CHAPTER 25 - CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT GIVING
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Bella
We checked in to the hospital at exactly 10 o'clock; Edward, Renesmee, Jacob, Rosalie, Alice, and me.
"This totally spoils my plans for the holiday," Aunt Alice complained under her breath.
"It's for a good cause, Alice," Edward reasoned with a confident grin. "And we're only taking care of children. All we have to do is avoid any temptation of blood and we'll do fine. Besides, you still have plenty of time to plan the celebration." I wasn't sure if he really was that confident or just trying to make a good example.
I snorted. Too bad Thomas wasn't here. He liked kids. And like Rosalie, he once dreamt of starting his own family before immortality stripped away that opportunity from him. But he decided to decline the offer for their safety, he couldn't be sure if he was strong enough to resist the scent of fragile little humans. Emmett was a little eager to come, but we decided that he was too physically intimidating to make any human comfortable with being around him. And scaring them was the last thing we wanted. Jasper stayed away for the same reason as Thomas's - he wasn't sure if he could restrain himself, even though his control had improved tremendously over the past seven years.
Martie called as he ran breathlessly toward us, "Hey..." Heavy breaths. "Sorry... I'm late."
"That's all right, we only just checked in," I assured.
My perfect sight was focused on Martie, but Renesmee's grin at his appearance was impossible to miss. Blightness glowed in her smiling eyes. He had given my daughter something none of us knew that she lacked; a human friend. Someone out of the extraordinary. I hoped it will keep that way for a long time. For both their sakes.
"Let's go get changed and get started," Rosalie said.
And then we separated to our changing rooms.
Alice
Right after we were given instructions and assignments for the day, we all separated to our destinations in the pediatrics ward. The head doctor, Travis Grant, led me, Rosalie and Bella one of the chambers while Renesmee, Martie, Edward and Jacob went to the other room. Since there were so many of us volunteering, the staff decided to split us in groups. It wasn't easy getting the other staff members to work, though. Wherever we passed, gleaming eyes glanced at us like they were seeing worshipping gods.
"Hello, everyone, I'm Alice," I introduced loudly for the kids to hear. "This is Bella and Rosalie, and we'll be spending the holiday with you. Of course, that is while you stay in the hospital."
Their eyes glowed at us, like they'd just seen the beautiful princesses that could have come from fairytales.
I saw it then: we, the three of us well acquainted with the kids. I saw Bella reading stories to some of them, Rosalie happily, and very, very carefully, brushing their hair, and me talking to some of the sick kids and made the day better for them. The guys, on the other hand, were hard to see; Jacob and Nessie were too involved to reveal anything. The blind spots covered everything. I grunted irritatingly.
Aro will probably never covet me and my power as much as he once did. Why would he want my power now that he knew that my vision could be blocked by indecisions, human-vampire half-breeds (or "dhampirs" as Martie called it), Quileute shape-shifters. Hell, I probably can't even see real werewolves, either. Not that I minded about being narrowed down to an unwanted list by Aro, but I wasn't happy about being "blindfolded", either.
"Alice," Bella called, confused by my suddenly sur expression.
"Oh, um, sorry." I pushed the negative thought to the back of my small brain.
We scattered to familiarize ourselves with the kids. Bella loved the kids; she'd been a mother for years now, so of course it would be natural for her to love children and be such a loving caretaker. And Rosalie had wanted children of her own since before she became a vampire; and although it was impossible for her to bear her own children, Renesmee's birth brought out the happier and more maternal side in her. Also, she loved being viewed as beautiful; the adoration was something she still loved. Pfft! What a shallow sister I have.
I was not as good at taking care of children as the two of them, but it wasn't all that hard to learn the ropes. In a matter of hours, I was already as good as the rest of them.
"Can you read us 'Alice in Wonderland', please?" Travis, the 6 year-old disabled boy requested. He held out the book of Alice in Wonderland.
I took it, sat down beside the kids and started reading. They listened intently as I read and moved my hands to describe the content.
