Hello again! So sorry for the long wait. This chapter was longer than this, but it didn't feel right, so I cut it down into two chapters.

With this one, expect to see some familiar faces!

Enjoy!

LookAliveSunshine03

Chapter 26:

An awkward invitation

In the morning Beth left her loud solitude to join Nessie at breakfast. Running through the forest, a light drizzle was falling. Clearly, she had severely underestimated the weather here, and so was very glad that she had packed a waterproof jacket.

Bella answered the door with a smile. "Come inside. She's been waiting for you since five this morning." Somehow it sounded more accusatory when she said it, but Beth laughed anyway.

Hanging her jacket and rucksack up inside, she breathed in the nostalgic smell of bacon and eggs. Jacob manned the frying pans, while Nessie ate oatmeal and blueberries at the breakfast bar. With her mouth full, she could only frantically wave her spoon at her.

Her father sat there, too, reading a small book of poetry. He looked up at Beth's approach. "Good morning, Beth," he smiled.

"Hi!" she took the seat next to him. "So, what's the plan today, m'dears?"

Nessie swallowed her oatmeal. "I thought you might want to visit La Push with us?"

Aha. Beth grinned. "Sounds good! I'd love to come along!"

"We figured you already know the way," Jake was saying while plating up his breakfast. He gave her a knowing grin, which told her she wasn't in trouble for going there alone.

She laughed, eyeing up his hefty portion of crispy bacon and fried eggs, sunny-side up. Needs tomato sauce. "Yeah, but I probably don't know it as well as you, right?"

After a while, she politely asked to freshen up in their bathroom. Her hair was probably a complete mess after last night's hike in the wood, and her t-shirt was streaked with grass stains.

She came out moments later, almost bumping into Nessie, who was coming to clean her teeth. "Oops! Sorry."

"It's alright." Nessie glanced at her new t-shirt with a smile. "That's a bit macabre, isn't it?"

Good word that. Macabre. "Probably. I like macabre." Beth cracked a grin. "And comic books. So this is perfect."

"Oh, really?" Nessie touched her arm. In her mind, Beth saw Seth, curled up on an unfamiliar sofa, reading a super-hero comic with bright and bold illustrations.

Surprised, she laughed. "Seems I'm not the only nerd around here."

Leaving Renesmee to her ablutions, Beth went downstairs. Bella and Edward were looking cosy on the sofa. Jake had eaten what looked to be two helpings of breakfast. He was now watching the news, leaning against the breakfast bar chewing a granola bar.

"Good God, man. Do you ever stop eating?" Beth laughed.

Her brother had been similar. Weren't all boys?

Alex would have worked all that food off at the gym. That made Beth smile sadly. She would always tease him about that. "Who gets up at five in the morning on a Saturday to get all sweaty and stinky? Madness, sheer madness!"

But Alex never took the bait; he would just smile and benignly accuse her of being jealous of his muscles. He was always the more mild-mannered one of the family.

Until she caught his eye, Beth had forgotten that Edward could hear all this.

Oh. She forcibly turned her attention onto the TV. He was a little puzzled when she said, Don't say anything, please.

Clearly she didn't like the idea of Edward listening in whenever the memories of her old life snuck into her current one.

They were private – with a capital T, to quote her thoughts. Edward knew this, which was why this made him so uncomfortable. He didn't mean to intrude. Usually he could cancel out people's thoughts if he felt the need to…but hers were particularly difficult. Loud thoughts always were.

Still, the clarity of her human memories was fascinating. Edward remembered many years ago, back when he was still resenting Carlisle's choice to curb his thirst for human blood, he had asked him if there was a chance some people were more suited to their lifestyle than others.

Carlisle had agreed that it was true. Now, along with her, one could say that they were not meant to be vampires. Unlike Edward and his family, Beth had not been inches from death when she was bitten. She had fought desperately to live, while Darius' venom permeated her veins. In fact, she had almost managed to reject it completely until Anna had stopped her, under the stern supervision of their mentor, Antoine.

