Author's Note: I'm sorry this took so long. My only excuse? I spent most of March prepping for my first ever fan convention. Last weekend I had the chance to meet both Kellan Lutz (!!!) & Gil Birmingham (!) as well as many of our fellow fans. The next chapter is already half written in my head so hopefully there won't be quite so long a wait. And as Kate suggests, there might be more baseball coming our way... :)

Chapter 20 – First Night

After readying for bed and pretending to go to sleep, Charlotte snuck out of her room feeling like a disobedient teenager. Careful to stay quiet so her parents didn't hear, she grabbed her notebook and pen, crept down the hall and knocked on her brother and sister's door. Liam opened it and stepped back to allow her entry.

"After you, Charlotte," he gestured for her to precede him.

"Thank you," she replied primly with a little nod.

From where he sat across the room, James snorted, "Who, exactly, are you two trying to impress? I mean, you're in your pajamas for crying out loud, Char!"

"Good manners never hurt anyone," she retorted. "And you're in your PJs too, JJ."

"Ugh!" James cringed half-jokingly, jostling Abby who was nearly dozing beside him. She blinked rapidly, looking around the room as if she was seeing it for the first time. "Not the atrocious childhood nickname! Anything but that!"

Liam chuckled, shaking his head, and sat down beside his wife. Kate was lying across the bed on her stomach with her feet in the air and her chin propped in her hands. She was smiling too.

Abby covered a yawn and pointed out, "It's not like she used it in front of anyone who hadn't heard it before."

James paled at the thought of the Cullens, particularly Emmett and Jasper, hearing his dreaded childhood nickname. "That's very true. Thank you, dear sister. I find myself, once again, in your debt."

Charlotte gave him a look as she set the notebook down, tucked a leg beneath her and took a seat on the low dresser. "Now who's trying to impress someone?"

"Did Jacob and Seth get home alright?" Kate interjected smoothly, preventing another of the Turner siblings' infamous unending arguments. She and Abby were quite adept at the practice.

"Yes," Charlotte smiled. "He called to let me know the moment they arrived. His father seemed to find that amusing; Billy was laughing at him in the background."

"You must admit, the boy does dote on you," Liam said kindly.

"Does that mean he receives the coveted 'Older Brother Seal of Approval?'" she wondered in a would-be innocent tone all her uncle's.

Without hesitation or qualification, Liam agreed. James, on the other hand, had an ornery expression on his face. He opened and closed his mouth as if he was about to give her a snarky reply and then thought better of it when he caught Abby's warning glare.

"Wise decision, mate," Liam nodded at his brother. "Good to see you can learn after all. Though I must say it's about bloody time you did! I'm just glad that fall you took on Shipwreck Island when you were twelve didn't leave you brain dead."

"You were the one chasing me!" the other argued playfully before he grew suddenly and uncharacteristically serious. "In all honesty, Charlotte, all teasing aside… I'm just not sure about Jacob yet. Once burned, twice shy and all. I mean, I approved of the last one and look how that turned out – I'm not positive how we managed to keep from keelhauling him or worse after what he did to you. So far, Jacob's done nothing wrong. He certainly cares about you, and others for that matter. As a person, I have no quarrel with him – he's a good man. But in terms of whether or not he's good enough for you… I need more time before I give you a definitive answer on that, alright?"

She wasn't angry, not over his honest admission. "I appreciate your candor," she responded with quiet sincerity, a serene and accepting smile on her face. "And I understand your position, I really do. Just please… do give him a chance."

In a seldom-used solemn tone, James consented whole-heartedly, "I can promise that."

"If it helps, he gets the 'Younger Sister Seal of Approval,'" Abby offered quietly and Kate nodded in agreement. "But to be fair we did miss the mess before."

"Lucky…" Liam muttered, filling in for his brother as the comic relief. "So, onto less depressing yet still vitally important things like the reason why we called this meeting tonight."

Kate smiled at her sisters, "When they switch roles they really do it properly, don't they?"

"That means I should start poking at you and making a fool of myself?" Liam asked with a thoroughly mischievous expression.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and said the first thing that came to mind to distract her brothers. She was as skilled at derailing their arguments as Kate and Abby, "Well I for one am quite relieved Mum's finally wearing her necklace again."

