A/N: Anybody miss me? Anybody? Yoo hoo...you still there? Raise your hand or something so I know you're there. Ah-hah! I knew I had to have somebody that was still on board with me! Hello, faithful reader! I've brought you yet another installment of your favorite story! Enjoy!

EPOV

I shook my head in disbelief. What Bella had just said made absolutely no sense to me. I glanced towards Emmett and Alice and they shared the same exact look: confusion and hurt.

"What are you trying to say, Bella?" Because if this is all a big joke, I don't know what I'll do, I thought sadly in my head. Bella set her jaw and clenched her teeth.

"What I'm saying is that I spoke to your mother last night. And no, I'm not trying to be funny." Her face reddened and I squeezed her shoulder lovingly.

"It's just…a lot to take in at the moment." I said quietly. She closed her eyes and rubbed her face.

"We could argue that it was late at night, I was tired, and that the person who showed up at the door just happened to look like your mom wasn't your mom. But being the type of person I am, I have to question that. What if there was the slight chance that it was your mother, and she came here for a reason." Bella whispered as her eyes opened slowly, a small frown forming on her forehead.

"She's got a point, bro." Emmett said, startling me. He gestured widely at the photo albums on the coffee table and then to all of us.

"What if Mom came here to check up on us? Like, we were supposed to come here and stay. How convenient that the hotel just so happened to bust a water main?" Emmett shrugged, taking a swig from his beer bottle.

"I never thought I'd be saying this but I'm with Emmett on this one. I used to be a skeptic before I called Bella years ago. But now I can't go throughout my entire day without thinking if something that happened was a coincidence or something I can't explain. We had to come here for a reason, Edward. We had to." Alice said, her voice growing more passionate as she went on.

"I'm not saying that I don't believe everything Bella's saying. I believe every word. It's just not processing correctly in my mind. She arrived less than an hour after we all got here. It was almost like she was…waiting for us." The room was silent as the weight of what was happening came crashing down upon us. Bella broke that silence by jumping up from my lap and fishing her vibrating cell phone from her pocket. Breathless, she answered.

"Hi Esme." She ran her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes.

"It was fine, no delays. The hotel? No, we're not at the hotel. Sorry about not getting a hold of you earlier. The water main burst, so we're staying at the house. Hmm?" Bella bit her lip as she listened to Esme. I stood up and went over to her.

"I'll tell them that you said that. It's beautiful. Yea? Of course I have time to talk to her. I completely forgot to call before." My siblings all dispersed as Bella waited on the phone. Alice squeezed my hand as she walked past, Emmett bumped into me roughly. Bella absently played with the zipper on my pocket, her eyes were glazed over and slightly unfocused. But they suddenly filled with tears as a new voice came on the phone.

"Hey baby! I'm so sorry I didn't call last night, but I was so tired, Daddy had to carry me up to bed. Did you have a good night with Nana and Pops? You helped Nana with the babies? Yes, babies do that. A lot." She grinned suddenly and tugged me closer. She rested her forehead on my chest and I put my hand on her back, rubbing slowly.

"I'll have to get you something special while we're here for being so helpful with Nana and Pops. Yea, Daddy's right here. You want to say hi?" Bella nodded against my chest and handed me the phone.

"Hi Daddy!" Masie's shrill voice squeaked over the phone. An involuntary smile crept onto my face.

"How's my girl? Are you having fun?"

"Nana and I made pancakes this morning, and later, Pops is going to take me to the beach! Pops said the water is cold, so I can't go swimming, but Nana said I could still wear my swimsuit. And after, we're getting ice cream!"

"It sounds like you're having a good time, Masie."

"I am. When are you and Momma coming home? I miss you."

"Not for a few days, love. Momma and I miss you too. Do you want to talk to Momma some more?"

"Yea! I have something to tell her! It's really important!" I kissed the top of Bella's head and sighed.

"Well, I'll talk to you tonight before you go to bed. I love you, baby."

