I own juts the plot:)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Heading Home Has Never Been So Difficult

As midnight approached and the anxiety levels peaked I barely left Renesmees' side and funnily enough neither did Alice. I had gotten used to a vivacious person when it came to Alice and her boundless energy but this Alice was a different creature altogether; she barely spoke and when she did it was softly and she only said what she needed to and nothing more. If I wasn't so worried about Nessie I would have been extremely concerned about Alice and I wasn't the only one. The entire house seemed stressed and ready for a fight; everything was packed and checked several times by different people every time to make sure that nothing was left behind. I stayed in the small room with Nessie while everything was loaded within the vans that the Cullen's had gotten for our use. The transfer of Nessie from the house to the van along with the possessions of eight vampires (Alyssa had been sharing Alice's wardrobe since she had nothing of her own) and four werewolves should have been a bigger deal than what it actually was but thanks to super speed, hearing and strength it was accomplished with minimal fuss. We left the sanctity of our borrowed home in precise military formation, weakest in the middle surrounded by strongest, this made me uneasy because I had to relinquish Nessie to Esme for the short time it took for us to reach the vans; not that Esme would hurt her or allow her to get hurt but it meant that I wasn't holding her and protecting her myself. The drive to the airport was another feat of military precision, thanks to centuries of experience from Jasper, we reached the international terminal with no drama and this made me uneasy. Surely the Volturi wouldn't just let us waltz out of their country after we had caused such casualties, and as we reached customs my thoughts seemed prophetic.

The man behind the counter of the customs desk frowned as we neared and his gaze was drawn to Renesmee, who I cradled within my arms, saying in halting English "What is wrong with the child?" I felt myself growl low in the back of my throat, luckily for us the sound wasn't detected by the suspicious guard but didn't go unnoticed by our surrounding group. Carlisle shot me a furtive look and I wasn't stupid enough to miss the warning it contained. Carlisle turned his attention on the guard and smiled warmly; saying in flawless Italian, which I didn't understand but which Edward who was standing beside me translated quickly and quietly into my ear "She is my daughter and she has fallen into a coma while we have been here on holiday, we are taking her back home." The unsmiling guard looked at the amount of people in our group and reached for the phone sitting on the desk, picking it up he pressed a single button and waited for the person on the other end to answer, it was no trouble for all of us to hear both sides of the conversation and even though it was in Italian, and whispered into the phone, I listened to the low translation Edward was muttering for those of us who didn't speak flawless Italian. "There is a group of Americans here with a teenage girl. She is unconscious and they seem eager to get her out of the country. The leader, he is insisting, she is his daughter but I am not so sure." The female voice on the other end of the call said "Detain them, I will send the police to speak to them, tell them that some of their paperwork isn't in order until they get there and sort out this problem." The customs officer hung up the phone and pasting a false smile onto his face he said "I am going to have to ask you to follow me into the back, there seems to be a problem with your paperwork, if you wouldn't mind." He gestured with his arm that we should precede him and I followed the rest of our band of escapees into a windowless cell behind the customs desk.

We waited for what seemed like an eternity, but in actual fact it was more like fifteen minutes, for the police to arrive. I had never seen any of the Cullens' anything less than in total control and in any other instance I probably would have enjoyed their discomfort at being detained. Emmett paced the small cell like a caged lion while Rosalie dropped into one of the waiting chairs with a nail file in her hand. Jasper walked the perimeter of the room and I wasn't sure of why he did this until Edwards asked softly "Are there any weaknesses within the structure of the wall?" Jasper shook his head and said "Not in the walls but we could go through the roof." I gawked at them in disbelief as they stood there discussing a possible escape as if it was breakfast. Carlisle and Alice stood behind me as I cradled Nessie within my arms. I looked up at them in time to see Alice's eyes go distant, she stayed that way for a while but before she could speak Alyssa said "They are coming and if we are polite and have enough medical paperwork they will let us go." Out of habit everyone in the room looked at Alice who nodded and said "I can't tell you until the woman walking down the hall decides what to do with us, trust Alyssa on this." Esme, who had such a mothering soul, crossed to Alice's side and wrapped one strong arm around her daughters shoulder before kissing her temple. We could all hear the tapping of heels getting closer as the woman neared our cell, the closer she got the more nervous and agitated I became. I saw Jasper stop pacing and close his eyes, I knew what was coming even before the calm washed over me; my heart skipped a beat as the handle was turned and door was pushed open.