"I don't think I've ever seen the three of them so peaceful," Abby concurred. "I wouldn't have said they were unhappy before, but now… It's almost night and day."

James nodded, "It's like there was some unseen cloud hanging over them for so long. We were so used to it we didn't know it was there, but it effected everything they did."

Liam shook his head and corrected his brother, "Everything we've all done. It's effected everything our family is; everything for which we stand."

"And Bella fixed it all in less than a week. Perhaps she should consider psychology," Kate mused teasingly. "Mum and Dad could be her poster children – 'I fixed nearly three centuries of issues for them in just a week – think of what I could do for you!' Considering what Rosalie said she's done for both Edward and their family…"

Abby sighed quietly, "I doubt she'd like it if we brought that up."

"If I didn't know her personally, I would have said it was impossible for one person to do so much," James admitted. "Particularly since she has no idea she's responsible. It just goes to show you don't have to do a whole lot to have a huge impact on people's lives."

Charlotte rolled her eyes, "Thank you, Mr. After School Special. It may be true, but we're all just as smart as you – there's no need to spell it out."

He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Keep your tongue to yourself," she admonished teasingly.

Liam made a strange noise as he choked back a laugh. "I could say something so inappropriate now... but I shall refrain."

Abby blushed, knowing exactly what he meant, and Kate hit him with a pillow. Shaking a warning finger in his face, she asked, "You, sir, are spending too much time with the men-folk and the video games. Where is my dear, sweet, mature husband and why has he been replaced by this ridiculous man-child?"

"He went on holiday. Since Mum and Dad aren't stressing anymore, why should I? You've got to lighten up a bit, Katie," he tugged gently on one of her curls, causing it boing like a spring.

She thought for a moment, sweeping her gaze over her assembled family. "That's quite true. Promise you will never make another comment like that again and I will endeavor to oblige. Well… let me amend that – just refrain from making my little sister uncomfortable."

"I don't mind," Abby interjected tiredly, a faint smile on her face. "I know you're only joking. Like a big brother should."

"Fair enough," Liam agreed. Feeling at ease, he held out his hand and Kate shook it, "We have an accord."

Abby continued as if they hadn't ignored her, babbling slightly, "I think we all need to stop watching those movies. We're reverting to old speech patterns and it took decades of effort to break them!"

"Dudes," James began in an approximation of a surfer's voice, grinning impishly at his wife. "She's right. Like totally. Bodacious."

She sighed and looked toward the ceiling, "Not what I had in mind."

"Word," Charlotte added seriously, her smile matching her brother's. She attempted an awkward gesture that would have been considered a gang sign in California.

Kate snickered and reminded her, "Little white girl."

"Just because we can't say or do things like that at home for fear of being shot doesn't mean we can't here," Charlotte explained in a that-should-be-obvious tone. She paused to consider what she had just said. "What is with me tonight? With all of us? We're acting so... abnormally weird. The last time we were like this was...?"

James nodded thoughtfully, "1977. When we were in line for Star Wars after not sleeping for days. I'll bet that's it – it's an overtired thing, the weirdness. We should get down to business and stop distracting ourselves; the next few days are going to be just as busy and just as long and we need to sleep."

As was the norm during the Turner family meetings, Charlotte was prepared to take notes. Her notebook was out and open to a new page before Liam finished his thought. At the top of the clean, white paper she printed the heading "Things the Cullens Will Now Have To Consider for the First Time in Decades" and underlined it twice.

"Item number one for our list?" she prodded.

"I'm sure they'll think of it with all the medical backgrounds, but we should remind them about germs and getting sick and all. I mean, yes, the Fountain would cure anything, but it's never fun to get sick in the first place. Avoidance is easier," Abby began, easily shifting her focus to the task at hand. She had been considering things for this list since before Charlotte joined them. The only reason she had been drawn into the earlier conversation was James's reaction to his nickname.

Charlotte quickly jotted down her sister's thought before adding, "In the same vein, we should mention dressing for the weather. They certainly do so out in public, but have you noticed they tend to forget at home. Especially if they keep living here in Forks that's something to consider."

