed voice, stepping towards her quickly, with a worried glance at where Annie twitched slightly in her sleep. "Annie will wake up. And Vic isn't a … a floozy. Come on, calm down, sit down and I'll tell you everything."
Angela gasped. "James, I will not calm down. And I will certainly not sit down and talk, while that woman…"
"Angie," said Ben sharply, speaking up at last. "Let's go in and talk about this as a family. The three of us." He side eyed Victoria as he said this, but she seemed to be watching the scene with an expression of morbid fascination, rather than embarrassment or affront.
Eleazar immediately tightened his grasp on Angela's arm, and practically frog-marched her into the bedroom. Ben followed, but James looked back at Annie and then Victoria. He looked torn—the weak boy he was, warring with the man he wanted to appear before the mother of his child. Her clearly amused smile and encouraging head nod seemed to give him some reassurance, and he too entered the bedroom.
Carmen and Victoria could hear the low buzz of voices, and Angela's high pitched exclamation, "My own son! How could you?" before Eleazar quickly stepped out, shutting the door behind him.
An hour later, Rose and Emmett walked into the kitchen, to see Annie perched on Eleazar's knee, while Carmen sat next to them, helping her form dough figures. Victoria sat on the other side of the table, laughing and chatting with them as though she had known them all her life.
Annie was the first to notice the newcomers, and beamed up at them happily. "Animals," she declared, with a gap-toothed grin.
Emmett's eyes went comically wide, and Rose seemed to go a little pink, even as she needlessly smoothed down her hair.
"Ani… animals?" stuttered Emmett, looking ready to pass out.
Annie happily picked up a little lump of dough and waved it at him. "Dog." She picked another misshapen lump. "Cat."
"Oh, animals," said Rose, on a relieved exhale, stepping forward to examine Annie's handiwork closely. "Wow, Annie, there are lovely! Did you make them yourself?"
She caught Emmett's eye, and for a moment, their faces held identical sheepish expressions. Carmen didn't miss the exchange, but filed it away for later discussion with her daughter.
"Are the others coming over for dinner?" she asked instead.
"Nope, it's just us tonight," replied Emmett, sitting next to Victoria and poking dubiously at the dough. "Jasper had some work calls to make really early in the morning, so he's turning in early, and Edward said he wanted to surprise Bella, or something. With those two, I find it's better not to try to get any details."
"Yeah," said Rose with a theatrical shudder. "Speaking of details, though… I want some, about what went down here while we were away. Is Aunt Angie ok? When did she wake up? What did she say? Where are they all? Did she kill James?" She seemed almost hopeful about that last one.
"Uh, no, no one's killed anyone. They've been in there about an hour already, though the shouting and screaming seems to have died down in the last half hour," said Carmen.
"Okay, and…?" Rose pressed, sure there had to be more, knowing Angie.
"And she has quite a colorful vocabulary," Victoria sniggered.
Rose nodded sagely. "Yes, doesn't she? You dodged a bullet, you know. Imagine if you'd have agreed to more with James, she'd be your prospective mom-in-law."
Victoria smiled, but shook her head. "Jimmy isn't so bad. Seeing his parents… I'm sorry Eleazar, it's your brother, but… it just helps me understand James a lot better. I still don't know how this will all work out, or if they will ever want anything to do with Annie, but I've never regretted having James as part of the equation."
Carmen stopped whatever Rose was about to say with a sharp look, and turned to Victoria with a warm smile. "He's different around the two of you, and you should know that." She shared a look with Eleazar, before continuing. "And you're right, there's no telling if they will ever come around. But Eli and I would love to be there for the two of you. Think of us as an extra pair of grandparents for Annie, if you like."
Victoria's face was flushed with emotion, but before she could speak, the door to the bedroom opened and James and Ben walked out. Ben looked unperturbed, and sat down next to his brother. James, however, looked like he had been put through the wringer. His normally greased-down hair was sticking up oddly, as though he had tried to run his fingers through it, or clutched at it in frustration, but thanks to the copious amounts of product in it, had only succeeded in making himself look deranged.
Emmett bit his quivering lip to prevent the laughter bubbling in his chest from escaping. Rose, after one quick, incredulous look, stared at the table with intense concentration. She could not control the almost compulsive twitching of her lips, though.
"Ah, mom says she isn't well, and isn't hungry," James said, on a sigh. He seemed a little dazed, so Victoria beckoned and gestured to the empty chair on her other side. He gave her a grateful smile and sunk into the chair, lost in thought, till Annie offered him some dough.
