CHAPTER 13 – Options

Bella

The flight home had been miserable. Edward's angst roiled throughout its entirety; everyone else's was evident too from the slightest sideways glance. The Cullens managed stress by formulating plans and didn't manage well with their delay. By the time we landed, he was fuming so much that I half expected him to radiate heat. That, of course, didn't happen, but the strategy session we later held in our house did nearly reach volcanic intensity.

"They're nothing but cowards!" Edward shouted, pacing with sharp movements. "They send us to do their dirty work and claim they're doing us a favor! How stupid do they think we are?"

"That's how they operate – manipulation, extortion, and above all, fear," Alice observed from her seat beside me. "Patronizing is their favorite pastime. Much like a cat plays with its food."

Edward sneered even more. "I don't care how predictable their nature is, that doesn't mean I – we – have to cooperate."

Across the room, Carlisle's elbows were planted on his knees, hands brushing his face in angst. "Son, as much as I hate to say it, we don't appear to have a choice."

Glaring at his father, Edward's fury threatened to tear the whole house down. He seethed at the man as he growled, "Leave it to someone who used to be one of them to say that."

That snapped Carlisle to attention. Dropping his hands, he returned Edward's glare with an unflinching expression of his own. "I'm going to dismiss that comment as a momentary lapse of judgment caused by stress. Turning against each other will destroy us just as surely as the Volturi would. Now, if it's all right with everyone, I'd like to share my plan on keeping all of us alive."

Emmett snorted to himself, so faintly I almost missed it. "You know what I mean, Emmett," Carlisle admonished. "And now is not the time for humor."

"Sorry," Emmett mumbled.

"So what did you have in mind?" I urged, shifting my weight on the couch cushion. The baby was starting to feel heavier each day. It was with increasing difficulty that I now found comfortable sitting and sleeping positions, but I didn't want to worry Edward about it, considering there were far more important matters.

"First and foremost, your safety needs to be accounted for," he looked intently at me before sweeping the room. "Does anyone have any suggestions?"

Esme shrugged, looking hopelessly into space. "She can't stay with her father or anywhere in Forks. It's the first place the Volturi would look if they grew restless or impatient."

"And she can't come with us, obviously," Rosalie said. "I may not be an expert on births, vampire or otherwise, but the northern Canadian wilderness probably isn't ideal for either."

"We could rent her a hotel room," Jasper added. "She could stay there, one of us could check in on her each day…" it was evident as he trailed off that he knew it wasn't a viable solution.

"So where does that leave us?" Carlisle asked thoughtfully. "She can't stay here, and she can't come with us. Can any of you think of another place, perhaps one not too far away, that might grant Bella the protection she needs?" He seemed to be heavily implying that he had such a place in mind, yet I was at a loss as to what it could be. Maybe it was just another case of "baby brain" flaring up again.

The mystery was solved thanks to what only Edward could hear. His glare returned, more searing than ever. "No. Absolutely not."

"Are you saying you would rather leave Bella unprotected here? Or that we should drag her, six months pregnant, all the way to Old Crow?" Carlisle asked him incredulously, knowing full well what his answer would be.

Edward shook his head obstinately. "No, but there has to be another way. This can't be the best we can think of."

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but what is it you're opposed to?" Alice interjected. "You tend to forget that not all of us can read minds."

"Carlisle thinks Bella's best chances are with wild animals," he grunted.

Alice wrinkled her nose in confusion. "Wild animals? What?"

Realization finally hit me. "He means the reservation – the wolves," I said absently.

"And he thinks it's a better option than the other two. I do believe our dear father has officially lost his mind," Edward spat, defying any of us to censor him.

I stared at him for a minute. Who was he to declare his own father mad, much less dismiss a viable option without letting me weigh in? If ever I had the right to participate in a major Cullen family decision, it was now. "Edward, why is it such an insane idea? I feel kind of stupid for not thinking of it before."

"You've got to be joking," his voice raised an octave. "I've just gotten comfortable with you visiting them. Visiting. For a few hours every month. As a normal human. Now you propose to stay with them indefinitely, while pregnant with their mortal enemy's child. Yes, I'm a fool for not suggesting it earlier." His sarcasm was dripping with disdain.

As much as I hated to admit it, he had a point. I still cringed recalling Jacob's reaction from months ago. The hardness of his eyes, the tension that repelled him from the room, the anguish, disgust, and anger I felt coursing through his veins – it all stung like it was yesterday. He'd been unable to handle the situation when it was nothing more than a heartbeat, a sound; imagine his tolerance level now that it visibly protruded from me. Aside from being a poor choice for my safety, staying at the reservation might be considered cruel as well.

