Homecoming
"We are landing," Marcus whispered, gently nudging Anna awake with his elbow. "Do you need more refreshment?" he asked her as she rubbed her eyes and sit up straighter in her seat. Anna nodded, fighting back a yawn; she felt like she could sleep forever.
"Thank you," Anna said smiling at him, taking the bottle that he offered her. "Your shoulder is a very comfy pillow," she joked taking a drink. "I hope I didn't drool on you or anything," she said with a small smile.
"No, you did not drool;" Marcus said with twitching lips and shaking shoulders. "However you did snore quite loudly almost the entire trip," he informed her nodding at the people around them. "Nikki suggested pinching your nose closed but Alice was able to persuade her not to. However she did use her cell phone to document the event, if you are ever interested in watching," he added chuckling at Anna's horror struck expression. Anna turned to look at Nikki who held up her cellphone proudly.
"You were loud," Nikki complained defensively. "I've never heard a person make that kind of noise before," she grumbled irritably. Alec put his arm around her shoulders and whispered something in her ear that made Nikki sigh. "Sorry, I'm being rude. I'm just thirsty," she told Anna as Alec kissed her temple; much to Jane's amusement.
"I'm sorry. I don't normally snore," Anna said feeling her cheeks redden in embarrassment. "Is that normal?" she asked looking over at an amused Carlisle.
"It can be. So far you are doing just fine. Don't worry about the snoring," he assured her as Emmett leaned over and asked Nikki to forward the video she took to his cellphone. "How do you feel?" Carlisle asked as Esme reached out and touched Emmett's arm with motherly reproach.
"Really hungry," Anna admitted finishing her drink. "I don't know what you put in this, but it's delicious," she said gesturing to her empty bottle. Nikki shot her a dark look but remained unusually quiet. "What are we going to do now?" she asked leaning against Marcus' shoulder with a tired sigh.
"We meet with Aro at the castle," Marcus explained with a frown. "What happens after that depends on how events unfold from there," he added glancing at Alice who shot him a reassuring grin. "I am sorry that you had to leave your daughter behind," Marcus said looking at Bella and Edward in sympathy.
"Jacob was more than happy to watch over her, besides it's the middle of the school year on the reservation anyway," Edward said with a small smile. Anna looked down at her hands; she understood perfectly well why they wouldn't want to bring their daughter with them. If things got ugly she would be an easy target, in their place Anna would have done the exact same thing. "Don't worry so much," Edward said shooting Anna a wry smile. Oh, yeah he's a mind reader, why do I keep forgetting that? Anna thought feeling slightly embarrassed.
"We'll get you something to drink when we land," Alec said grabbing Nikki's hand and giving it a squeeze. "It won't be much longer now," he promised glancing at Jasper who gave him a sharp nod.
"I'll be okay, I'm just uncomfortable," Nikki assured him with a small smile. "As long as no one bleeds around me before I can feed, I should be good," she added obviously trying not to look at Anna.
"How nice it is to see all of our friends again," Aro crooned opening his arms in welcome as they entered the throne room. "Now, how are you doing; my dear?" Aro said coming up to kiss Anna on the cheek. She desperately hoped that was a good sign.
"Tired and a bit hungry but other than that; I'm well. Thank you," Anna said reaching over to grab Marcus' hand. Marcus extended his other hand to Aro while never taking his eyes off of Anna.
"We have so much to do, so much to do. Why, the happy occasions are simply raining down on us. Marcus has finally found a mate and our Alec has as well, it seems;" he said turning his milky eyes over to Nikki who was looking at him with a quirked eyebrow. "What is your name, my dear?" he asked extending his hand to her.
"Nikki," she said looking at him skeptically. "Forgive me for asking but are you always this happy?" she asked as he took her hand and looked into her eyes.
"You have found yourself an extraordinary mate, dear Alec. Simply, extraordinary!" Aro said dropping Nikki's hand with a grin. "I can't hear her thoughts at all, my own are merely reflected back to me. Such a useful talent," he murmured choosing to ignore Nikki's question about his cheerful nature. "Such possibilities," he said in a low voice, looking at Nikki's incredulous expression with an amused grin. "Carlisle, my old friend; I hope you and your family are doing well. It is so good to see you again under far more pleasant circumstances," he said clasping Carlisle's hand in his own. "Well, I should let you all get settled in. There is so much to do. Weddings to plan, parties to arrange; so much excitement all at once. I need to speak with my brother and the rest of the guard about their trip. Heidi will show you all to your rooms," Aro said with a wide smile. Anna looked at Edward out of the corner of her eye, although he didn't seem relaxed; he didn't seemed overly worried either. Anna took some comfort in that.
"This way," Heidi said, beckoning them with a smirk to follow her. Anna looked back at Marcus as they walked away. Marcus gave her a soft smile before following Aro and the others out of the opposite door. Anna caught Rosalie's eye and frowned, if everything was going well; why did she have this sinking feeling in her stomach? She thought worriedly.
"Because you're not stupid," Edward whispered in her ear solemnly. "I haven't heard anything too alarming yet but we should all stay close together; just in case," he advised. Nikki's jaw tightened and although she kept walking, her hands were clenched into fists at her side. Anna wondered if she was just reacting to Edward's warning or if she had heard something else with her vampire hearing. Sometimes being the only human around really sucked.