"I love you too, Daddy. Now let me talk to Momma!" I laughed, imagining Masie's face as she clutched the phone to her ear. I handed the phone back and ushered Bella back over to the sofa. She crawled into my lap, her warm body easing my nerves.

"What's up, Z?" I traced designs on Bella's leg as I tried to listen in on the conversation.

"Who did you talk to? Where Nana and Pops there? Slow down, baby, you're talking fast." Bella sat up straighter, her eyes scanning the room around her, but they never landed on me.

"No Masie, I'm not upset or mad at you. Listen to me, okay? I'm going to call Ben and Angie to come talk to you, and you have to promise me to tell them exactly what you told me. They might go to the beach with you and Pops if you ask them nicely. Speaking of Pops, can you put him or Nana on the phone, please? I love you, Masie. You're a brave girl. Bye baby." Bella grabbed my hand and laced her fingers through mine. I reached up to stroke her hair and to turn her towards me so I could see her face. She shook her head slightly, knowing my intentions.

"Carlisle, hi. I'm sorry about all this, but I need Ben and Angela to make a surprise visit over to your house. No, nothing's wrong. Masie…she, uh, had an experience and since I'm not there, Ben and Angela are the next best thing. She'll be fine, there's no need to worry about her. We're having a great time out here. I don't know what we're doing today, but I can see the allure of a city in the Midwest. I'll call later tonight to see how everything went. Bye, Carlisle." She hung up and before I could say anything, was dialing what I assumed was Angela's cell phone.

"Hey Ang. What are you and Ben up to today? How much evidence have James and Victoria collected? Are you guys at least getting some time to sleep? Yea, I'll talk to them about it when I call. Ang, I have a huge favor to ask you. Could you and Ben run over to Carlisle and Esme's place and talk with Masie? She knows you're coming and I've given her directions to tell you everything she told me. It's nothing too shocking, but I'd like you both to document it for my records. You're a lifesaver, Angela, I mean it. Call me when you leave." With a long sigh that I recognized, Bella slid the phone back in her pocket and leaned heavily against me.

"Bella?" I whispered in her ear, my arms wrapping around her waist. She didn't respond, so I nudged her.

"Bella. What's going on? Don't leave me in the dark on this one, not when it has to deal with Masie. Damn it, Bella." I felt her place several kisses up and down my neck, her face nuzzling into the crook of my shoulder.

"Masie seems to think —insists, actually— that she spoke with your mom and dad last night." I froze, inhaling sharply. Bella pulled back to look at me and instantly her hands were on my face, stroking soothingly.

"It's nothing bad, Edward! She said that they were really nice and that they played with her for awhile before Esme came in to put her to bed." I couldn't process any of what she was saying because I continued to picture Jacob Black, his dark eyes and chilling voice, in my daughter's room. I had the sudden urge to go home, to take Masie in my arms and make sure she never saw the darkness that lurked in the world. I wished everything had stopped with me and now I felt sick that my own daughter, someone who I'd easily give my own life up for, had to deal with this for what looked like the rest of her life. I looked aimlessly at Bella, noticed that she was speaking. I focused intently on her mouth, trying to figure out what she was saying.

"…unbelievable. I knew something was different about her and hopefully we can document this and use it later in the future. Edward? Edward, are you okay?" My entire body felt cold and Bella's voice echoed in my head. She looked away from me anxiously and I tried to concentrate on the words she was forming but all I heard was a low buzzing noise. Jasper and Emmett were the first to enter the room and Jasper knelt in front of me, next to Bella. His hands gripped my shoulders and shook me roughly, his brow frowning in concern. Suddenly I was shoved forward, my head between my knees. I heard myself take loud, shaky breaths. Everyone's voices came to me all at once and I concentrated solely on not throwing up on my shoes.

"You turned green for a second, bro. I had to do it," Emmett said, his hand tightening slightly on my neck. He helped me sit up straight and I rubbed my hand over the back of my mouth.