Edward wondered if Beth even knew about that. It was one of the few memories she had that wasn't lucid, fogged up by the pain and her emotions.

Were it not for Darius' pitiless attack, she probably would have gone on to live a full and happy life. It, understandably, was not something she liked to think about.

"So, Beth," Bella said, giving Edward the smallest of nudges. "How was your night?"

"Oh, it was…fine." Lonely. "The forests here, they're just…like something out of fairy tale."

"You don't mind the rain?"

Beth laughed. Obviously Bella had, as a human. "Not really. We have similar weather at home. Oh!" She gasped. "Um. Sorry, I just remembered. You had to come all the way back here from Alaska, didn't you? I mean, that's what Leah told me. God, I hope the Denalis –"

"It's okay," Bella interrupted gently.

"You shouldn't listen to Leah," Jacob said gruffly. "She just wanted to make you feel bad."

Beth barked an uncomfortable laugh. "Well, it damned-sure worked."

"We called Tanya last night. I told her that it was all a misunderstanding," Edward explained.

"Ah. That…I'm not some spy with a Volturi-orientated agenda? Well, okay. And what did Tanya say to that?"

Edward laughed, perhaps thinking about something she must have said. "They would like to meet you in person. Eleazor sounded particularly eager."

Beth was astonished. Shit. "Oh, wow. Really?"

"Really."

"Eleazor, the infamous other Volturi defector?"

"The very man." Edward smiled.

I'm not such a rare commodity, it seems. "Well, then I have to say I'm rather intrigued to meet them, too," she admitted quietly, sensing a temptation of fate. It sounded shallow, but –

What if Tanya and Kate are total bitches?

Edward looked amused…if a little cautious. He, too, wondered what the Denalis would make of her. "I told them I would ask if you wanted to come to Alaska – but it appears you've answered it for us."

"I want to come, too!" Nessie shouted upstairs, and she refused to leave the house until her father had called Tanya to arrange a date.

Beth listened in a state of bewilderment as Edward spoke to a prickly-sounding woman on the phone.

Tanya. Definitely sounds like a Mean Girl name. Is her hair full of secrets, too?

"So…we'll see you on August the 5th. Yes, that's okay with us. About eleven? Alright. See you then. Goodbye, Tanya."

"See you soon!" Nessie called, having hurried downstairs to listen in. She grabbed a jacket from the banister and Jake's hand. "Come on, let's go! Leah and Seth will be waiting!"

"Have fun, you three," Bella said. Her face lit up with love to see her daughter so ecstatic, but she watched Beth with sympathy. She understood that this was awfully daunting for her. Meeting new people who may, or may not, accept her.

But it wasn't like Beth could refuse this. The Denalis deserved to know their 'cousins' weren't in any kind of danger with her. The stranger. The intruder. And she had been telling the truth when she'd said she was intrigued about meeting them.

I really shouldn't try and create any kind of impression of them before I meet them, really. For all I know, they are lovely people… So she smiled as she let Nessie tug her out of the door. I've got this. "See you guys later!"

Bella and Edward said their goodbyes, although Beth could see they were quite eager to see them go.

Good grief. Are they always at it?

Indeed, once the trio had shut the door behind them, Bella pulled Edward into a kiss. This close to her, she could project her thoughts to him. Though they were quiet; it was a vast improvement to not hearing anything at all.

She was feeling sorry for Beth…and worrying about Alice again.

She feels guilty about not seeing Anna, doesn't she?

Pulling reluctantly away, Edward brushed her hair away from her face. "Yes."

Bella sighed, as that little wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows. "Do you think she should have seen that Aro was going to marry someone as powerful…?"

"Maybe." They both knew how sporadic Alice's visions could be at times. How could she judge the actions of a woman any of them had yet to meet? "Maybe she just hasn't seen Anna, because her coming would have no effect on us."

