CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

ESME'S POV:

The slam of the hotel door woke me out of my trance. I turned to look at my husband, and said, "Was he making that up?"

Carlisle shrugged his shoulder, and said, "I'm not sure. It would explain the nightmare Wednesday night, and why we found him on the couch the next morning."

Sitting down on said couch, I put my head in my hands and said, "Oh my God, I am a horrible Grandmother. How did I not see this?"

"Esme, really. You just met the boy; you're not expected to know everything about him. It's part of the learning process. At least now we can do something. Let's be pro-active, and not wallow."

Looking up at my husband, I nodded, "You're right. I'm sorry. I just want the boy to feel comfortable with us, and the thought that the last two nights have been miserable for him just breaks my heart. But moving on, we need a night-light, and we need one pronto."

"Why don't I run to the house, and pick up the night-light. I'll do a quick search to see if there is anything else we may have forgotten on our first trip," Carlisle said.

"I'll come with you," I said, getting up from the couch. On our way to the door, we heard a knock. Perfect timing, I thought. There at the door was my ever-so-perky daughter. "Hello dear, where's Sophia?"

"She's still asleep. Rosalie and Emmett agreed to watch over her. I figured we could get started on our scheming," Alice said, while offering up a wicked smile.

Carlisle chuckled behind me, and said, "I believe you are needed here love. I'll run to the house myself. Call me if you think of anything else we may need. I'll bring refreshments back to feed the troops." Saluting Alice and I, he add, "Officers, fall out!" I gave him a playful slap to the shoulder, and then he was on his way.

Turning back to Alice, I saw she was already situated in the living room, notebook in hand. "Where's my little nephew?" she inquired.

"With Edward," I replied. Alice let out a wispy laugh. "Funny…No really, where is he?" Obviously Edward spending time with Tony is hard for Alice to believe. I tried to convince her again. "They went to the hospital together."

Alice stood from the couch and came closer to me. "You mean to tell me that you let my nephew leave this house unsupervised with my brother to go to the hospital to visit my best friend?" Unsure what the problem was, I simply nodded my head. Alice started shrieking. "Oh my god! This is perfect. I wish we had time to prepare Tony before sending them out into the wild together alone, but this can work to our advantage. We need to keep them together for as long as possible."

Pleased that I hadn't made the wrong decision, I filled Alice in on what the two were up to. "Well, they were heading to breakfast, and then right to the hospital. It's too early for visiting hours yet, so that gives them some time there. How long do you think they'll be at the hospital for? What do you suggest we do to keep them together?"

Alice thought long and hard for awhile, before suggesting, "What if no one is here when they get back? That will ensure Edward having to watch Tony longer. Then we can meet them for a late dinner or something?"

"That could work Alice! But," I hesitated, "Do you think this is too much; too fast for Edward? Maybe the hospital visit alone will be enough for him."

"Mom, I love you and everything, but you need to stop babying him. He is a father. This is his son. He should be watching over him. You and Dad have spoiled him already by watching over Tony for the last two days. Let him make it up to you. Enjoy a day out with Dad, Sophie and me. They will be fine."

"I suppose you're right. Plus, we always have cell phones if he needs help." Alice shook her head. "I think we need to lay off the cell phones as well Mom. We don't want Edward to become too dependent on us. He may call every five minutes just to get you to worry, and come home simply to take over his job. I think we should be unavailable. Like, we can go see a movie, and then our cell phones will have to be shut off. No one's at fault there."

"I'm not sure if I'm very comfortable with that idea—," but Alice cut me off.

"Tough love Mom. You've got to be tough. And what could go wrong? Yes, Edward is inexperienced when it comes to kids, but he's a Doctor. He should be able to handle most, if not all surprises little Tony might throw his way." Declaring the topic closed, Alice moved on with her agenda. "Now, where was Dad running off to?"

"He was heading to Isabella's house to pick up some necessities we forgot yesterday. Apparently Tony is afraid of the dark, and has been struggling without his night-light."

"Okay, while Dad is at the house, we need him to pick up a few knickknacks; things that will show Edward how much he missed out on Tony's life already, and how much he'll miss out on in the future if he continues to deny him."

"Like what Alice? Photos?" I asked.

"Yes, that's perfect. Ask dad to look for photo albums. I can imagine Bella being the stereotypical camera-happy mom. I'm sure there must be loads albums somewhere. Dad should focus on obtaining Tony's baby years. Perhaps a ragged looking Bella taking care of his son alone will unfreeze Edward's heart."

"Or piss him off more. She wasn't alone, or do you not remember Tony's favorite Uncle Jake?"

"Ooo, you're right! That's even better Mom. It'll show Edward that a Daddy position can easily be replaced. And I'm sure he is just seething over how close Jacob and Bella remained. Seeing them in pictures together, looking like the happy American family that they are will make him jealous, I can assure you that."

"Alice, why do I get the sense that you are getting pleasure from your brother's pain? I mean, I agree he needs to be taught a lesson, but you seem more interested in seeing him get hurt. I thought we were trying to help him be happy again; trying to get him and Bella back together."

"It's more payback than satisfaction Mom. He is the reason that my best friend ran away. He is the reason that she stopped taking my calls, and wouldn't respond to emails. He scared her off, and made her feel like her and her baby were unwanted by us all. And while Bella suffered physically, mentally and emotionally over the last four years, he's just had to deal with the emotions of abandonment and unrequited love. Bella's the real victim here, and until he realizes it, I can't focus on his happiness yet."

Continuing her monologue, she added, "Yes, the ultimate plan is to reunite Bella and Edward, but that is kind of difficult to do when one of the two is in a coma. Plus, there will be no Bella and Edward if we can't get an Edward and Tony relationship going. Edward's gotta realize they come as a package deal. So Edward's happiness is going to be based on how well he and Tony hit it off."

"Seems like you've got this all figured out darling. You didn't leave me much to plan" I chuckled. Alice surely was a whirlwind once you've got her started on a project.

"Well, the only thing I haven't worked out yet is the issue of work. Who knows how long Bella will be out of the picture. Dad and Edward took vacation days to come out here, but I don't think vacation time extends to weeks or even months. Edward is the type of person who would use his patients and status at the hospital as a need to leave Tony behind. And how can a relationship form when you're in different states? Hence the popular saying; 'Out of sight, out of mind.'"

Alice began to pace, muttering, "What to do, what to do," under her breathe. Thinking it over, I suggested, "What Edward needs to do is take a leave of absence until things are resolved, but the problem is how to suggest it to him. It's not like he'd think of it himself. He doesn't put fatherhood ahead of anything yet, let alone his job."

Alice stopped in place, and spun around, asserting "Who says we have to suggest it? We could sign into his email account and mail the Chief of Staff a note explaining his leave. Or, have father call, explaining that Edward has too much on his mind right now to do it himself. If we already have the process in the works, Edward isn't going to go and contradict all our hard work and effort. He'd look like a bigger shmuck if he did that."

"I don't know Alice. I think we'd have to run that idea past your father first. I wouldn't want to do anything that could potential hurt Edward's career down the line." Alice agreed with me.

I picked my cell phone out of my purse, and said, "So besides the night-light, I'm having your father look for albums. Anything else Alice?"

"Hmm…this is hard to do without Tony. He probably knows Bella best at this point. I say we'll start with that, and we can do reconnaissance work with Tony at a later date."

As I typed out a message for Carlisle, I couldn't help but get giddy myself. I know as a mother I shouldn't be saying this, but it is fun to be a little vindictive. Now if only Edward can do his part…then everyone can get their happy endings.