"Why is the Queen so mean to Alice?" Nina asked.
I thought for a half-second. "Well, because the Queen is used to being very spoiled."
"What does 'spoiled' mean?"
"It means, you always get what you want, and others always do what you say without saying no. After many years of getting that, you expect things to go exactly the way you want. You know, like your daddy and mommy always buying you moving toys, or your friends are always letting you tell them what to do. You get used to it, and then you just wait for them to do it everyday."
Nina leaned down on my chest, but then jerked away when she realized it was cold like ice.
Laughter filled the room when one of Rosalie's kids declared victory in pinochle. I knew that she had allowed him to win on purpose. She was good at card games even without my vision.
Rosalie
Mikey laughed a pealing laugh to declare his victory in pinochle. I'd played with it too many times to not be good at it, but I decided to let him feel the small glory of victory. Somehow, he looked very much like someone I remembered. Small dimples across his happy face and dark curly hair. He looked like two people: my best friend's baby son, Henry; and mostly, my beloved Emmett. Ever so angelic.
I looked to the other three children. All were different in appearance, and yet beautiful like angels. Not half as beautiful as my niece Renesmee, of course, but still beautiful.
I brushed through the golden hair of Greta, my youngest responsibility, with my cold fingers.
"How come are you so cold, Rosalie?" she asked as she shivered uncomfortably.
I slowly retracted my hand and whispered, loud enough for Bella and Alice to hear. "Because I have a little secret."
"What secret?" David wondered.
The others glanced in interest. I leaned down until my back reached 45 degrees and they did the same.
"Because I lived in the coldest places ever. Me and my family. We've been to Antarctica and Arctica, even lived up in Alaska for a while with some cousins."
"You've been to Antarctica?" Helia asked. "I've only watched it on TV. Were there any white bears?"
I shook my head and then added. "But there were plenty of cute little penguins and whales."
They grinned in gleaming anticipation. And I knew I was gleaming, too. And like always, I wasn't gleaming because they viewed me as a beautiful princess.
Jacob
I placed the empty cup next to Frankie's bed.
"Would you like to have anything else?" I asked conveniently. He shook his head. "Okay. I'm gonna refill some water in case you need some more, and then I'm gonna be at the windows with Danny and Smithson. Just say a word if you need anything, okay?"
He nodded again.
I looked over to Edward, and then Nessie before leaving the room. Martie followed to wash his hands. When we came back, Edward was walking in the hall with a little girl holding his hand.
"Look at him," a nurse muttered to her colleague, "he's totally gorgeous. Can you believe he's 17?"
The nurses glanced at him in astonishment, mumbling about his god-like looks, thinking he couldn't hear. I got a few comments, too, but half of them referred to my bulky body. They were nice compliments, if I didn't keep finding them annoyingly uncomfortable.
When I went back into the room, a male nurse was talking with Nessie while pressing a cold compress on a kid's forehead. He didn't pay as much attention to the kid as he should.
And he was making Nessie grin.
A torch burst in my chest, but I immediately quenched it down to my stomach. As uncomfortable as it was to watch another guy talk to my Nessie, the important thing was that she was having a good time. And hurting someone for just my jealousy wasn't worth the trouble.
"Excuse me," Edward alerted as he walked past us and shot a proud grin at me.
Martie left for his set of kids, and I went to mine who were playing with a bucket of legos near the windows. She turned in my direction as I walked past her and shot a grin at me. And I melted.
I knelt beside the table to help the kids pick out pieces as they built their spaceships.
My heightened ears were half-paying attention to their conversation.
"It's nice of you to volunteer for the kids," the male nurse commented.
There was an excited tone to his voice.
"Yeah, I figured I could do some good for some people," Nessie replied. "At least they should have someone to care for them. With their families away and all."
"Right."
A moment of silence. A kid demanded a rectangular blue piece.
"Would you like to, uh, go for coffee with me... sometime?" he asked.
I gasped quietly. He was asking my Nessie out? I never thought that any other boys would be interested in her that way.