"At least they've had Bella around, getting them reacquainted with human needs," Liam pointed out. "The driving thing – they'll probably need to slow down significantly for a time to get used to the decrease in reflexes."

"We played baseball with Bella to help her adjust perhaps we should do so again," Kate suggested thoughtfully. "I imagine it's just as strange to have suddenly diminished senses and reflexes as it was for us all to have them sharpened."

Abby frowned pensively, "Oh. I hope that doesn't hurt Carlisle's performance at the hospital. I would hate to think anyone would suffer after this."

"I'm sure it will be fine, honey," James promised, rubbing her back comfortingly. He was slightly concerned that she seemed so emotional – a dead give away that she was exhausted. "He'll adjust quickly. They all will."

Placated, she nodded, her frown fading.

"We should say something about sunscreen. It might not be necessary here, but it's important nonetheless," Kate threw in. "We all know how painful sunburn is..."

Charlotte's pen flew across the paper as she hurried to catch each suggestion from her siblings. When they paused, she was able to add her own. "Trivial as it may seem, they'll have to find a hairdresser. Probably not in town because that would look strange given they haven't had hair cuts in the last three years since moving here. Then again it wouldn't surprise me if one of them already knew how."

"What about food allergies? None of us had any, so we don't know if that's something the Waters negate or not. Should they be careful with common allergens?" Liam wondered.

"It can't hurt to mention it, at least," Kate responded thoughtfully. "All allergies, for that matter."

They discussed things for nearly an hour, trying to ensure they left no stone unturned, no topic ignored.

"Alright… someone has to say it," James began after a time, clearly debating how to broach his subject. "Don't hit me, Abs, please. I'm honestly trying to help with this one. After all, the point of the exercise is to think of things they might otherwise overlook and this is a big one… all things considered."

She nodded, eyeing him warily.

"Birth control. It's awkward, but it needs to be said."

The others easily agreed with both aspects of what he had suggested. It would be strange and potentially embarrassing to discuss, but it was certainly necessary.

"That does open a whole can of worms they haven't had to deal with in years…" Kate frowned. "And raises the question how on earth were they able to stand being around Bella at times? I mean –" she broke off suddenly, distracted by her husband and brother. Both Liam and James were violently shaking their heads and waving their hands in a disgusted manner, their faces contorted.

"Please don't, Katie," Liam begged.

James added, "I know it's my fault insofar as I kind of brought it up, but discretion, ladies, please!"

Kate rolled her eyes, but took pity on them and stopped. "I'm sorry for hedging around a perfectly natural phenomenon. We'll just leave that discussion for a y-chromosome-free time."

"Good plan," Charlotte agreed, flipping the page and adding a small note. She stretched, suddenly looking tired. "Well, I for one am out of ideas and energy. I'll leave this here with you lot if you like, but I'm off to bed."

Abby yawned again, looking utterly exhausted. Had she not been leaning against James, she would not have been sitting. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

As the other three attempted to stifle their own yawns triggered by Abby's, Charlotte shifted on the dresser shaking the foot that had been tucked beneath her to bring feeling back. Having been seated conventionally, James got to his feet more quickly. So when she stood and immediately pitched to one side because her foot was still asleep, he caught her easily.

"Whoa, there," he smirked down at her in a friendly manner. "Looking a bit like Uncle Jack, Char."

"Goodnight, James," she refused to respond to his goading and pulled away from him sharply in an attempt to walk toward the door. She didn't get far, her numb ankle giving out again right away.

He rolled his eyes and muttered to himself, "Yeah, like you could make it to your room in your state… You'd end up sleeping in the hallway."

She shot him a suspicious glare, "What are you planning, Jack James?"

"First the horrible nickname and now my full name, Charlotte Lydia?" he countered in a playful, mock-dangerous tone.

"Yes and we also have William Arthur, Katherine Jane and Abigail Susan. It's bedtime, stop it," Abby nudged him in the back with her toe, looking almost cross. "Now, behave and walk your sister back to her room or you can sleep in the hall."

Kate and Liam laughed openly and Abby turned her scrutiny on them.

"Why is this funny? You've seen it for the last two hundred some years, I would think you would be used to it by now," she snapped.

