I ended up dividing the Epilogue further, so this chapter is all about the visit to Alaska, because it ended up so long. And I really wanted to end it at the moment when we get a sighting of a rare creature: a very happy Edward :)

Thanks to ColdOnePaul for the Draft idea, and also to Robin deLynn for her story, What Others Cannot Do, from which I got some of the telepathy-related ideas. It's a great read and a fascinating look into Edward's early years as a vampire and a telepath.

We sold the house in record time, and Carlisle donated all of the money to the Red Cross in Seattle… anonymously, of course. In less than four weeks, we were on the road, driving through British Columbia in a caravan. I was alone in my car, enjoying the silence that would soon be shattered when we arrived in Denali. And it was rather nice seeing the Rolls-Royce in action, right in front of me. Besides, I had a feeling that if I was in the same car as Emmett, he would be teasing me for hours on end about Tanya.

I was determined not to let her get to me this time. I would, at all costs, stay out of her head from the very beginning, and I would be unfailingly polite. I was perfectly capable of spending a relaxing week with my extended family without losing my mind.

Still, it was a relief to not hear her thoughts among the others when we pulled up to their house. It looked just about the same as it had back in 1919: a sprawling four-thousand-square foot rancher, nestled in the dip between Mt. Foraker and Mt. Hunter. It was high up enough that humans were scarce, and low enough that they enjoyed 360 degrees of breathtaking mountain landscape. I inhaled deeply as I exited my car, taking in the crisp, cold air and the unique scents of the Denali wilderness.

The front door opened, and Eleazar, Carmen, Kate and Irina materialized in front of us.

"Carlisle!" Eleazar cried, crushing my father in a light-speed embrace. "What a terrific surprise! What brings you to Alaska?"

There was a buzz of conversation and thoughts as everyone exchanged greetings and hugs. Irina was much friendlier to me this time, and I responded in kind.

"We're actually just passing through," Carlisle said when the chatter died down. "Though we'd like to stay for a few days, if that's all right."

"Of course!" Carmen said warmly. "We haven't seen another vampire since the wedding. This is delightful! Come inside and get warm!"

We all laughed at her human invitation, and went inside. "I suppose I've gotten in the habit of saying that," Carmen said, laughing at herself. "We do have human visitors from time to time- hikers, mostly. We've set aside two rooms just for those who are passing through, and need a break from the weather, or the slopes."

"That's kind of you," Carlisle said. "I'd like to see those rooms."

We went straight to the rooms in question. One was a combined bedroom and sitting room, and the adjacent room was equipped with a kitchenette, writing desk and a comfortable-looking couch, positioned next to a beautiful radio. Across from the couch on the far wall was a long shelf groaning under a load of books. Lining the walls were pinned-up maps, artwork and breathtaking photographs of the local landscape and wildlife- Kate's handiwork, no doubt.

Rosalie wrinkled their nose. "You let them cook in your house?" she asked distastefully.

"Yes," Kate answered. "Though it isn't often that we have anyone. I doubt we will while you're here, anyway. It's just cold enough that no one wants to hike anymore, but not snowy enough for skiers yet."

Esme tugged on Carlisle's sleeve. "Isn't this the best idea? We should do something like this at our next house."

"I don't know, sweetheart," Carlisle laughed. "Just imagine our house smelling like food."

"I cook sometimes," Esme protested.

"Ugh! Why?" Kate asked, matching Rosalie's repulsed expression.

"Oh, various things. For the children at the hospital, mainly, or for fundraisers. Sometimes the children have bake sales at their school."

Irina laughed- a beautiful sound, now that she was in a good mood. "You're so human sometimes, Esme."

"Hey, you're the vampires having humans over for dinner," Emmett pointed out. "They're just lucky they're not on the menu!"

Eleazar looked appalled. "We would never-"

"Joke," Emmett muttered.

"Oh, this was Tanya's idea," Kate said dismissively. "She said we need to be friendlier, whatever that means."

Carlisle sniffed the air curiously. "Where is Tanya, anyway?"

Irina and Kate glanced at each other, smothering their giggles. Kate was the first one to straighten her face. "She's, um, out."