Dinner was much of the same, with Ben absolutely silent, except when he spoke to his brother, and James looking shattered, except when he made an effort to talk to Annie, or when he looked at Victoria, with the same dog-like devotion he had shown since she had turned up. Victoria seemed a little pensive, Carmen and Eleazar behaved as though having strained dinners was par for the course, and Emmett and Rose tried not to catch each other's eye, for fear of bursting out into ill-timed, nervous laughter.
…_ _ _ …_ _ _...
Edward put the Chicken Francese into the oven, set the timer, and walked out the back of the house to find Bella.
He paused mid-stride when he spotted her, in the middle of the grass that carpeted the sloping land. She lay flat on her back, her arms folded back supporting her head. The sun was dipping lower in the west, bathing her with a warm glow that made him blink, for how could anything on earth be this beautiful? She was a vision, and for a moment, he wished ardently that he was an artist, and could capture this perfect moment for posterity.
He smiled when she opened her eyes and turned her head slightly, squinting up toward him.
"Edward! Come watch the hot air balloons with me," she called, her voice completely relaxed and happy, just the way he always wanted it to be.
He walked over at an unhurried pace, enjoying the peace of the quiet evening after their eventful day. She scooted over a few measly inches on the old woven mat she had discovered in his barn, barely giving him any space to sit.
"Ma Chérie," he crooned, bending over her and nuzzling along her neck. "You have five seconds to give me more space on this mat."
"Yeah? Or else what?" her challenge came out rather breathy.
"Or else, you must forfeit your space entirely," he whispered, seductively nipping at her earlobe. She shivered, and her eyes automatically shut in pleasure. That is why she didn't see his wicked grin, or realize what he was about to do, when he suddenly gripped her by the shoulder and waist. The next moment, he smoothly flipped her over, onto his chest, and slid into her space. She gasped, and then laughed at the self-satisfaction on his face.
She let her legs drop on either side of his hips and pressed herself up suggestively against his responsive body. The minute his eyes shut in pleasure, she rolled off him, pushing at his side till they were both settled comfortably on the mat, with his arm under her head. A little breathless from their struggle, which had involved some kissing, some groping, and a lot of laughter, they now lay watching the slow progress of some ten or fifteen colorful hot air balloons as they sailed across the face of the setting sun.
She sighed. "Less than a week, now."
He rubbed a hand soothingly down her arm. "And then we have the rest of our lives, mignonne. Would you… can I…" She turned a little to the side, facing him, and peered up at him questioningly.
He lightly ran a single finger up her arm, over her shoulder and neck, to softly trace her features in the slowly fading light.
"I want to take you away for a few days," he said quietly. "Just the two of us. No more family drama." They both smirked at that. "I want to celebrate this love we have found here, ma belle. I know the next few months will be hard, and I don't just want you to remember our time together… I want it etched into your mind and heart. I want to be as much a part of you, as your very heartbeat." He kissed her lips slowly, deeply, attentively, as though learning her for the first time. "Will you come with me, mon cœur?"
"Yes, Edward, of course I will. But you know, you already are part of me. That's why I am not looking forward to going back to Seattle at the end of the week. I will be leaving behind a vital part of my heart." She blushed at the intensity of feeling that coursed through her veins as she spoke, but her eyes never wavered from his, proclaiming the sincerity and truth behind her words.
Edward nodded, and pecked the tip of her nose. "We will visit the fair at Champagnac la Rivière tomorrow with the others, but from Tuesday to Friday, you are mine."
"And after Friday?" she goaded with a laugh.
"After Friday, I will grudgingly share you with the others. But you will always remain mine, Bella." His heated gaze caught hers for an intensely charged moment, before he leaned in and kissed her swiftly, but with an abundance of passion.
"Venir, ma chérie," he said, sitting up. "Dinner awaits."
She stood, and caught his hand before he could turn away towards the house. She wrapped her arms tight around him, burying her face in his chest.
"I love you more than my poor heart can contain, sometimes," she said, laughing up at him. He gathered her close and kissed her again. They stood there for another minute, watching the pink streaked sky darken gradually, warmed despite the cooling temperatures, by the fire of their love.
…_ _ _ …_ _ _...
A/N: A bit cheesy there at the end? I'll get the hang of this by the next chapter, I'm sure. We're back to regular writing/posting, so see you next week.
Also, as many of you might already know, Meli (Melistories) is battling cancer. A group of writers have come together to write short pieces for her, which are up at 'Words of love for Meli' here on ff. Do visit the page if you want to read some fun stories, and leave a little love for Meli and for the other writers.