The room went silent. It was very rare that Abby was short with any of them, but it did happen, usually when she was absolutely dead on her feet. At such times they all knew not to cross her. Quiet, compassionate and empathetic as she was, they all went to her at different times for advice or just to vent. And they knew that while she would never share anything they had discussed in confidence, no matter how upset or tired she was, it was probably best not to push her. Besides, there wasn't a soul they'd met in all their years on any plane of existence that could match Abby when she was angry.

"I'm sorry, Abby," Kate murmured, sounding as contrite as the others appeared.

Abby blinked and shook her head sharply to clear it, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you." She shifted to stand and James offered her a hand up. "I'm going to bed before I say something I really regret. Goodnight, everyone."

"Stay here a minute, Char," James ordered quietly before following his wife through the connecting door to their room.

She rolled her eyes but obeyed. "I hate it when Abby gets so tired. It's a bit scary to have her go from almost mean to downright pitiful," she observed.

Kate nodded, "Only because it's so out of character though."

"And rare as all get out," Liam concurred.

They were silent then, able to hear the rustle of cloth as someone – probably James – pulled back the comforter in the next room.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," their sensitive ears caught Abby's exhausted whisper.

"There's no need for that, love," James assured her just as quietly. Whatever else was said was drowned out by the muted sounds of the white noise machine that mimicked lapping waves.

James returned a few moments later, closing the door silently behind him. "Out before her head hit the pillow," he explained without question. "You look about ready to do the same, Char."

She shrugged, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry we upset her."

Pulling her into a one-armed hug, he assured them, "It's no one's fault, sis. We've just got to stop with the all-nighters or near-all-nighters. We're not as young as we used to be."

"Actually, we are," Liam corrected.

Kate gave him a pointed look, "Can you swap back for your normal role, please?"

"Kate you haven't noticed?" James wondered. "When we're this tired I act more like he normally does and he's more like I normally am. He's ornery, I'm responsible. He pulls out the nicknames, I don't. Furthermore, Charlotte gets abnormally stubborn and well, you tend to miss things you normally wouldn't."

Liam grinned impishly, "And he overuses the word 'normally.'"

"Goodnight you two," Charlotte waved and allowed James to lead her out of the room. It was, unfortunately, still necessary. "Do you have your key, James?"

He rolled his eyes, "More like Liam, less like me. Of course I do. Do you have yours?"

She pulled it out of the pocket of her cotton pajama pants. "Right here. I wouldn't be very good at sneaking out if I had to wake Mum and Dad up to let me back in, now would I?"

"It's a valid question - we didn't have much practice sneaking out in our youth."

"True," she snorted. "But we had loads of practice escaping other things."

With a rueful smile he argued, "It was more helping Uncle Jack escape other things."

"And we got damn good at it."

"Aunt Elizabeth?" I waited until I was on the porch to get her attention. The Cullens were still in the living room, trying to summon the energy to make it up the stairs. I hugged her tightly and whispered, "Thank you. I can't… I don't… There are no… Just, thank you."

She smiled and kissed my forehead, "You're welcome, Bella. Thank you for trusting us. We'll see you tomorrow afternoon – everyone needs a chance to catch up on sleep."

"We don't!" Jacob called obnoxiously from where he and Seth were standing near his Rabbit.

While he playfully argued with both Charlotte and Aunt Elizabeth, I turned back to the house. I paused near the piano, watching them for a moment. I couldn't help remembering fondly the first time I had seen them across the cafeteria. The differences were slight, but they were definitely present. True they were all staring off into space as they had that day, but now it was due to exhaustion rather than eternal boredom with high school. The dark circles under their eyes were a result of a lack of sleep rather than of nutrition. They were still heartbreakingly gorgeous, but the inhuman potential to be frightening was missing now.

Alice danced over to me only slightly less fluidly than before and threw her arms around me. Again. She could really hug me properly now that we were on equal footing and so she took every opportunity to do so. My heart swelled at an almost alarming rate and I felt a bit like the Grinch at the end of the movie when his heart grows and breaks the monitor.

My overwhelming emotions naturally caught Jasper's attention and he turned to look at me. The others followed suit.

"Okay there, Bella?" he asked with a wry smile. He knew I was fine; he was just teasing.

