Everyone was silent as we comtemplated this dilema. Emmett was the first to break the silence.

"I think we should kick him all the way to-" Emmett began furiously.

"Emmett!" Esme scolded, cutting him off before he could say any more. Emmett looked slightly sheepish for a second, before irritation overruled his features.

"Sorry, Mom" he apologized. Esme just glared at him, and purposefully turned her back.

"Well, what should we do about him? If that isn't an option," Edward asked. I could tell that he liked Emmett's idea, even though he wouldn't voice that opinion.

"Well, we could send him off to less civilized spots, and by that I mean more of us," Jasper suggested, "the South, for instance." Alice gasped. I turned to look at her, wondering what she had seen.

"Yup, he'll do it...I see him....with...someone," Alice said, her eyes blank and staring.

"Who is it, Alice?" Jasper asked quietly, at her side. He guided her down to the ground, where she could sit. Alice turned to look at him with empty eyes.

"I...think...it's... Maria," she finally said as her eyes came slowly back into focus. Everyone stiffened at the mention of Jasper's creator. Naturally, the first to recover was Jasper.

"What was she doing?" he asked his wife. Alice leaned into him, and he wrapped his arms around her automatically.

"I should probably give you guys the whole story," Alice sighed, and then began.

"Wait, you're kidding!" gasped Emmett. "Maria is already creating an army to destroy the Volturi?!" Alice nodded gravely.

"Yes, Emmett, she is." Alice told him grimly.

"Well, then, what about the next part of the vision?" Carlisle asked, struggling to maintain his calm, relaxed posture.

"Next, in the future, I see Aro running straight into the unprepared army. We sent him South, for the feeding opportunities, and he ran into them by accident." Alice continued. I heard a tiny sound, coming from the crib. It sounded like a child's yawn. Renesmee. I stiffened. I had completely forgotten what time it was in the epic conversation we were having.

"Momma?" Nessie called out timidly.

"Right here, Nessie," I called back, sprinting into the room. I looked in horror at how small her crib had gotten. She had to curl into a ball just to fit.

"We need a new bed," Edward murmured, echoing my thoughts exactly. "But for now..." Edward walked over to the crib, and after llifting Renesmee out, carefully starting breaking off the bars. Nessie giggled at the sight. I turned to Edward, carefully peeling back my shield so that he could hear me without having to speak. Do we continue the discussion around her? I asked mentally. He thought about it for a long second, then nodded, ever so slightly. I turned to my daughter to explain. I opened my mouth, about to speak, when Nessie rolled her eyes swiftly, cutting me off.

"Momma, did you know that I heard every word you guys were saying?" she told me in a bored tone. I glanced around at the other vampires, fully intending not to say anything. Renesmee huffed impatiently.

"Momma, Aro's been annoying me too!" she exclaimed. "And I understand every word you said, don't bother explaining! Now please, Alice, continue on the vision you were describing." Everyone automatically turned to Alice. She smiled at Renesmee, then continued describing her vision.

"OK, so, there was this huge battle. Aro fled, with Maria's army on his tail, and barely made it to Volterra for the wives, and the others." Alice glanced apologetically at Carlisle, whoose face was ashen, but resolved.

"Continue, please, Alice," he said, slightly faintly. Esme reached out and took his hand, gently rubbing soothing circles into the back of his hand.

"Ok....so...I'll summarize. In the end... Aro and his followers...were...destroyed." Alice again looked apologetically at Carlisle. Esme was standing behind him, her arms around his waist. I was sure that she was supporting all his weight. Carlisle's face was so ashen gray, I was actually afraid that he might pass out, if that was possible for vampires. But I sympathized with him, having to hear Alice predict your friend's death. And what's more, she was predicting the death of Carlisle's friend, whom he had known for probably somewhere around 200 years. When reflecting on it like that, I was surprised that Carlisle had had the courage to tell Alice to continue.

"Well," Carlisle murmured in a strained tone once he had recovered enough to talk, "That settles the issues." Renesmee's face was solemn, showing polite respect. It was way beyond her age, but I was beyond being surprised y my daughter's progress any more.

"But," Jasper reminded us, "this vision is the future. If we don't do the things that Alice said we would do, then that won't happen. We'll have to deal with the same issues that you just said were solved, Carlisle." Jasper looked as much in pain as Carlisle did, probably due to the emotional connection between Jasper and everyone in the room. A silence ensued. Edward was the first to break it.

"Carlisle?" he asked softly. What a gentleman Edward was, leaving the choice up to Carlisle. However, I could tell how difficult the choice was for Jasper. If I had the choice to kill or save a friend that had I had known for at least two hundred plus years, then I would be in as much pain as Carlisle was at the moment. A movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention, and I realized that it was the movements of heads turning to look at Carlisle. Automatically, I followed suit.

A silence ensued as Carlisle comtemplated this decision. The seconds ticked by as we waited for an answer. Absently, I wondered if Carlisle was even capable of making any reply, looking the way he did now. Something moved in my line of sight, and I concentrated on it.

Slowly, so small a movement that it was barely perceptible, Carlisle nodded.

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