She answered. "Sure, I'd like that. But I gotta wait for my boyfriend. He's volunteering here at the hospital, too."
"Boyfriend?"
"Yeah, he's right over there."
I looked over my shoulders to them and flashed my smiling teeth at them; partly because I was happily relieved that my Nessie wasn't interested in any other guy than me, and partly because I wanted to shove away that flirting nurse. She flashed her own smile at me.
The shining curls and the chocolate eyes embedded on her perfect face made her smile shine brightly. Like a bright star shining over me, bathing my every fiber in its radiance. I was buried in that light.
"Jacob, I think Smithson wants a red piece," she called, breaking my trance.
I found and gave the piece to Smithson and apologized because I didn't hear when he talked. I wasn't sorry for looking at my girlfriend, though.
The nurse had a short conversation with Nessie, and then he left for other business. Hopefully he wouldn't come back for the rest of the day.
Every now and then, I gazed at her. And she would gaze at me when she wasn't too busy. Edward occasionally sent me grinning glances that intrepreted "Stop staring at my daughter already and focus".
Renesmee
"Hey, babe, how was it today at the hospital?" Uncle Emmett asked Aunt Rosalie when we got back.
"Great," she replied with giddiness and kissed his lips, then she continued. "They loved me combing their hair. Alice told them stories, and Bella kept them entertained with circus tricks."
Uncle Emmett looked at Mom with wide eyes- "And here I thought you didn't like showing off." Then to Aunt Rosalie again. "Did she slip?"
"One more clumzy crack on my wife and I swear I will tear off your mouth, Emmett," Dad threatened with a non-threatening tone as he put his arm around Mom's shoulders. She didn't look bothered by Uncle Emmett's jokes.
"I'll help you keep him grounded," Jacob whispered in his ear.
It was then I said, "Me, too."
"All right, break it up," Grandma called from the kitchen, her voice demanding.
I hung up my coat and dragged Jake into the living room and voice-activated the TV. "Gossip Girl" was re-running its first season.
"So how did it feel?" I asked without looking at him.
He turned in my direction. "How did what feel?"
I slowly turned to him with a teasing expression. "How did it feel when I called you my boyfriend?"
A laugh burst through his throat out of his mouth, echoing through the house. He stopped after a moment and looked at me with my favorite gleaming smile.
"I loved it."
I found myself smiling now. Loving it too.
When the show went to commercials, an advertisement reminded that there were only 2 days left before Christmas.
I thought back to the kids at the hospital. Though they were happier to have us play with them, I couldn't help feeling that there was still something missing. Something fitting to the holiday and would be able to cheer them up indefinitely. I wish there was something to try, to bring them some amount of Christmas cheer.
Then it hit me. An idea that seemed intriguing enough to my taste, and definitely good enough to make the kids happy. The only problem was to proceed it perfectly and without too much notice.
Dad entered the living room and gave me a reluctant frown.
Jacob hadn't missed it.
"What?" he asked.
He didn't answer. Instead his frown slowly lit up to a grin.
Emmett
"Are you ready?" Nessie asked Thomas while putting on the elf hat.
He shrugged uneasily. "This is ridiculous, and you're insane. What were you thinking exactly?"
"Making a small miracle, that's what."
Oh, this is gonna be good.
Jasper and Carlisle adjusted the gift sacks on their shoulders. Esme helped carry Martie's, because it was too heavy for him. Every now and then, she would wink at Carlisle and scan his Santa Claus outfit.
Bella and Edward emerged from the playroom, which was already echoing games and laughs of kids.
"It's almost time," Bella informed.
"Sweet," I said excitedly.
I was totally washed over by excitement. Can't wait to get started. Man, it was so nice of Nessie to let her Uncle Emmett in on the show. I would've petrified like a statue forever if she didn't invite me.
"Okay, don't show off too much, Em," Edward warned. "We gotta keep it simple until the magician pulls the rabbit out of the hat." His eyes flickered to the room for a fraction of a second. "And for Santa Claus -" He flickered to Carlisle. "- to give out the gifts."