"Make him drink this." Alice said softly as she handed a glass of water to Bella. Bella was sitting on the coffee table in front of me, her brown eyes full of unease and love.

"I think he went into shock. Are you feeling better?" Jasper asked, nudging my knee. I blinked rapidly and tried to say that I was scared out of my fucking mind, but my mouth wasn't working. Bella noticed my faltering and turned to Emmett, Jasper, and Alice.

"I'm going to take him upstairs to lie down. Come on, Edward." She stroked the side of my face gently as I stood and hooked her arm around my waist to keep me upright. I leaned heavily against her knowing she would support me. We took the stairs slowly and I was exhausted by the time we reached my room. I all but collapsed onto my bed, Bella not far behind me. She made sure the door was shut before climbing up next to me. I pulled her close, tucking myself around her. It seemed as though I couldn't get close enough to her, into her, but she kept holding me tight. Her voice was a mere whisper against my ear when I had finally settled on the bed.

"You want to tell me what happened down there?" I cleared my throat and inhaled her scent, which calmed my nerves.

"Panic attack." My voice was hoarse as I scanned through medical records in my head. Jasper wasn't far off in his diagnosis, granted he was a therapist and not a practicing doctor.

"Why did you have one of those? You never have a panic attack." She backed away now, resting her head on her hand.

"I pictured Masie having tea with Jacob Black and me not being there to protect her and I panicked because I don't want her to go through what I went through-" Bella kissed me soundly, her hands threading themselves in my hair. My legs tangled with hers as I rolled her onto her back, pressing her down into the comforter. Her hands removed themselves from my hair and tenderly pulled back from me. We were both breathing heavily and I was starting to feel marginally better.

"I'm starting to sound like a broken record, Edward. What happened to you is never going to happen to Masie. I swear on my life that I will do whatever it takes to make you understand that and to make sure it doesn't happen to our daughter." I nodded and kissed her forehead.

"It's always on the back of my mind, Bella. I don't know if that feeling will ever go away. You sure she was fine when you spoke to her on the phone?"

"You heard her yourself! I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be able to distinguish a living person from a spirit if you asked her. Victoria is amazed by her talent and wants our permission to, when she's older, use her on easy cases. I've used a few on some of my earlier cases and their talents still amaze me."

"Bella," My stomach seized momentarily but she laughed and pushed me on my back. Her fingers played with my hair and jaw line.

"You're going to go gray early if you continue to worry this much. We'll be home in two days and I'll pick up some work with James and Victoria, since now we've made a connection. I knew it was a good idea to put that extra travel pack in my bag before we left," Bella thought out loud, her eyes darting to her open suitcase.

"What did you bring with you?" She blushed and ducked underneath me.

"I may or may not have brought some voice recorders, a video camera, and my electromagnetic field reader?"

"How am I not surprised?"

Bella and Jasper were hunkered in a corner of the kitchen, heads close. Bella was jotting notes quickly on a pad of paper she found and Jasper was scratching some on his own piece of paper. Alice and Emmett were mixing drinks behind me and Rosalie, who emerged from the upstairs a few minutes before Bella and I trudged back downstairs, was perched on the kitchen stool shoveling in a bowl of cereal Alice plopped down in front of her. I reached over her bowl and took a swig of her orange juice, taking note of the metallic-y aftertaste.

"Prenatal vitamins? Bella used to do the same thing because the pills were too big for her to swallow." Rosalie's chewing slowed and she slipped her spoon back into her bowl, pushing it back from her.

"You have to promise not to tell Emmett. I'm taking them as a precaution and I have a doctor's appointment in a few days." Rosalie whispered, stirring her now soggy cereal around.

"Boy Scouts' honor." I held up two fingers and grinned, mussing up her hair lovingly.