"I haven't heard anything particularly alarming yet. Aro seems to still be making up his mind," Edward said as they all sat in Marcus and Anna's living chamber. "I can't tell yet, if he's truly undecided or if he's just put of making a decision because of how Alice's visions work though. I am listening," he assured the group.
"We're on his turf. I don't like it," Emmett said crossing his arms with a frown. "We are all sitting ducks," he added with a snort.
"He does stand to lose a lot if we start fighting, even here. Aro is very practical I am sure he realizes that," Carlisle murmured looking thoughtful.
"Why would Happy-pants want to fight?" Nikki asked causing Emmett to roar in laughter and even Esme's lips twitched slightly at Aro's new nickname. "I feel like there's part of the story I'm missing here," she said when the laughter subsided.
"They may view Anna's pregnancy as a threat and decide to …..," Jasper said allowing his voice to trail off, everyone had understood him anyway. Nikki stood there very still for a moment before Alice bolted straight up in here chair. "What did you see?" Jasper demanded urgently.
"Don't do anything stupid," Alice warned Nikki. "We're trying to avoid a fight not cause one," she added her lips set in a firm line. "I can understand having the urge to kick someone where it hurts but don't go starting trouble," she said narrowing her eyes. "See? I can still see you," she said suddenly smug.
"If anyone tries anything with my friend or her kid; I will rip their junk off and shove it down their throat," Nikki growled fiercely. "Don't worry, I won't start anything but I will find a way to finish it if it comes down to that. I have your back," Nikki said giving Anna a wink before forcing herself to relax.
"More importantly so do I," Marcus said suddenly appearing in the doorway. His crimson eyes flicked around the room in amusement. "Strength in numbers I presume?" he said chuckling. "Aro is not planning on any hostilities; in fact he is doing his best to keep Caius in line. Our co-king is being quite unreasonable but then again what else can one expect?" Marcus said wrapping his arms around Anna as she walked over to him.
"Where do we stand?" Carlisle asked quietly.
"Right now, all is well;" Marcus assured them with a smile. "I suspect it is largely in part to the stalemate that we have. Your cousins have heard of your stay here and are also coming. On the rare occasions that Anna is not by my side, am I right in assuming that she will be with one of you?" Marcus asked glancing over Anna's pale skin with some concern. "Alec will not fight Nikki, Jane will not fight without Alec and Nikki would side with you. We have each other for protection it seems. You should rest, Anna. You are looking quite unwell," Marcus added looking over at Carlisle with grim worry.
"You worry too much," Anna said hoping that she sounded upbeat. "Now that you're back I think I will have a nap though," she added taking Rosalie's hand when she came over to her. She was feeling dizzy again and it was good to have the support of another person. Marcus waited until Rosalie had taken Anna over to their bedroom to turn around and face Carlisle.
"How many weeks must we wait? Aro is already procuring an incubator for the infant," Marcus demanded with his lips set in a firm line. "She is already begun to weaken," he said through tight lips.
"I'll have to examine her again to be sure but my current estimate puts us at around two to three more weeks minimum," Carlisle said with a frown of his own. "She is already doing a lot better than Bella did," he added hoping to encourage Marcus. "Bella may have gotten so weak so fast because we didn't know how to take care of her," he pointed out. "Anna has the benefit of that experience," Carlisle added.
"Who will be present at the surgery?" Marcus demanded pacing. "The less vampires around the better I should say," he muttered.
"I will be present, and Edward will be present. He's the one that saved Bella and that experience is invaluable," Carlisle said nodding his agreement.
"Aro will also be there, he's promised to ingest as much blood as possible beforehand. He also wants to be present at all of her medical examinations and it is probably best to indulge him," Marcus said cutting his eyes over to Edward thoughtfully. "Does he mean her harm?" he asked directly.
"No, he seems torn. He is definitely curious about how things are progressing. The idea of vampire hybrids are fascinating to him. He sees the potential to use them to blend in more when human interaction is called for. He thinks they might be a better alternative than hiring humans that are hoping to turn," Edward explained with a frown. "He is however very nervous about the whole ordeal. He doesn't like it when there's a wild card, hybrids could either be the best idea he's ever had or the worst. He's very torn but the fact that this is your child and not some random vampire's does present a problem for him if he decides to eliminate it," Edward said bluntly.
"Yes. It does," Marcus said darkly. "If he wants to kill the child he must also kill the mother and he knows that I will never allow that," he muttered thoughtfully. "Have you seen anything?" Marcus asked looking over at Jasper and Alice.
"No but all that means is that he hasn't made a decision yet," she said with a sigh. "This would be so much easier if no one knew how my visions worked," she grumbled crossing her arms.
"I'm sure everything will be fine," Bella said with a grin. "Edward was nervous to and everything worked out in the end," she said patting her husband's knee.
"Females are so confusing," Marcus complained in exasperation and Edward had to fight the urge to laugh. "Anna says that as well. Everything will be fine and wonderful, according to her. It baffles me why it is not only important that I allow her to go through this horrific ordeal but that I must show optimistic enthusiasm for her suicide as well," he said so gruffly that Emmett barely had time to turn his laugh into a cough. "It is clearly a woman thing," he added with a frustrated growl.