It was the same thing he had told Alice, and Bella's reaction was no different.

"I find that hard to believe. Aro would have thought she would be of use."

How true. But Edward explained that, if Beth's loud thoughts had told him anything, Anna was not after any further power (unlike her soon-to-be husband). She was content with what she already had, particularly the concept of being loved and protected.

Bella bit her lip, contrite. "That's…sad, actually."

One of Beth's inner monologues came to Edward's mind. Of all the men in the world you could have chosen, why him? Why him?!

Beth thought her sister's love for Aro would come back and bite her. Hard. Edward had a feeling she would be correct.

"You're not alone in thinking that," he admitted.

Despite being lucky not to know of the true extent of Aro's dark history, Beth still had her misgivings. She was certain he was mentally unstable – and a complete and utter egomaniac to boot.

But Anna appeared to bring out the best in him, just as she did with him. If such a thing still existed.

"You really believe Anna can stop him?" Bella asked quietly. Her eyes were big with fear and palpable hope.

Edward pressed a kiss to her lips. "I believe that Beth thinks she can."

He was still curious about Anna's ability to absorb gifts. Beth had said it was under control, but would she be able to keep it that way on her wedding night? One slip and Anna would know everything.

Did she have a strong enough resolve to cope with that much truth? Could her love for him surpass such bleak horrors? Edward couldn't tell.

He wondered if Beth…or even Anna could.

It was quiet in La Push. The schools must have broken up for summer, so the kids were probably enjoying a well-deserved lie-in. Beth smiled, remembering what that was like with a warm, nostalgic pang.

On the way to the Clearwaters, Jake had to stop off to check on his dad. When he had asked if she was okay with that, Beth had shrugged, despite feeling decidedly otherwise. The name Billy Black seemed to carry some kind of remarkable reputation with the Cullens, so she was very nervous, to say the least.

"How much does he know about…?" She waved her hands vaguely. "Vampire politics?"

"You mean the Volturi?" Nessie said gently.

"Yeah. That. If he knows about vampires as you do, what's the limit of his knowledge?"

"Dad doesn't really care about vampire politics," Jake replied bluntly. "So long as there isn't any leeches – sorry – anyone harming any humans here, he's okay."

Leeches? Charming. "Right. Glad we cleared that up. Just to be on the safe side, though, I won't mention anything about the Volturi."

"That's probably for the best," Nessie smiled.

Guess he's oblivious to the Cullens run-in with them before.

Jake lived with his father in a large red barn, bleached pale by the sun. Behind it, the metallic stink of motor oil came from a ramshackle garage with a corrugated roof. The door was firmly shut, protecting whatever was inside from the rain.

Evidently Jake was an avid mechanic. When Beth asked what he liked to fix, he flashed those pearly whites. "Whatever needs fixin'."

He got paid well for it, too. Hearing the salary, Beth gave Nessie a thumbs-up. Good call with this one! Renesmee just smiled.

He led them around to the front of the house. A small veranda poked out like a truculent pout. Beside it, Beth took note of the ramp leading up to the front door. A primary school friend of hers had had something like it leading up to their front door, as well.

They met Sue Clearwater inside, dishing up some blueberry muffins that were about the size of tennis balls. She had the same easy smile as Seth, although there was a far-off sadness in those dark eyes. Beth wondered if Sue visited the house often. He spent a lot of time with Nessie, which meant his dad had to get lonely.

Where was Jake's mother, anyway?

Beth heard Billy first, coming from the room beside the hall. "Jake? You here?"

She was startled by the deep, rumbling bass of his voice, envisioning it belonging to a taller, older version of Jacob; intimidating at face value, but warm and kind once you got to know him.

"Hey, Dad." Jake followed his father's voice into the room. Beth looked on, trying not to be nosy.

'M'home, Dad," he was saying. "Got someone here to meet you."

