A Family for Alice
Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just playing with them.
A ringing phone wakes me, but I'm too disoriented at first to answer it. I open my eyes to look for my phone, and the light in the room makes it obvious that it's morning. Carlisle waking me in the middle of the night for round four seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm confused.
As soon as I find my phone and see Rosalie's name on the screen, I'm very much alert, awake, and worried as I answer.
A soft little voice greets me. "Hi, Mommy."
I can't help but smile. "Hey, precious. Are you having a good morning?"
"Mmhmm. But can I come home now? I miss you."
"Of course, baby. Daddy and I will be there soon, okay?" My answer is immediate as I jump out of bed and rush to find clothes to put on. "Can you have a few more minutes of fun with Aunt Rosie and Uncle Emmett while you wait for us?"
"I can do that," she agrees. "Unco Emmett is making me some breakfast right now."
"That's great! You go eat, and we'll see you soon, okay? Love you."
"Wuv you," she responds right before ending our call.
I take a deep breath before continuing my search for clothes. Now that I think about the call, I realize that Alice doesn't sound upset. She probably just woke up early and missed us. Knowing she's not panicking makes it easier for me to focus and find everything I need.
Carlisle's reaction is similar to my initial one once I wake him, but after a few minutes, we're both calm enough to get dressed and head to Rosalie and Emmett's house.
Rosalie answers the door when we arrive and pulls me in for a hug. "She was fine until this morning and has been fine since she called you," she informs us. "Why didn't you tell me that kids like to wake up before six in the morning?"
Carlisle chuckles as she hugs him next. "Because our kid doesn't usually wake up until at least seven. It's just your lucky day."
"Very funny," she says, rolling her eyes.
"So everything's been okay?" I ask as we make our way to the kitchen.
"Perfectly fine. We had a lot of fun, and she was never scared until this morning. I guess since we had her most of yesterday, huh?"
"Probably so," I agree. "She's never been away from us for this long."
In the kitchen, we find Emmett making his version of a breakfast sandwich – bacon, scrambled eggs, and shredded cheese smashed between two pieces of buttered toast. It must be a Cullen tradition because Carlisle loves to make the same breakfast – only he eats his with ketchup which only serves to make me gag. At least Emmett doesn't have the ketchup out.
Alice is happily sitting on the counter beside him, swinging her legs as she eats half of a sandwich.
"Unco Emmett, I wuv bacon!" she exclaims, mid bite. "This is yummy."
He laughs and gives her a high five. "Of course you love bacon! You are my favorite niece."
"She's your only niece," I point out and smile as Alice's realizes that we're here. She stops chewing and puts the rest of her sandwich down, eyes widening as she reaches for us.
Carlisle makes the first move, going over to the counter and taking her into his arms. "Allie cat, I missed you! Did you save me some bacon?"
She manages to swallow her mouthful before she gives him a kiss and hugs his neck tightly. "Daddy, you're here! I missed you wots. You can have some of my bacon, okay?"
"That sounds perfect. Did you save some for Mommy too?"
I hold out my arms for her, and she comes right to me, giving me the same welcome as Carlisle. "I missed you, baby," I say, kissing her cheek. "You have to tell me about all the fun you had."
As Emmett finishes making enough breakfast to include everyone, we sit together at the table so Alice can tell us all about her night away from home. From all of their stories, I can tell that Emmett and Rosalie did a great job with Alice, not that I had any doubt that they would. I do know how nerve wracking it is to host a first sleepover though, so I give them as much praise as I can. Alice is happy and uninjured, and that's a really great outcome.
Rosalie and Emmett will make great parents one day, and I tell her as much. I'm not sure how long they're waiting to start expanding their family, but based on the look on her face, I don't think it'll be much longer. The whole family has changed in all the best ways thanks to Alice. Our eyes have been opened to so many possibilities.
Alice doesn't stop talking about her trip to her aunt and uncle's house for the rest of the day and part of the next. Even with the short moment of fear right after waking, she only has good things to say and can't wait to do it again. I know Jane and Alistair are dying to get their hands on her next. It's a good thing that we have two and a half weeks of winter break.