My fingers twitched anxiously on both sides of my pants. The scents of sweet air filled my lifeless lungs (thank goodness I hunted earlier today). I can't wait to get started. And I will be the first performer!
Edward went back inside to join Alice and the kids with the card-guessing games. They were playing a couple of psychics; one can read people's thoughts, and another can see people's future. The kids were quite fascinated with how often they guessed right with the cards they were holding. When the games stopped, Rosalie called for us, minus Carlisle, Jasper and Martie. Esme handed back the sack as she followed us in. I grabbed my bag of tools and took a quick peak into the mirror at the end of the hall, making sure that my red and green elf costume wasn't out of place, and then followed them into the playroom. Edward, Jacob and Alice sat across the room in a triangular formation with one or two kids sitting on their laps. Jake waved at Nessie with adoring eyesight. What a sick dog.
Some of the kids shivered when they saw me, one of them gripped tightly on Edward's green elf costume. Silly that they would find me scary. Would've been amusing if it was a thug who saw me instead. In fact, I would be pleased to frighten them. But I knew that children shouldn't feel scared about anything. I'm going to have to smile and be very kind to make them feel more comfortable.
Rosalie shot a dazzling smile in my direction, those gleamy golden eyes and that radiant angelic costume melted my frozen core. Then she turned her attention back to the kids as I stood near a wall and put my bag against the table leg. Nessie, Esme and Bella positioned themselves behind me.
I quickly pulled out all my tools and set them on the table.
"Now, kids, say hello to Emmett," she said to the kids. "He's going to do some bouncing and balancing. And in the mean time, my mom, Esme, and my sisters, Bella and Renesmee, will be singing to fill the room with music. And when Emmett's done, we will have a magician take us to meet Santa Claus!"
They broke into cheers at the mention of Santa Claus. Typical kids - hungry for Christmas gifts and the one person to deliver them.
"Okay, let's begin," she started.
She leaned up and kissed my cheek, and then went to the piano and pressed her beautiful fingers on the keyboard, playing "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" in a tune that was both child-loving and beautiful.
I smiled friendly at the little crowd and began picking up the juggling balls. Bella, Nessie and Esme started singing when I tossed the first ball up in the air. My eyes steered clear of my balls' movements as I juggled them too slowly. When the song started picking up its next verse, I started bouncing the balls with only my left hand and picked up three juggle pins with the other. I juggled the balls and pins with each hand and kept them perfectly balanced, with little strength exerted from my fingers. It was then I started to realize Thomas's enjoyment of playing circus tricks and experimenting with his skills, because even though I had been a vampire longer than he had, I'd only tested my capabilities in their most basic ways. But he always came up with new methods to test his balance, durability, physicality and powers. It wasn't only interesting, but fun as well.
I sped up and turned my hands and fingers about 35 degrees to each other, sending the balls and pins flying together.
My hands were moving so fast that it was probably hard for human eyes to see now. Yet the audience laughed and clapped. Their eyes focused on me, almost like they had seen the biggest and most beautiful candy collection in a local store.
The song turned near its ending melody. And as much as I didn't want to stop, I knew it was time.
Edward, catch, I thought to him and threw some balls and pins to him and Alice, knowing she would see it coming. They rose from their seats and opened their hands just as the tools threw into them. And the song ended.
I quickly brought out the yellow and red apples and threw them agilely into each kid's hand, slowly and nicely. For them.
They clapped and cheered even louder. Their laughter filling the whole room. I smiled and bowed. Proud was filling my core.
"Now let's say "thank you" to Emmett for the show and the apples," my Rosalie asked nicely.
"THANK YOU, EMMETT!" they said loudly.
"Aw, you're very welcome, and Merry Christmas to all of you," I replied. I never realized it would be this much fun to perform and entertain children. That sure as hell was fun and satisfying. Satisfying because I have brought laughter to the kids.
Thomas
Emmett picked up his bag and went to Rosalie's side by the piano. She rose from the seat and gave him a kiss before turning her attention back to the kids.