When she saw Billy, she smiled. I knew it. Jake wheeled him out in a battered wheelchair that looked well-accustomed to dirt and rough terrain. His hair was dark, shoulder-length and streaked with silver. Intelligent eyes were almost lost in a myriad of wrinkles.

To Beth, he looked like a Native American Chief, like something out of a film. It was only when Nessie took his hand, did Beth realise that Jake's father was almost blind.

"Hello, Billy." She looked pointedly at Beth, and urged her forward when she hesitated. "This is Beth. She's from England."

"And a vampire," Billy said before smiling. It had an incredible effect on that old, careworn face. He looked at least thirty years younger.

Beth had to laugh, and those incredible eyes fixed on her. Very perceptive. Is he a werewolf, too? "Well, my secret's out. Hi, Billy. It's nice to meet you."

She was unsure if she should take his hand and risk his reaction. Fortunately he did it for her. His palms were coarse and warm, but not uncomfortably so, like his son's.

He gave a smile, but it was cautious. "I've heard a lot about you," he replied quietly. "You caused quite a stir when Bella called to warn us."

Warn you? Beth laughed a little nervously. "Better to be safe than sorry, I suppose. And you are," she added hastily, when he frowned. "You're safe, I mean. My eyes are as gold as hers, I promise."

They stayed at Jake's house for over an hour. Sue had to leave for work as Jacob fixed his dad a cup of black coffee (with three sugars). In that time, Billy asked Beth about herself. She was evasive, only saying she had travelled with a friend to Italy before parting on good terms.

"I'd heard about the Cullens, so I thought…I mean I'd never met anyone like me before. And they've been so welcoming."

"Doctor Culleb is a good man," Billy rumbled, accepting the steaming mug passed to him. "Thanks, son. So how long are you planning on staying?"

Oo-er. Beth had quite honestly not thought that far ahead. "A few months, maybe." Did she need to ask permission? "I've just got here, so I'm not sure yet."

She didn't mean to sound so defensive, but they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Phew. Beth steeled herself for more surprises. Who is it now?

"Ah, hey, Charlie. Come on in!"

Jake answered the door, and a middle-aged man shuffled into the living-room, carrying a cake tin. He wore a scruffy, plaid shirt and faded jeans. Beth was bewildered (and very impressed) by the dark, thick moustache adorning his upper lip.

"Hey, Jake," the man said a little gruffly. Familiar brown eyes flicked from him to Nessie jumping up, and he beamed. "Hey! There's my special girl!"

"Grandpa!"

Well, that makes sense. Beth averted her eyes as they hugged, as Charlie commented on how tall Nessie was getting. She remembered her own grandparents saying much the same to her…before she stopped growing at around fifteen.

She learnt that Charlie was, in fact, Nessie's biological grandfather. Indeed, she could see a bit of Bella in him, in the shy shift of his shoulders, the dark hair (speckled with grey), and the crease between his eyebrows when he was troubled.

He greeted Billy with contagious warmth, which suggested their friendship went a long way back. He had brought a meatloaf that Sue had forgotten to bring around. Hearing him speak her name, it was obvious that they were a couple.

The vampire's father and the werewolves' mother. How weird.

However, when he saw Beth sitting on the sofa, he seemed to withdraw into himself. "Uh, who's this?"

"Oh, this is Beth," Nessie said, sitting on the sofa again and bouncing in her seat. "She's Rose and Jasper's second cousin." The half-lie spilled very easily from her lips.

It took a lot from Beth not to react with surprise. I'm not pretty enough to be related to Rosalie! Okay. "Yeah," she nodded, grinning crookedly. "Sorry if I sound like a farmer. The accent is kinda hard to get rid of."

She carried on the lie carefully. It transpired that Charlie was a policeman, and so she felt compelled to draw off any suspicion. Jasper and Rosalie came from her mother's side, she said, but Mum had moved to the East of England when she'd met Dad. As to why Beth was here, she was on a gap year, currently backpacking around the US…with some financial help from dear old Uncle Antony and Auntie Sally. That part was probably the closest she would get to the whole truth.