A woman walked in and sat down at the table across from where I held Nessie against my heart. She raised one perfectly waxed eyebrow and said "Shouldn't she be on a bed?" I shook my head, opening my mouth to speak but Carlisle spoke before I could. "Her name is Renesmee and this is her husband Jacob. He is very protective of her, I was her legal guardian until she got married and I love her like a daughter. This is the rest of my family" he indicated the people standing behind us "and these two" he pointed out Alyssa and Cameron, who we had checked had passports before we included them in our plans "are friends whom are coming back to America with us for a holiday, can you please explain to us why we are being detained." The police woman refused to answer and instead asked "May I please see all of your paper work." I watched Carlisle hand over every forged document we had, which if it was discovered they were fake could land us a lifetime in prison which would blow the whole immortal never aging thing, and I had never been more grateful to the unknown Mr Jenks who supplied them to us when the officer said "This all looks in order but I am concerned about the girls wellbeing. We received a call from a well known member of our community who gave us a lead on a people smuggling ring, I must see this girls medical papers before I can rule." She held her hand out for the papers Alyssa warned Carlisle they would ask for and I cringed slightly when he handed them over without hesitation. The tall woman stood, gave each of us a lingering look, and walked from the room. Alice sighed and crouched down beside Nessie "She has decided to let us leave. I wonder if…." She didn't have to finish her statement about whether or not the Volturi were behind our detainment because we had all thought the same thing. Edward on the other hand knew exactly who had given the 'lead' to the police and said "It was Jane. Apparently this isn't the first time they have paid to have people detained but it is this particular officers' first call. She doesn't like the order and she was intent on disobeying. Hopefully this doesn't get her killed." I readily agreed and looked over at Alyssa who had her eyes closed and looked as if she was sleeping, as I watched her eyes slide open and she spoke in a flat tone "She will live, the Volturi will not readily open war on civilians after such a battle and even if they weren't suffering such heavy losses they wouldn't risk people finding out about them or the vampire community losing respect and fear of them." Carlisle nodded and said "I agree with Alyssa. The Volturi are all about rules and even though we can be guaranteed of retribution we have nothing to fear form this woman."

Waiting had never been a particularly strong trait of mine and with Nessie pressed so close to me I could feel the baby moving inside her as if it was picking up the tension in the room. Alice who still hadn't straightened out of her crouch beside me placed a calming hand against the bump and whispered "It's okay beautiful one, we will all be okay." I was stunned to feel one sharp kick against me before the baby lay quietly as if it had heard Alice. I opened my mouth to ask Alice what she knew when the door opened again and the officer walked in, she smiled tightly before handing Carlisle back all our paperwork and saying "Everything seems to be in order and we are sorry for the delay, your flight is ready to be boarded and if you would kindly follow this officer he will make sure you get to the gate. Have a nice flight." I stood quickly and filed into the line forming behind the officer who's job it was to escort us to our flight we all walked quietly, and frustratingly slowly, behind the short balding man who led our pack. We walked for a few minutes before he stopped and gestured through the gate, rattled off some quick Italian and left us to ourselves. I saw a look of concern flitter across Edwards' face and I wondered briefly if they had set a trap for us behind the closed door, Edward turned to me and said "No trap he was just thinking some rather disturbing thoughts about the female population of our group." I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the retreating figure of the customs officer saying "That is so gross! They could be his granddaughters." Edward laughed freely for the first time since this whole thing had started before saying "Jacob half of this group could be distant ancestors to him, not the other way around." I grinned, snorting in amusement before following him through the open terminal door.