"I put up with you because I have to, you realize this." Rosalie groaned. I hugged her awkwardly from the side and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too, Rosie." I chuckled when she punched me lightly in the stomach. Emmett's huge arm came around me and instantly put me in a headlock. My hands came up to pull him off, but it was no use. I went limp, like I used to as a kid. And sometimes, I remembered fondly, I'd hold my breath and pass out, to freak out both Emmett and Esme.

"I saw you putting the moves on my lady, bro. Not cool." He squeezed once and let me go.

"Only because you have no moves, you chest-thumping Neanderthal." Alice piped up from beside me, eyeing Rosalie up suspiciously. Rosalie pointed to her empty juice glass and me and gave Alice a cheesy thumbs-up.

"Don't worry, babe. I enjoy my monkey man." Rosalie purred as she ran her finger across Emmett's chest.

"Maybe a little too much," Alice muttered under her breath. I snorted and let out a laugh that I tried to cover up with a cough, but I felt Rosalie shooting daggers from her eyes. Alice hooked her arm through mine and tugged.

"Enjoy your day. Let's see what our significant others are up to, shall we?" I bent down to Alice's petite height to whisper in her ear.

"You know?" Alice smiled and tapped her forehead.

"You forget about my talents, dear brother." I stopped dead in my tracks. I had completely forgotten about Alice's 'quirk'. Alice jerked forward, surprised by my sudden stillness.

"What? Why'd you stop walking?"

"How old were you when you found out you could…see the future?" Alice laughed, which made me smile.

"Seriously? It's gotten better over time, but I'd say right about Masie's age, I guess." I took that into consideration as I let her continue walking.

"Did you ever tell Esme or Carlisle about it?" Alice paused momentarily and squinted her eyes, like she was trying to see something in the distance and focus in on it.

"I think Carlisle knew something was up when I knew he had to go into the hospital before he'd get the call, or that he'd have to come home early because you and Emmett had tried killing yourselves out in the backyard and needed to sew you back together. Esme was the one that really talked to me about it and helped me understand it when it got to be too much. Why are you suddenly interested in this? You never cared when we were younger."

"Masie can see spirits. She saw EJ and Jacob Black for years, and last night she saw Mom and Dad." Alice gasped and I nodded my head.

"Why didn't you tell me before? I never knew this!"

"I thought it was just her imagination acting up, but she drew a picture a few months ago that was spot on with what I had seen when…" I trailed off, hoping my sister was intuitive enough to understand where I was going with this.

"So when Bella called on James and Victoria for assistance, she had a plan in mind to ask Victoria to talk with Masie. She specializes in 'paranormal' children and she thinks that Masie is a medium. I only asked because I was curious if she's anything like you. She did predict when the twins were coming, at dinner." I remembered that night with startling clarity, noting now how calm and collect Masie had been when she told me that 'they were coming'. Alice made an interested humming noise as we turned back to the opposite of the kitchen, where Jasper and Bella were still whispering to each other.

"If you two run off together, I will find you and murder you with my bare hands. Just so you know." Alice sat gracefully down on the seat next to Jasper, who jerked back from Bella. I laughed quietly and kissed Bella's cheek.

"You both look too serious. We're on vacation, relax." I whispered in her ear, feeling her shiver under my hands that rested on her lap.

"Sorry about that. Jasper and I were just finishing up and about to go over by you. How are you feeling?" She pressed the back of her hand against my forehead, something I had seen her do numerous times with Masie when she wasn't feeling well.

"Perfectly fine. Would it be rude to ask what you two were talking about?" Bella glanced at Jasper, who nodded minutely.

"Not at all. Jasper and I were just discussing how one would go about conducting a séance."

"A séance? Why?" Alice and I both asked at the same time.

"We want to know why your parents have come back. There has to be something they need to tell us. And I have some of my equipment, Jasper's willing to test out his ability. We've got ample time and the perfect opportunity for it." Bella's eyes were light up with excitement, something I hadn't seen in awhile. She was in investigator mode and all but nothing would stop her from getting her way. Relenting under her obvious enthusiasm, I sighed.

"When were you thinking about doing this?"

"Tonight."

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