When I didn't rejoin Edward's sarcastic comment, he turned back to Carlisle. "I'll say it again, this absolutely can't be the solution."

Before Carlisle had a chance to respond, however, Alice chimed in. "Bella, what about your mother and stepfather in Florida?"

Now I really did feel stupid. How had we all overlooked Renee and Phil, tucked away in Floridian suburbia and probably well off the Volturi's radar? "Um, yeah… that could actually work," I said slowly, amazed at our lack of common sense.

"They haven't seen you in what, four or five months?" she continued with increased eagerness. "I'm sure they'd love to have you visit again, especially considering they don't know about the bun in the oven yet."

I blushed. It was true, I hadn't told Renee about the baby. Not because Edward had discouraged or forbidden it – we had, after all, revealed it to Charlie – but because I hadn't yet devised the best way to tell her. With Charlie, it was only a matter of mustering the courage to face him and remove my coat. But with Renee, I felt obliged to deliver the news with more flair, with romantic sensibility or something poetic. When it was between mother and daughter, the context was different.

Well, whether I liked it or not, this was my vehicle to romantic flair. I'd have to work out the details during the plane ride. Looking hesitantly to Edward, I expected to find him glaring fiercely, intent on rejecting every scenario just for spite. Yet I was pleased to see his expression was more thoughtful than anything else. After a few moments of quiet contemplation, he shifted his eyes to me.

"Call them."

"O-okay," his immediate consent startled me. "When should I tell them I'll be there?"

For that answer, he deferred to Carlisle, who glanced briefly around the room. "There's no time to waste. Who knows if six months will be enough?"

Edward nodded once. "You're going tomorrow. Someone book her a ticket."

"I will," Alice volunteered without a moment's hesitation. She vanished before I could even thank her. Next thing I knew, Esme placed the cordless phone in my right hand. I dialed the numbers, acutely aware of everyone's eyes on me. An uncomfortable silence ensued as I waited for the ringing to be interrupted by my mother's voice.

It finally was, but not how I'd hoped. The answering machine greeted me with feckless, metallic cheer: "Hi, you've reached Renee and Phil… well, not really, because we're on the road for two months to follow Phil's team. Wish us luck, we'll be back in early April!"

I was too stunned to press the red "end" button. Face frozen and mind numb with denial, I barely heard the beep that prompted me to speak words I couldn't find. How could I, when our final hope had just been shattered? How could I possibly find the will to confess that my fate was effectively sealed?

I didn't have to. With his jaw grimly set, Edward snatched the receiver from me in one swift motion. His grip crumpled the plastic like a tin can. Judging by the stricken looks surrounding me, I knew he hadn't been the only one to overhear Renee's recording.

There was nothing for me to do but await their judgment now; I wondered who would respond first.

Carlisle did. "Alice? Cancel that ticket," he called out. "Give Bella your cell phone, Edward. She has one more call to make."

Edward's loathing was palpable as he flung the cell phone onto my lap. It lingered long after he bolted from the room, haunting me as I stared at the phone. He'd always somehow been able to affect me more when he wasn't present. It never grew any less unnerving. Out of the corner of my eye, Alice appeared in the doorway.

"I leave the room for two minutes, and then I see Edward storm out like he's just heard Victoria is still alive… what on earth happened?" Her eyes flashed incredulously from face to face, but we were all looking at the floor. Torn between indignation and concern, she switched to the latter. "Bella, please tell me everything's okay with your parents?"

Carlisle rose to face her. "They're fine, but there's one problem… they aren't home, and won't be for another two months."

"What? Where are they?"

"Anywhere, USA," Emmett crossed his arms.

"Phil's baseball team is touring, apparently," Carlisle clarified. "They'll be in a different city every other day. It would be exhausting, if not impossible, for Bella to follow them around."

Alarm crept into Alice's voice. "Then where is she supposed to go?"

Carlisle kept his voice even. "Where I originally suggested."

I felt her eyes on me now, intensely fascinated. "But Edward thinks that's worse than bringing her with us," she whispered, as if afraid he would overhear our mutinous thoughts. In all likelihood he was a hundred miles away by now, uprooting trees to vent his frustration.

"Exactly – Edward thinks that. But do you?"

That snapped me out of my daze. Carlisle had just stepped into dangerous, unprecedented territory. To use his patriarchal influence over Edward's spousal authority was truly scandalous. The repercussions could tear the entire family apart. Yet I sensed he had weighed the risks and knew what he was doing – and he appeared equally confident of Alice's response.

She, too, was weighing the situation carefully, but scanning the room seemed to settle the matter. "I think anything's safer than Old Crow," she threw me a wink.