"So, did you enjoy it?" she asked. Her answer was a loud shriek of cheering that covered the whole room. "Then you wouldn't mind seeing what our magician can do, would you?" she went on.
They cheered again.
Rosalie glanced at me over her shoulder. This was my cue.
I walked to the table, thanked Rosalie and greeted the kids. I pulled down my elf hat and held it up front, showing the hollow inside, then sent pushed it out through the hole.
When I was done, the show began. Nessie, Bella and Esme started singing "Jingle Bells" while Rosalie played the piano. I concentrated on feeling what wasn't in my hand and imagining that it was. Then my hand started feeling dusty. I pulled out and thrusted my arm forward, releasing my fingers. A fraction of my mind concentrated on expanding the glittering dust as it expanded, and then turning it into small patterned snowflakes. The kids giggled as the snow showered upon them. Some of them caught the flakes in their hands and observed its beauty as it flowed over their palms rather than land on them and melt. Edward and Alice smiled with their wide, dashing teeth. The song came to its final verse.
"Okay," I muttered and then said out loud to the kids. "Now I'm gonna take you to see Santa, okay?"
"YAAAAAY!"
They shrieked so loud I had to speak louder for them to hear me. Their hearing wasn't as sharp as mine.
"But first, I need you to close your eyes. Because I cannot take you up on a sleight and fly to his home, so I'm gonna take you to him with a little magic. All you need to do is close your eyes and stay closed until I tell you to open, can you do that for me? Can you do that for Santa?"
"Yeah," they agreed wholeheartedly. My, kids sure were easy to like someone if you knew the trick.
"Okay, then let's do it. And no peaking."
They did as instructed just as "Jingle Bells" began anew. I closed my eyes and concentrated on seeing a new environment. I could see it; an open town with a two-stored high Christmas tree in the center. Red and yellow houses made of ginger breads and candy, covered in multi-colored lights and snow. And the scenery wasn't lifeless. I imagined happy-colored elves, self-moving snowmen and tiny snow fairies associated with penguins and polar bears as pets. To make sure that the kids would not start running around, I created a quadrangular fence around us.
I spread my focus to Carlisle, Martie and Jasper's hearing without opening my eyes. I'm almost done, guys. Wait for my cue.
Then I imagined the door to the hallway as the entrance of the gingerbread city hall - Santa Claus's office. Larger and brighter than any gingerbread house in my imagination. The snow globes sang along with Esme, Nessie and Bella, picking up "We Wish You A Merry Christmas".
I opened my eyes and told the kids, "Okay, you can open your eyes now."
They opened slowly, and then they were astounded, completely enchanted by my magic. Their mouths opened in awe as they took in their surroundings, but no words escaped. My elves, snowmen and penguins all waved at them. They waved back and tried to reach for them, but the fence prevented them from leaving the area. Edward and Alice comfortable those who wanted to climb through, telling them that they had to stay inside the fence when Santa came out and when we got home. I added one more contribution; a shower of snowflakes.
The song ended.
"All right, kids," I practically screamed to get their attention. "Are you ready to see Santa Claus?"
"YEAAAH!"
"Good," I approved, and went on, "But after he hands out his presents, we have to go home. And his townsfolk are worried that their home will be exposed, that's why we cannot tell anybody about what we saw in Santa Claus's town."
"Why won't Santa let others know where he lives?" David asked curiously.
"Because Santa is someone that you need to believe in when you don't see him. That's the whole point of Christmas, to believe in something when you don't see it. He's only letting you see him this time because he is sad that you are not having a good Christmas, that's why he's decided to make an exception today. But his home has to be kept secret so that he can continue to spread joy to the world. So what do you say? You will help him?"
"YES!" the kids agreed while nodding.
"Okay, then let us say hello to Santa." All right! Martie, Carlisle, Jasper, you're on!
Carlisle exited the main door, and then Jasper and Martie followed. Martie was stunned at what he was seeing, completely taken by the illusion. Jasper noticed his amazement and forcefully dragged him by the hand.
