The Last Ditch Effort
New Moon canon, missing scene.
for The Edge Girls, who will know why and with thanks to u2shay for reading it :-)
There was a phrase that grew into fashion during and after World War I. That was to have been the War to End All Wars...
Humans often said that with hope. We who are immortal know better.
The phrase was "the last ditch effort." When soldiers were on the battlefields, they dug trenches - ditches - if they were not planning on spending much time in them. They would use them to hide in for shelter and mount fresh attacks on the enemy from them. The last ditch effort was the one a commander decided would be made where there was nothing else that could be done. The platoon's time or space had run out and they had to give it everything they had in order to achieve victory.
For my family, we had arrived at such a time. In Ithaca, New York, I felt it behooved me as patriarch to launch my own last ditch effort as I tried to reclaim my family...what was left of my family. Edward, God give him peace, was chasing Victoria to do what he felt he could to protect Bella, though he had wrenched himself – and us – away from her.
Morose, the family waited for me to return from the hospital. I had done my best not to give it away even in my thoughts (old habits die hard, they say), but I knew that Alice would, if she had to, keep her visions to herself. She had merely, by prearrangement, called what remained of our family together that winter evening. I had ordered something to be delivered to the hospital and, it having arrived, I brought it to our house.
Not our "home," though. Not really. Since we had been...encouraged to leave Bella, nothing quite fit right for my family.
Still, I brought the last ditch effort back. The family, knowing something was up undoubtedly, was waiting for me. There was a miasma of depression over them so thick that I – who have no great gift as does Jasper – could feel it.
"Go to your rooms," I directed them, trying to smile. "I'll call you when it's ready."
That got half a smile from Rosalie, of all people. "Fine, Dad. C'mon, Emmett."
Alice winked at me and tugged a suddenly puzzled Jasper up to their room, while Esme remained with me. "Honey? What is it?" A smile danced at the corners of her lips for the first time since I don't know when. Even our lovemaking hadn't made her smile...she was appreciative, but her heart was broken and I knew it. Seeing her rejuvenated curiosity was worth every effort in mental gymnastics I had undertaken.
I unpacked the large delivery box – an intern had helped me angle it into the trunk of my Mercedes, but of course I brought it inside myself – and with all the haste I could muster, made the connections, unwrapped the plastic and adjusted the settings.
Esme clasped her hands together before throwing herself at me, eyes full to overflowing. "Oh, my love. I know it's silly, but I know why you did this and I – I am always, always surprised and amazed by you."
Well of course, I kissed her with good will for not a few moments until Jasper called out, "Enough already! What the hell do you have down there?"
Meeting Esme's eyes and sharing a grin with my mate, I turned and picked up a microphone and hit a power button.
The distinctive sounds of a strange, strange group called Right Said Fred began and my children – my family – all appeared on the stairs of our house, their expressions priceless. I began to sing and Esme, er, helped me out with the rather embarrassing prospect of being "too sexy for my shirt."
Laughing – actually laughing – the others surrounded me in an instant, looking over the programmed tracks for our first and only karaoke machine. By the time Alice was singing something about a disco stick to Jasper, Esme and I were in our room, making up for emotions and intimacy we had been lacking, of late.
This did not bring our Edward back, but it did serve to help reunite the rest of my family. My last ditch effort – as foolish as it made me look – had worked.