Carlisle was sorry he had asked. I was thrilled. Maybe she would be out the rest of the week!

.

.

.

I wasn't so lucky. Eleazar took us for a brief tour of their section of the wilderness, and when we got back, Tanya was perched on the roof, replacing a broken section of metal sheeting. When we came into view, she jumped right off the roof, landing in perfect gymnastic form.

"Hello, everyone!" she called as she ran toward us. There was another flurry of conversation and hugs, ending with me… of course.

"I've missed you," she whispered in my ear, and I smiled around my clenched teeth, pulled away before she could kiss my ear, as well. I couldn't fully avoid her mind, I realized, or I wouldn't be able to dodge these surprise attacks.

"Hello, cousin," I said politely. She favored me with a delicate smirk and flicked her hair toward me as she spun to face Carlisle and Esme.

"So! Are you moving in with us?" she asked, pointing curiously to the caravan of vehicles parked out front.

Now there's an interesting idea."Not quite," Carlisle laughed. "This is the first stop in our world tour. We're going to do some traveling, and try to look up some old friends."

He went on to explain our plans, and I watched him with relief. Carlisle already looked so relaxed. I realized now how much tension had been building in his mind since the War had begun last fall. This was definitely the right thing to do.

"And we'll be avoiding war zones, of course," Carlisle was saying.

"Well, you might not want to stay here, then," Tanya sighed. "The Japanese Navy has had its eye on the Aleutian islands for a while now."

"This is the first I've heard of it," Carlisle said with a frown.

Tanya smirked at him, and I recoiled from her mind again as memories of last night's adventure flashed across it. "I have… friends in the military," she said coyly.

"Ours or theirs?"

She shrugged, and I saw another memory, this time of her swimming in the ocean. "Both."

Eleazar looked at his coven leader with pride in his eyes. "Tanya fancies herself an undercover operative, though I don't see what she plans to do with the information."

"Keep our coven safe, of course," she answered smugly. "Our President may be doing his best to ignore Japan's appetite for Pacific conquest, but that doesn't mean that we need to be sitting ducks when Alaska gets invaded. Bombs can fall on the immortal, as well as the mortal."

"They're planning to invade Alaska?" Carlisle asked doubtfully. "I wasn't aware that they were getting that aggressive."

"Well… I may be jumping the gun on that one. But remember, Alaska is just a territory. We're not nearly protected enough, and the islands would make a lovely port for the Japanese Navy."

Carlisle shook his head. "But there's been no formal enmity between us and Japan. They would never risk-"

Tanya snorted, cutting off his argument with a wave of her hand. "Please! Didn't you hear about the Tripartite Pact, or are you already that disconnected?"

"No, we read about it the other day," Carlisle admitted.

Britain was still standing strong, but the bad news now was that last week in Berlin, a three-way Pact had been signed by Japan, Germany and Italy, establishing a bond of friendship and mutual support. The Pact meant that each of these "Axis" powers recognized each other's supremacy in their respective areas of the world, and would support said supremacy when required. Japan had essentially been given the green light to take the Pacific under its protective wing… and its heel. The whole world was holding its breath to see whether the Soviet Union would join the pact next. If it did, the future was going to be very bleak.

Tanya nodded. "So, you can see why we need to take Japan more seriously. Especially those of us that are this close."

"Maybe after this is over, Washington will realize Alaska's importance as more than just a gold mine," Eleazar muttered. "We might actually achieve statehood someday."

"You mean you guys live here all the time?" Emmett asked. "You don't move around, like us?"

"We don't need to," Irina said. "We don't fraternize with humans nearly as much as you all do."

"And we like it that way," Kate said with a grin. "Besides, there are enough of us that we just sell the house to each other every forty years or so. Nobody knows that we're all living here, or that we're all the same age."

"That's clever," Rosalie admitted. I can't imagine hiding from the humans completely. How dull that would be!

"And here you are," Eleazar announced to Carlisle, "becoming nomads! You've always been migratory, Carlisle, but this is quite a change for you."