I shook my head, my expression serious. "No." Neither Jasper nor Alice was fooled, and I honestly hadn't been trying to fool anyone. But the others all looked suddenly concerned and Edward started to stand before I realized the misunderstanding. "I just meant 'okay' is not an appropriate word," I hurried to assure them. "'Okay' cannot begin to convey the right sentiment." I rested my cheek against Alice's temple with a contented smile.

"You've been hangin' out with Edward too much, Squirt," Emmett pronounced. "Starting to talk like you were born in 1901."

From where I was standing behind Edward, I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Hey! I didn't even call him 'Eddie!'" he mock protested.

At first it was a little disconcerting, looking them in the eyes. I was used to seeing a range of shades, but usually in the golden category with the occasional black. Now the colors were as unique and varied as they were.

Carlisle's eyes were closest to the gold I was used to. They were a hazel color that seemed to change in the light from amber to yellowish to light brown. I had known Rosalie's eyes would be blue, but I hadn't expected them to be such a deep blue. They really were the color of vivid violets, very dark and very striking. On the other end of the blue spectrum, Jasper's were more the color of ice. At least he and Rose could still easily pass for twins. And since her eyes were kind of bluish-green, but lighter than my cousin Kate's, Esme could definitely be their aunt. Given Emmett's eyes were now approximately the color of mine, I had a feeling we might wind up telling people we were biological siblings as well. The childlike expression Rosalie spoke of when she told me her story seemed to fit better now that his eyes were brown again. Alice's eyes were silver, which just seemed right. They practically glowed, making her look even more pixie-like.

"You all look half dead," I said after a moment, smiling wryly at my very bad joke. "Considering that's just not true anymore and seeing as I'm the one who's had an overabundance of human experiences as of late making me the expert, I would suggest it's time for bed."

Esme nodded, "You're absolutely right, dear."

I watched in bemusement as the others stood. It was less graceful than I'd ever seen before, but their happiness more than made up for that. It radiated off of them in an almost substantial aura. But still, I struggled not to laugh when it took Emmett a few minutes to get to his feet.

"Laugh if you want, Squirt. You deserve it and God knows so do I," he grinned at me.

"I wasn't going to laugh," I disagreed.

Alice shook her head, "Horrible liar, Bella."

I rolled my eyes. Distracted as I was by my siblings to be, I completely missed Carlisle and Esme stand and start up the stairs. They seemed to realize halfway to the second floor that they hadn't said goodnight, stopped, waved and called back to us tiredly.

Esme admonished, "I expect you all to go straight to sleep. Don't stay up too much longer."

"Uh oh," Emmett teased under his breath as she disappeared. We heard their footsteps headed to the third floor when he yawned again. "Don't want to make Mom mad."

"Emmett…" Rosalie began in a half-warning, half-playful tone from the foot of the stairs. She pointed toward the second floor. "You heard her. Bed. Now."

He raised one eyebrow and I could just see the plethora of comments swimming through his head as he tried to choose the perfect one. Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, hearing them as well. "Please restrain yourself."

Emmett considered that for a moment, "Fine. But you owe me one."

"Hardly," Edward muttered under his breath.

"Play nice, Edward," I warned. On second thought I added, "You too, Em."

"Alright, Squirt," he ruffled my hair and yawned again as he shuffled toward Rose.

Just a week earlier I would have thought it impossible for any of the Cullens to shuffle. So much for preconceived notions... Emmett and Rosalie soon disappeared up the stairs as well. I was slightly anxious for Alice and Jasper to head up too so I could get Edward to bed. Silly as it was I felt a bit like their babysitter.

Jasper hadn't moved away from the couch. He stood there, watching me with an expression I couldn't read.

Without really thinking about it, I cocked my head and asked, "What's up, Jasper?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Just tired."

"I would imagine," I responded, feeling somewhat suspicious. Edward gave him an odd look before some kind of understanding lit his face which confused me even further. But we headed up the stairs just the same, Alice still holding on to me. "You know I haven't fallen since we played baseball and it was your brother's fault, right, Alice?"

She grinned up at me, "That doesn't mean I won't! I haven't slept in 86 years, Bella."

I blinked before dismissing my arguments against that observation. "So do you see anything interesting happening soon?" I asked instead.