"Ho-ho-ho, Merry Christmas!" Carlisle imitated Santa's elderly voice as he waved.
The kids cheered enthusiastically at the sight of Santa.
He came to my side and gave Esme a quick wink before turning his attention back to the kids. "Well, what have we here? If it ain't the lovely little children from Cloverdale Hospital. Well, let's begin spreading the gifts. After all, you need to get back before someone finds you missing."
They agreed with a nod. Carlisle opened his sack and started picking out a gift. When he took one, he read the tag and asked. "Which one is you little fellows is Greta?"
A little girl in the middle of the crowd raised her hand and screamed, "I am! I am !"
He went closer to her side, stopped a few feet away and tossed the little present to Alice, who was standing closest to her. She caught it in her hand and gave it to Greta, who unwrapped it in anticipation. The gift was a blue box containing a little snowglobe with a deer and a Santa Claus figure.
"Thank you, Santa!" she said gratefully.
And so the pattern continued. When his sack ran out of gifts, Jasper gave him his; and when that ran out, too, Martie gave his. And then everyone had a gift. Every gift was what they had secretly wanted when Rosalie and Alice played a wishing game with them yesterday and had Eddie listen to their thoughts to find out what they wanted for Christmas. One of the kids asked Santa why he was given a gift when he'd been naughty; I answered that one for him. "Because everyone deserves a second chance. And Santa wants to give you that chance."
Jasper
The atmosphere was purely of joy and happiness. Warmth in the hearts of the children. And I was feeling it, too. After the gifts were given out, it was time for the charade to end.
"Let's all sing together this time, okay?" Thomas suggested.
"Why?" one of the kids asked.
"Because the best way to bring Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."
"But I can't sing," a little girl said.
"That's not a problem."
Carlisle took over. "What's important is not how well you sing, but how you sing together. How it makes you happy when you sing with others."
The little girl's mood changed a little swiftly. I was glad for her sake.
"Okay, then let's say goodbye to Santa and then we'll close our eyes again and sing "Silent Night" together, all right?" Thomas said.
"Bye-bye, Santa!" the kids exclaimed.
"Bye-bye," Carlisle said in his ever kind voice.
Everyone closed their eyes, minus the rest of us. Thomas quickly waved his hand in our direction, signaling us to leave the room. Carlisle, Martie and I went through the door and into the hospital hallway just as the song began. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes to listen. The voices were somewhat off-key, but the radiant emotions emitted from the singers were impossible to cloud. I allowed myself to drown in them.
"Silent night, holy night"
"All is calm, all is bright"
"Round yon Virgin Mother and Child"
"Holy infant so tender and mild"
"Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace"
"Silent night, holy night"
"Son of God, love's pure light"
"Radiant beams from Thy holy face"
"With the dawn of redeeming grace"
"Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth"
"Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth"
A voice appeared next to my ears as it sang along in silence. I recognized it as my own.
"Silent night, holy night"
"Shepherds quake at the sight"
"Glories stream from heaven afar"
"Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!"
"Christ, the Savior is born"
"Christ, the Savior is born"
When I resurfaced, it was impossible to tell how joyful I still was. Aside from my own happy feelings, I was flooded with overwhelming joy and pure happiness from the kids and my own family, all of them reflecting in my heart. I was suddenly so happy to be in such close proximity to these harmless, fragile little humans. Their way of thinking was simple. And so were their feelings.
The walls echoed screams and laughter as the kids released their emotions into the atmosphere.
"You're smiling," Martie commented as he noticed my suddenly happiness. There wasn't curiosity in his question, just anticipation.
"Yes. Yes, I am," I admitted with a huge smile on my face. Alice was the first to exit the room, and she looked at me with a huge smile across her face. Her happy feelings sent another strong vibe into my already flooded heart. I couldn't even word the feelings right. There was only one word to describe how she and the others were making me feel. Wow. Just wow.
My smile grew bigger, showing my teeth.