"I just think it's time to take a vacation," Carlisle said honestly. "It's been a while since I've travelled, and the others haven't really gotten to see the world yet. And as of last month, Emmett, Edward and myself are at risk of getting drafted, if we lived anywhere permanently."

I hadn't thought of that. It was quite ironic, considering my goals when I first turned seventeen. Now here I was, a war later, dodging the Draft with the rest of my immortal family. It would have been rather funny if we were obliged to disappear overnight for that reason. Very human.

Esme asked if she could see the rest of the house, trying not to think about how upset and distracted she had been the last time she was here. She and Rosalie were whisked away by the other women, and we men were left alone, with a paper on the desk fluttering down to the floor from the wind of their sudden exit.

"That only happens when we're around you, you know," Eleazar laughed. "I have this sudden urge to hand out cigars and pass the brandy."

Emmett grinned, meeting my eyes. This guy is still bizarre, Eddie.

"Edward," I sighed.

"Whatever."

"So, cousin," Carlisle began as he leaned against the wall like a human, "What have you been up to these five years?"

Eleazar shrugged. "The usual. Oh! I started a new company. Mail order carvings, usually Alaskan scenery. There's one."

He pointed to the back wall of the miniature living room. Hanging over the radio was a slice of tree trunk- some sort of spruce- that had been delicately carved into a mountain view of the Denali range in the background, forest in the middle layer, and a moose grazing in the foreground.

Carlisle crossed the room and ran his fingers gently over the wood. "Remarkable," he breathed. "Such delicacy must be difficult, even with tools."

Eleazar chuckled. "Says the vampire surgeon. It's yours, if you want it."

"Thank you. Maybe I'll get it on our way back, when we're about to settle again. We'd like to travel light."

"Doesn't driving a caravan of vehicles sort of defeat the purpose?"

Carlisle grinned sheepishly. "About that. We were wondering if we might leave them here for a while, if you have room? You could use them, of course."

"Why not? Our garage has room for three more. And was that '25 Phantom I saw?"

"Yes," I said reverently. "Emmett and I found it in a junk heap, if you can believe that. Rosalie has been restoring it- that's her hobby."

Eleazar raised his eyebrows in surprise. The last time we had seen our cousin, their visit had only been a flurry of wedding details and construction. "The lovely Rosalie, a mechanic? I never would have guessed. But what about you, young Edward? What have you been doing with yourself while you've been in Washington?"

"Going to high school," I said glumly.

"Ah. My condolences."

"Hey, high school isn't all boring," Emmett said. "Especially when you've got werewolves breathing down your neck!"

Eleazar's eyes widened. "Yes! Your father sent us a note about that, but all he said was that there were werewolves were on the western edge of the Peninsula, and that if we ever visited, we would need to come from the East. We've been in suspense for four years now, waiting to hear all about it!"

Carlisle told the story. Eleazar, in his turn, agreed with us that the Quileute werewolves were quite unlike the ones that Caius loved persecuting.

"Not that I've ever seen one," he admitted in disappointment. "I think he's hunted them to near extinction. Amazing, though. You all have had quite an adventure down in Washington State. Nothing interesting ever happens here."

I waited to see if Eleazar's mind would turn to Volterra with longing, but it didn't. In fact, he was thinking about how nice it was to live in peace and freedom. It seemed that Carlisle's theory was proving correct: if there had been a supernatural "renewal" of his loyalty fourteen years ago, it was fading fast.

"Of course, Edward's had more fun than any of us," Emmett announced. "Tell him about the blood challenges, bro."

"I would hardly call that fun," I shot back in annoyance. Did he really have to bring that up in front of our extended family?

"Okay, you've got me curious," Eleazar said. "What's a blood challenge?" He was trying to come up with a picture, but he was at a loss.

Carlisle glanced at me. I wasn't going to say anything, but now that he's interested, he might be able to help us. Do you mind?

I shook my head. As awkward as it was, I was open to ideas. I would try anything at this point, though I didn't see how Eleazar would be able to help. His own control wasn't as strong as the sisters', or Carlisle's. It really was impressive that he allowed humans to be in their house at all. Of course, Tanya was really the coven leader, and it had been her idea.