"I see a trip to the grocery store before breakfast tomorrow morning since all the eggs were used for dinner," she replied teasingly, much to my chagrin.

"Ugh," I groaned as we paused outside the door to her room. "I didn't even think about that."

She clapped her hands suddenly, "Never mind! Excellent decision, Edward! We'll go out instead!"

"Here in Forks?" I balked. "You don't think people will talk if they actually see you eat in public for the first time?"

"Bella," Edward began behind me and I could hear his smile in his voice. "Not everyone is as observant as you are. The fact that we don't – didn't eat hasn't registered with most of them. But no, we won't stay in town. We'll go south."

"You'll have to drive more carefully," I warned.

Alice ignored me, reached behind her back and opened the door to their room, "Goodnight you two! Sleep well..." her expression grew kind of dreamy.

"'Night Alice. 'Night Jasper," I smiled at them. "Pleasant dreams."

I fully expected them both to leave then and was caught completely off guard when, for the first time ever, Jasper hugged me tightly and kissed my cheek. I didn't even get the chance to hug him back I was so surprised. When he stepped away from me I stood blinking dumbly for the longest time.

Alice made a noise between a giggle and a sob, breaking my stupor. I looked at her in concern.

"I'm just happy," she assured me, waving her hands. "It was better in real life than in my head."

Down the hall a door opened. "What happened to 'Don't stay up too much longer?'" Emmett asked teasingly, sticking his head out.

"Jasper hugged me," I explained, pointing at him.

"Uh huh... why does that surprise you? You're quite loveable, Squirt."

I paused for a moment, considering his answer before deciding the best course of action was to ignore it. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"Just wanted to thank the pixie for the PJs," he smirked at me. I had a feeling he knew I had no valid response to his observation.

Alice shrugged and beamed at him, "It's what I do."

"Goodnight then, family," Emmett nodded at us before closing the door again. The light under said door went dark a few moments later.

Edward yawned behind me, "He has the right idea… Goodnight" He took my hand and started toward the other staircase.

"One second. Now that I'm not dumbfounded…" I dropped his hand and hugged Jasper again. "That's better. We'll see you both in the morning."

I wasn't really surprised that I woke first the next morning. After all, I hadn't experienced a change that fundamentally altered my being or gone decades without sleep. I tiptoed across Edward's room to use the bathroom and then snuck out into the hall. Everyone was still dead to the world, so to speak. I stifled a laugh at yet another bad joke that I just knew would have echoed loudly through the house if I hadn't. Then I crawled back into bed beside Edward.

I watched him, finally understanding what he found so fascinating. He was almost as dazzling in sleep as he was with his brilliant eyes open and shining at me. Looking down at his face, utterly serene and unmarred by his past, emotion flowed over me. There wasn't anything I wouldn't do for him and I couldn't fathom how I got to be so lucky.

"I can't sleep if you're going to stare at me, Bella," he murmured, not fully awake.

"I'm sorry, Edward," I tried to slide back out of the bed and he moved to trap me beneath his arm.

"You can't leave," he protested, not even opening his eyes.

I chuckled softly, "Well what is it you want me to do?"

"Never mind, I'm up now," he snuggled closer, shifting his head to rest on my stomach and sighing contentedly.

I threaded my fingers through his hair and massaged his scalp for a while, staying quiet so he could fall back asleep.

"I was right, you know," his voice was slightly muffled by my pajama shirt.

I smiled in spite of myself, "As you once told me, you usually are. But about what this time?"

"I dreamt of you," Edward admitted as he moved again to rest his head beside mine. I sank into his beautiful emerald eyes as he smiled at me. After a long moment he brushed the hair out of my face and broke the silence, "But the dreams didn't do you justice."

"Edward…" I felt my cheeks turn red and his smile became a grin.

"I love you, Bella."

"I love you too, Edward. Why are you up so early?"

He made a little face before answering, "Some part of me was aware when you got up."

"So we'll both have difficulty sleeping without each other then," I murmured before adding lightheartedly, "What an excellent excuse to never part."

He gave a short laugh and pressed his lips to my forehead, "As if we need an excuse."