Still, that seemed to satisfy Charlie somewhat (though he seemed rather distracted by 'the game' playing out on Billy's old TV set).

Once he got to talking to Billy about baseball (or was it American football? Beth wasn't listening), Jake – mercifully – decided it was time to head out again, where the sun was making a brave appearance.

They talked in low voices about what had just happened.

"Well done, Beth," Nessie remarked. "You fooled Grandpa completely."

Beth made a face. "Thanks - but doesn't that make you feel dreadful? I'm feeling dreadful. He seems really sweet –"

"It's necessary to keep him off the scent," she said with startlingly mature conviction. "He's safer not knowing the truth."

Like I've never heard that before. "But he knows about you, Ness. He has to. You look way too much like him, to –"

"He knows," Jacob replied. "He just doesn't want to know how she is the way she is."

"M'kay." Beth gave a dry smile. "Does that also include why his daughter has yellow eyes?"

"Yeah, it does."

"And…so he knows nothing about the wolves?"

Jake's eyes shifted uncomfortably. "Um, no."

"What?" Beth hadn't expected that. "Explain, please, Mr. Wolf."

Nessie held him tight. He looked guilty, scratching the back of his neck. "It was the only way I could keep the Cullens from leaving…"

By the time he was finished with his story, they had reached the Clearwater's home, and Beth's head was spinning. She looked at Jacob with a new-found respect, despite his selfish motives.

It was Seth who answered the door. He looked about as happy to see Beth again as he had been before, if not more so. Nessie had been right about him being a fan of comic books. His eyes lit up to see her t-shirt.

Leah, on the other hand, was churlish about having to wait for so long. The narrow-eyed look she gave Beth implied who she thought was to blame. A snide part of her thought that Leah would have reacted the same way whatever time they came.

The pack then did their daily patrol of their part of the forest, meeting with Sam's pack. With time to kill, Nessie and Beth perched on the Clearwater doorstep to enjoy the shy sunshine. Here in Jake's neighbourhood they could allow their skin to show. Beth noticed that hers was much more subdued in its sparkle, though it was no less entrancing.

"I think Billy likes you," she announced.

"What?" Beth snorted. "If you say so, Ness."

"I do say so. You have to give him credit. It took him much longer to trust my family. He grew up thinking we were all out for human blood."

"No surprises there. So, um," Beth hesitated, twisting her lip. "…how come he can't, you know, change into a wolf like Jake can?"

"You noticed that, huh?" Nessie smiled. She thought for a moment. "Okay. Jake won't mind me saying this; there's going to be a get-together here in a month's time. Maybe you would like to come along?"

"Um. What kind of gathering are we talking about here?" Beth asked, warily. As a human, she had always enjoyed large social gatherings about as much as waxing her legs. Especially if it involved interacting with near-strangers; it was one of the few things the venom hadn't changed.

"Oh, we meet around a bonfire, roast marshmallows, and tell old stories," Nessie replied. She smiled. You might learn something."

"And they won't mind a vampire crashing the party?" Beth laughed awkwardly.

"No. You've met Billy. He likes you, and he's an Elder."

"What about Sam and his gang?" She twisted her lip, remembering the huge, black wolf with the growl like a rockslide, and shuddered.

"They'll be okay with it. Jacob is talking to them about you now. Besides," – Nessie smiled, touching her arm -"I'm inviting you."

"Oh!" Beth laughed. I'm an idiot. "Sorry."

She showed her a memory of a beautiful night, a glowing bonfire of dancing embers, surrounded by laughing people. It looked like a lot of fun, despite Beth's nerves.

"Okay. Well…yeah, okay, I'd like to come. Thank you."

Nessie gave a small squeal and hugged her.

Dare I say it but...we're almost coming to the end of the story! Not quite yet but very nearly