Carlisle took us back to '35, and the original purpose of the challenges. He gave a brief summary of our efforts up until now, including the embarrassing fact that Emmett had somehow managed to surpass me before long. He finished with the perplexing mystery of my continued failure… or difficulty, as he so kindly put it.

Eleazar he looked up at me when the tale was done. "I think I can see what the problem is, cousin. You're struggling because you're a telepath."

"I'm aware of that," I said drily. "I've been reading minds for a while now."

"No, I said a telepath," he clarified. "Mind reading is the most obvious manifestation of your gift, but it's only part of it."

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked.

Eleazar began pacing the small room, scratching his head in concentration. "I mean that thoughts aren't the only thing coming through. Edward, what's going on in my mind right now?"

"You're thinking about the blood challenges, and you're trying to picture what they might look like. You're also thinking about Carmen like you always do, and you're also wondering if I'm going to answer your question correctly."

"What else?"

"What do you mean?"

"Everything!" he answered impatiently. "Go beyond my conscious thoughts. What sensations is my brain processing?"

"Okay… you're thirsty, but not terribly so."

"What else?" he demanded. "Relax your gift fully, Edward. Inhabit my mind with your own."

I relaxed the muscle of my gift as much as I could, letting myself drift fully into his brain. "Your sense of smell is processing all of our scents, as well as the scent of the human who was in this room last."

"And my own scent, and those of my family. More!"

I tilted my head, closing my eyes in concentration. "You're feeling the floor pressing up into your shoes. You're feeling the slide of the fabric of your clothes every time you take a step. You're feeling the weight of your watch on your left hand. You're subconsciously slowing your pacing each time you approach a wall. You're feeling the wind caused by the pacing. You're pleased with my last five sentences. You're…"

"What?"

"What was that?" I asked, opening my eyes. "Something flared up in your mind just now, but I couldn't put my finger on it."

"That was my gift, responding to the extra effort in your own," he explained. "Really, Edward, this is what I do. Now pay attention. Your gift is capable of processing thoughts on many layers, but also physical sensations, and the mental and physical responses to those sensations. Carlisle, don't you remember the first time you brought him here, as a newborn? The little experiment that you two did with Kate?"

Carlisle shivered at the memory. He had been curious, were Kate to shock him, whether I would feel the pain through my gift or not. And I had, to a very small extent. He nodded.

"And Edward, didn't you tell me back then that your own thirst is sometimes magnified when Carlisle himself goes too long without hunting?"

"Well… yes, but in both those cases, it was an echo of what Carlisle himself was feeling, and I was usually able to block it out. There's a degradation in the transfer-"

Eleazar threw up his hands, pacing faster. "Echoes! Degradation! Stop thinking like a human, cousin! Your brain operates at one hundred percent efficiency now, and your gift is more than capable of receiving every signal that someone else's brain is putting off. In fact, your gift is so passive that you can't help but receive every nearby signal. The only reason you had to concentrate to find those deeper processes a moment ago is that your conscious mind is so used to filtering out meaningless data like that."

"What do you mean, 'passive'?" Carlisle asked.

"I mean that in its natural state, Edward's gift is fully engaged. It takes effort for him to not hear everything coming out of a nearby mind- especially those first two or three layers of conscious thought. Kate, by contrast, has an active gift. She isn't electrocuting someone unless she makes the effort to turn her gift on. Edward's gift is always on, and his trouble is turning it off."

I nodded slowly. This all made sense, but… "Okay, but still, the example of Kate's gift just shows how much is lost between two minds," I argued, thinking of our experiment years ago. "I only felt an echo of the pain that Carlisle did, remember? And nothing the second time, when I blocked his mind."

"Well…" Eleazar thought for a moment. "That's true. But I'll bet you were blocking it the first time, more than you knew- your subconscious knew that pain was coming, and tensed your gift against it without you knowing. But I suspect the real problem was that Kate's gift is psychic, not physical. Your mind-which as I said, was probably already blocking what it could- was only receiving what Carlisle's mind believed was electrocuting pain. If he had been experiencing real physical injury, I'd bet that you would have felt more of it. If someone were to do this, for example…"

Before any of us could react, Eleazar brought his forearm to his mouth and bit down, groaning a little in pain as he twisted his arm against his own teeth. We all jumped back in shock, and I felt the briefest flicker of pain in my arm before it faded to nothing.