Our flight boarded barely five minutes after we walked through the terminal door and as the plane taxied down the runway I felt some of the tension that filled me go away, we were on our way home and nothing was going to stop us. I made sure Renesmee was comfortable before lifting the armrest and snuggling next to her, closing my eyes and sleeping for what seemed like the first time in a long time. I was woken by the crackling sound of the PA system as the flight attendant announced our descent into SeaTac international airport I think I breathed properly for the first time since we had been taken. I waited impatiently for the plane to stop and for the flight attendant to say we could disembark, when the announcement came I had to wait for all the other passengers to leave before me so I wouldn't be bumped while scooping Nessie into my arms. I followed the rest of our not so merry band of travellers out into the arrivals lounge and then followed Carlisle out towards the parking terminal where they had parked the cars, grateful that they had thought to bring the black BMW that Carlisle usually drove, the gigantic flame red Jeep that Emmett favoured and the sleek dark blue Volvo S80 that Bella drove all with the darkest legally possible tint. I guess they figured they would have a few of us to transport without Alyssa and Cameron now being added to the total. We separated into groups without any real thought being placed on it; I climbed into the back of Bella's car with Edward driving, Bella in the passenger seat and Renesmees' head resting in my lap.

Silence reigned as we made the reasonably short trip home to North Bend in convoy format. As we pulled into the drive way of the Cullens' home I gingerly carried Nessie through the front door and, without stopping or asking where I should put her, up the stairs to the room Carlisle had set up after Nessie had tripped down the stairs and we discovered that she wasn't as unbreakable as we had thought she was. I laid her softly on the white sheets, pulling the loose one over her small form. I dragged a chair over to the side of the bed and flopped down into it, I was so exhausted that I was having trouble breathing. My mind seemed to have shut down completely but I heard the footsteps nearing the door and wearily opened my eyes to see Carlisle and Alice standing just inside the door and I was suddenly wide awake. "Are we going to do some tests now?" Carlisle nodded and said "The first one we want to try is an ultrasound, and then I want to run some more blood tests and maybe try and have a look at her head but with her being pregnant that might be difficult." I shifted into a sitting position and looked past Carlisle to Alice who was standing anxiously just inside the door. She looked even more pale and drawn than she had since she had woken up after being hurt, she had a small frown creasing the normally smooth skin between her eyes; she cocked her head to one side and spoke quietly "Can I stay while you perform the tests, since no blood will need to be drawn I have no problem staying." I screwed my mouth up as I thought about her request but before I could speak Carlisle said "I see no problem with you staying and with your, connection, with the foetus you might come in handy." I was even more interested in her connection to my unborn child as she crossed the room and perched on the other side of the bed to me, anxiety drenching her entire body.

We both sat rigidly still as Carlisle moved around the room and switched machines on while completing several mundane tests like blood pressure and temperature. He wheeled a large machine into the room from the hall, a machine I remembered from when Bella was pregnant. The ultrasound machine whirred to life as he plugged it in and while we waited for it to warm up, to break the tense silence that radiated through the room I said, only slightly joking "Let's hope this isn't as futile as it was with Bella." Alice glared at me sharply before placing a soothing hand on Nessie's bump and saying "Stop that will you! The baby is worried enough as it is. We don't need your jokes about things going wrong." Carlisle placed a quieting hand on her shoulder and said "Alice, Jacob was trying to lighten the mood; he didn't mean anything by it. You should know that already." I watched in stunned silence as Alice took a deep, if not pointless, breath; nodding and saying to Carlisle "Fine, get these tests out of the way. The baby is holding as still as it can so you can do what you need to do." Both Carlisle and I looked at each other as he adjusted Renesmees' shirt and pants so he could access her rounding stomach. I sat in silence, holding Renesmees' hand, breathing as little as possible; as if that was going to make the procedure work any better. As the Doc squirted the gel onto the exposed bump that covered my child I looked over at Alice's pale features and was surprised to see her wince as the gel hit the smooth skin of Nessie's belly. I sucked in a sharp breath and breathed at her "Is that hurting the baby?" She shook her head sharply saying "No it's just really cold and the baby felt slightly uncomfortable." Carlisle rocked back slightly and said "It was always assumed the baby was isolated from the elements because of the skin and placenta; you will definitely come in handy throughout this pregnancy Alice." She snorted and said "Great, just what we need; me to be more helpful." Both Carlisle and I looked questioningly at her but she shook her head and said "Just get on with it, the baby is getting annoyed and won't hold still much longer."

Over protective Alice...

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