I was both surprised and relieved that he didn't mention his leaving me before. Perhaps now that he was human he would be able to begin to forgive himself as I had forgiven him. All that mattered was we were together. And safe. And we would stay that way forever.

"Incoming…" he whispered and pulled away.

I braced myself for Alice, but she never came. It was Rosalie who cracked open the door to find us awake. She then threw herself at us in a very ex-pixie-vampire fashion and chirped, "Good morning!"

"Was there a personality transplant attempted last night?" Edward wondered teasingly as he sat up.

Rose giggled and stuck her tongue out at him. "I can't help that I'm happy."

"It's good to see and hear you happy," he smiled genuinely.

She offered me her hand and pulled me up as well.

"Is everyone else still asleep?" I asked, fairly certain that they were.

Edward nodded.

"Anyone dreaming anything interesting?" Rosalie wondered.

He was quiet for a moment. "Emmett is dreaming about pirates, no real surprise there. I think Esme must be between REM cycles since her mind is rather blank. Carlisle's dreaming about being on Jeopardy. Jasper is dreaming he's Hamlet, but I have a feeling he's going to wake up fairly soon since Alice can't shake her nightmare about being forced to work at Walmart."

Both Edward and Rosalie seemed fine with the idea of letting Alice suffer, but neither could remember experiencing nightmares and so didn't realize how awful they could be. I rolled out of bed and headed down the stairs to rescue my sister-to-be from the prison of her mind. Right before opening her door a stray thought occurred. I hoped that she'd gotten pajamas for everyone and was quite relieved to find she had.

It was a bit surreal, seeing them asleep; somehow more so than it had been watching Edward. Even unconscious, Jasper seemed aware that Alice was upset. He was holding her tightly against him even as she was visibly struggling. That would make it harder to wake her without bothering him, but I wasn't about to let her continue to endure the nightmare.

Cautiously, I put my hand on her back and rubbed in circles. "Alice? It's okay. Wake up," I whispered as quietly as possibly. "I promise, you're not at Walmart."

Her eyes suddenly flew open, darting around to take in the room.

"Bella?" she sounded disoriented.

I put my finger to my lips and hushed her. With my other hand, I gestured at Jasper and then at the door, beckoning her to follow me if she wanted. Alice blinked a few times before nodding. She carefully extricated herself from Jasper's arms and scooted out of their bed. Taking my hand, she held tightly to me as we made our way back upstairs.

"It was horrible, Bella!" she exclaimed quietly once we were in the hall and the door was closed.

I flashed her a sympathetic smile. "Edward said you were dreaming you were forced to work at Walmart?"

She nodded, looking too upset for my liking.

"Alice, it was just a nightmare."

That seemed to snap her out of it and she gave me a look. "I know that, Bella. I just don't like not knowing what will happen when I sleep."

"Well, you brought your subconscious mind into play. Dreams aren't based on decisions. Sorry," I offered lamely.

She rolled her eyes and hugged me, "Oh Bella. There's nothing to be sorry about! Honestly... I will gladly embrace not knowing everything that's to come in return for this!" she paused for a moment. "Thank you."

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Jeez, you guys act like I'm the one who found the Fountain of Youth and I'm the one that offered it to you and I'm the one who made you human."

"Bella..." she stopped in the middle of the hall, looking at me very seriously. "You made us more human than you can possibly know long before yesterday. If it weren't for you... Oh, Bella. Do you really not realize how much you've given us? I thought we showed you last week…"

I shrugged. "I'm still working on it."

"You're just stubborn. Like Edward," she tilted her head to the side and looked at me. "A word of advice from someone who's been married almost three times as long as you've been alive – get over the stubbornness. Trust me."

I didn't know what else to say. "Thanks, Alice."

"That got serious too quickly. I don't like serious," she hugged me again and sighed happily. "It's really good to be able to do that without fire consuming my throat."

I knew it had been uncomfortable for them to be around me, but somehow I hadn't realized that's what it felt like. I'm sure my face reflected my surprise and horror.

She patted my arm. "Of course Edward didn't want you to know. But it's gone now, so stop worrying."

"If I'd known I'd – "

"You'd have made life more difficult in your attempts to make it easier. None of us minded if it meant getting to be around you, Bella. We love you. Now, let's go see if Rose and Edward are tormenting each other again."