"No!" Eleazar shouted, still wincing in pain. "Don't block it! Relax everything."

I closed my eyes, willing my gift to connect our minds fully. The pain in my arm began to grow, and my other hand flew up to meet the pain, surprised to find the skin unbroken.

"Ow," I growled, and my gift tensed against Eleazar's mind again- shying away instinctively from the pain, just as he had said. The pain was gone in less than a quarter of a second. Eleazar's wound was just beginning to heal now, and Carlisle grabbed the arm, frowning at the damage.

"You're going to have a nasty scar," he sighed.

"No, I won't," Eleazar replied cheerfully. "It's my own venom. So, have I made my point, Edward?"

"Quite clearly," I said, rubbing my arm one last time. It made me wonder how I had ever survived the pain of my mother's and siblings' transformations- although I supposed that my mind had steeled itself against that, as well.

"So, my theory," Eleazar continued, "is that the reason you're struggling with those blood challenges is that your own thirst is being magnified by that of another vampire."

"But wouldn't my gift want to block out that, as well?" I asked.

"Quite the opposite," he said grimly. "You're a vampire, Edward. Your body wants to be thirsty. Every instinct- including your gift- draws you toward thirst. I would think that you would have to decide to block that input, and that it would take some effort."

"Yes, I suppose I know what you mean," I said thoughtfully, remembering times when family members had been thirsty, and how I had always had to actively block those sensations.

"This is all very interesting," Carlisle said, "but we've already tried it. We took Emmett out of the equation after the second year, and there was almost no effect."

Eleazar gave him a triumphant look. "I wasn't referring to Emmett's mind, Carlisle, I was referring to yours."

"Me?" Carlisle said doubtfully.

"That's not possible," I said, crossing my arms. "Carlisle's control is out of this world. When I walk back to him after the blood challenges, his eyes are always as light as ever, and he hardly ever feels any thirst at all during the challenges."

"It had nothing to do with his control," Eleazar scoffed. "Control is simply a learned behavior, and Carlisle has learned it to such an extent that his hunting instincts have been conditioned to subdue themselves at the smell of human blood. It's something we all aspire to."

"Then… it's just the smell, being processed in his brain, through mine?" Carlisle asked. Could it really be that simple?

"The smell, the sight, the taste on the air, your thoughts about heating the blood, even your subdued reactions to the blood… when he's in range, Edward is experiencing all those things with you, and-"

"-and no matter if I'm fifty feet away, or a mile away, it's as if I'm standing right next to the blood," I finished, shaking my head in disbelief. While Carlisle always did his best not to stare at the blood during the challenges, we had never thought to have him hold his breath, since he didn't seem to be sharing any thirst with me. My own thirst naturally grew more intense the closer I got, but if Eleazar was right, that was partially due to my growing proximity to Carlisle's perception of the blood.

"Amazing," Carlisle breathed. "So, if Edward was to try blocking my mind, or if I was to hold my breath, we might see some different results."

"Some vastly different results," Eleazar guessed. "It's my theory that Edward's control around blood is far, far, stronger than any of you realize. From the very moment he woke up, he's been dealing with your thirst-possibly even when you don't feel it yourself- and now he constantly has to deal with varying levels of thirst from four vampires. And on days like this, even more! Why, I haven't fed in ten days, and his eyes are lighter than mine, even though he's standing right next to me! I don't think you appreciate, Edward, how far you had already come, before the blood challenges."

Excitement shot through me at the possibility. "I want to try it, today!" I said in a rush, grabbing Carlisle's shoulder. Emmett burst out laughing.

"Don't think they keep blood in their fridge," he joked. Man, where's a hiker when you need one?

"I'd like to try it, too," Carlisle said eagerly. "Where's the nearest hospital?"

.

.

.