…
With the final Christmas preparations in full-swing, we barely have a chance to breathe over the next few days.
Alice helps me and Carlisle wrap the presents she got for us and place them under the tree with all of hers. We decided not to do the whole Santa thing, both because we don't think Alice would have many years left to believe anyway and because we want her to know that the gifts are from us and the rest of the family.
Through what Alice has told Maggie and us, we know that her birth parents did give her a present or two every year. It wasn't much, but considering they were usually too focused on the drugs to do anything nice for her, it was a memorable gesture. So even though Alice knows that Christmas is a special day, we want her to really know it. To know that she is so precious to us and deserves every gift she'll be receiving. There's no such thing as spoiling when it comes to her.
But since Alice knows that most of the gifts under the tree will be going to her, it takes an effort to distract her – and Carlisle – from shaking all of the boxes. With the help of cookie baking, gingerbread house making, and Christmas movies, we succeed up until Christmas Eve.
"Please, wifey," Carlisle begs. "Just one. We'll be good. Look at this face." He bounces Alice in his arms as she perfects the pout and puppy dog eyes that he's been teaching her. I'd kill the man if I didn't love him more than anything.
"Okay," I relent, sighing. "We can all open one gift. Just one."
Alice leans over, puckering her lips for a kiss which I have to indulge. "Thank you, Mommy. I wuv you wots."
Who could resist that?
I convince the two of them that we need to change into our pajamas first, and after grabbing some hot chocolate and a plate of cookies, we settle in the living room floor.
Alice helps me pick the gift Carlisle will open and then does the same with him for me. I know which one I want Alice to open, but Carlisle has another one in mind for her to also open. He kisses me senseless to get his way, not that I really mind.
"Who first?" Carlisle asks.
"How about Alice goes first with one of hers," I suggest. "Then you and me followed by Alice again."
"Perfect," he exclaims and nods to Alice. "Go ahead, Allie cat. Open your first one."
Cautiously and with a big grin, she begins tearing off the paper of the gift I picked out for tonight. Once the paper is off, I help her open the small box and take out the little locket.
"It's a necklace," I explain, helping her open the heart shape. "And inside, there's a picture of you, me, and Daddy. You're always in our hearts, and now you'll have us in this little heart too. Do you like it, precious?"
"Mommy, it's so pretty," she says in awe. "Thank you, thank you! I wuv it! Can I wear it now?"
"Sure, baby. Let me help you." With tears in my eyes, I help her put on the necklace. Sometimes I just can't handle how much I love this little girl.
Once it's secure, she scoots over to show Carlisle, and he gives her a big hug.
"It's beautiful, baby," he agrees, and I can see that his eyes are shining a little too.
It's my turn next, and the waterworks really start when I unwrap one of the gifts Alice must have picked out for me. I've received a necklace too – a white gold mother's embrace pendant, complete with Alice's little amethyst birthstone. She crawls into my lap, and I hug her like I never want to let go because the gift is perfect, but she's the best present I've ever received.
By the time Carlisle opens his gift – the puzzle Alice picked out for him with her picture and "I love you, Daddy" across the top– I've already found a box of tissues. Both of us need it. I'm very grateful we've already had the discussion with Alice about happy tears versus sad tears because I can't stop them at this point. My heart is overflowing.
I understand why Carlisle wanted Alice to open another present. When she opens the box of her new life-size baby doll, her face is priceless – ending our night on a tear-free note as we laugh at her shock. Needless to say, she loves the doll and doesn't want to stop hugging and kissing us in thanks, even as we tuck her in for the night.
For the first time in a long time, I can't fall asleep on Christmas Eve. The anticipation is too high. I want Alice to have a great day, hopefully the best Christmas she's ever had, but I probably don't have anything to worry about.
If tonight was any clue, we'll all be having the best Christmas.
A/N: Thank you to all of you who suggested outtakes. I can't promise I'll be able to write all of them, but I'll definitely try. Feel free to continue making suggestions of anything you might want to see.
Lots of thanks to MelissaMargaret for making this pretty and to anhanninen for prereading.
And of course, thanks to all of you for reading!
See you on Wednesday!