In the end, we decided to take Eleazar's theory to the next level. To give me the best chance possible, it was decided that nobody would be in range of my gift during the challenge. Carlisle decided to "borrow" some lab equipment from the hospital, as well as the blood. The plan was for him to set up the blood over the fire, and then he would move out of my range.

Eleazar watched curiously as Carlisle set up the experiment. He got the fire going first, and then sent me away while he got the blood ready. I watched through his eyes as he set up the metal stand in the middle of the fire. He clamped the bottle onto it and adjusted the position of the clamp, allowing the blood to be suspended over the fire at just the right height.

"This challenge won't last long, without anyone here to keep the blood moving. It's going to eventually overheat and the blood cells will be destroyed. But we should have long enough to see if your theory is correct," he told Eleazar. Edward! After I leave, I want you to wait two minutes, and then start moving in. We won't approach again until you call to us. Good luck!

After securing the bottle over the flames, Carlisle unscrewed the lid and both men ran in the opposite direction, away from me.

I was beginning at two miles out today. Most of the time, I was able to get to just within a mile before having to stop to avoid venom flow and a more intense thirst. I clenched and unclenched my hands as I waited impatiently. If this worked…

I waited the prescribed two minutes, and began to walk forward, unnerved by the silence as I moved. At this point in the challenge, Carlisle was usually sending me mental encouragement. Of course, it seemed now that he had unintentionally been sending me far more than that. I desperately hoped that Eleazar's theory would prove to be correct. If this didn't work, I didn't know what would.

The first thing I noticed was that I was able to go farther before even smelling the blood. I didn't want to get my hopes up, though- it might be that our timing was off, or that the flames had shifted direction, or the thinness of the air…

I took a deep breath, just catching the first hint of the blood on the breeze. My throat felt…

Nothing.

I moved forward another two hundred feet, and the aroma rose slightly.

Still nothing.

I was grinning hugely now, and picking up my pace. Soon I was more than halfway back to the blood, and I was just beginning to feel a tickle in my throat. It was working!

As the tickle grew into a flame, I slowed down, inching forward, pushing carefully into the thirst as it grew. When the venom started to flow, I finally stopped and waited, drawing deep, slow breaths and rolling my shoulders to relax my instincts. After another ten seconds, the burn receded a bit, and I inched forward some more.

But before I could continue, the smell suddenly took a turn toward bitterness as the blood cells began to lyse in the heat. It actually reminded me of the smell of werewolf blood, before it degraded further and started to burn.

"Carlisle! Eleazar!" I yelled, holding my position until they found me.

Ugh! Burning blood! Where's Edward?

"Here!" I called excitedly.

That close? That's even better than I was hoping for!

They ran to me, and Carlisle tackled me to the ground, laughing in triumph along with me. "I knew you could do it!" he said with a huge smile.

"How far?" I asked Eleazar as I got back up. I had a guess, but I didn't really know the land here…

"You're less than a quarter mile from it," Eleazar said proudly, and I whooped with joy as they both clapped my back in congratulations.

"Incredible," Carlisle said, still smiling as he shook his head. "To think all this time, I was the one holding you back!" I feel like such an idiot! "Edward, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be," I said. "I didn't think of it either. Eleazar, I can't thank you enough!"

"My pleasure," he replied, rubbing his hands together in excitement. "It's not often I get to stretch my own gift like this. I did some work with Kate's gift, when we first arrived, but since meeting you that first time, that part of my brain has lain rather dormant lately. Thank you!"

"My pleasure," I said loftily, and I let myself fall down again, stretching out on my back in the grass and grinning up at the sky. This changed everything!

"Remember our bet," Carlisle said to Eleazar, who scowled back.

"What bet?" I asked.

Carlisle grinned mischievously. "I bet Eleazar that you would be able to get within at least half a mile. And the loser has to take care of the burned blood."

Eleazar sighed and headed off, muttering to himself about the dangers of betting with his elders. I didn't think I had ever seen my father make a bet of any kind before; either Emmett and I were starting to rub off on him, or he was as giddy as I was.

He sat in the grass beside me, his thoughts radiant. "I'm so, so proud of you, son. Now you can be more at ease around your human peers, just like me."

I closed my eyes and savored his words.

Just like me.